Help ! French & English names

So here's a little background, my family is bilingual English/French and Jewish, my husbands is French speaking and Catholic. Even though we're currently living in the Middle East we'll probably make our permanent home in French speaking Switzerland. Soooo, we would like a name that's great in French, pronouncable in English, and perhaps a little Jewish, but not necessarily. Right now for a boy I really love :

Noé (like Noah)
Asher (but husband's never heard of it and not wild)
Yoan (is this too close to Yann, husband's name?)
Félix (and no, not having a cat :-)

For a girl I love :

Eléonore
Yaël (but wondering if pronouncable in English?)
Dahlia
Alix (not wild about this one, but my husband loves it)

What do you think? Anyone have ideas for middle names that would work well? My husband doesn't want to give middle names, but I think they're nice. Hmmmm so much to think about. . .

I think it is a great idea to have middle names, it just seems more complete to me.

Asher and Ashton both great names are becoming more popular now than ever before. I would love to use either of these names.

I like Felix a lot

What about Andre? I think it is a smart name, a real classic and always popular, it is one of my favourites.

Eleanor is a lovely name

Dahlia is pretty but it has a different pronounciation here in Australia to USA. I prefer Magnolia.

I love Alice and it fits with your lovely feminine choices of Dahlia and Eleanor.

I think Alix is a change of style.

I haven't heard of Noe and Yoan. They remind me of Noah and Rowan/Rohan.

Both popular choices but Rowan is now one popular with girls.

I love French names

Jacquelyn/ine
Genevieve
Sabine
Juliet
Julia
Antoinette
Brigitte, Bridget more popular

More pretty names

Fleur
Eloise
Matilda
Anneliese
Rose
Grace
Faith
Hope
Caroline
Elise
Ellen
Belle
Isabelle
Angelina too Jolie though
Evangeline

From your choices

Eleanore Dahlia would be lovely

Alice Yael

For the boys

Sebastian
Philip
Reid
Simon
Daniel

Some of the most fashionable baby names in France now work in both languages, with names like Tom and Eve very chic. Have a look at our blog on French names here: http://nameberry.com/blog/2009/02/24/french-baby-names-prune-anyone/ May I suggest Adele, Clara, Eloise, Lea (very popular), Louise or Violette. For boys, Auguste or Emmanuel would work. I second the nomination of Alice over Alix and do like Felix too.

Eleonore is lovely but in all its forms wildly popular throughout Europe. I love Dahlia. Yann I think is too close to your husband's name and Noe confusing with the Israeli popular female Noa or Noe. Asher very popular in the U.S. -- a great name.

I don't have much time, but I just thought I would give my input on Alix (I am presuming you are talking about the French name, rather than an alternative spelling of Alex) - I adore the name, and have for a long time, but I think most English-speakers would pronounce it as Alex, rather than al-eex, so whether you use it should probably depend on how much the pronunciation for English people matters to you.

ljb2010 wrote:So here's a little background, my family is bilingual English/French and Jewish, my husbands is French speaking and Catholic. Even though we're currently living in the Middle East we'll probably make our permanent home in French speaking Switzerland. Soooo, we would like a name that's great in French, pronouncable in English, and perhaps a little Jewish, but not necessarily. Right now for a boy I really love :

Noé (like Noah)
Asher (but husband's never heard of it and not wild)
Yoan (is this too close to Yann, husband's name?)
Félix (and no, not having a cat :-)

For a girl I love :

Eléonore
Yaël (but wondering if pronouncable in English?)
Dahlia
Alix (not wild about this one, but my husband loves it)

What do you think? Anyone have ideas for middle names that would work well? My husband doesn't want to give middle names, but I think they're nice. Hmmmm so much to think about. . .

Dahlia is my favorite of your girls and Felix for a boy.

You will know better than I how these will work in French. Here are some more ideas for you, all Hebrew in origin:

Abra (f.)
Abraham (m.)
Adelina/Adelene (f.)
Adiv (m.)
Alea (f.)
Alitza (f.)
Amal (m.)
Amaris (f.)
Amit (m.)
Anais (f.)
Annelise (f.)
Armon (m.)
Avram (m.)
Axel (m.)
Azalya (f.)
Barnaby (m.)
Benjamin (m.)
Caleb (m.)
Danilo (m.)
Daphna (f.)
Divon (m.)
Elias (m.)
Eliseo (m.)
Elixabet (f.)
Emanuel (m.)
Etania (f.)
Evaline (f.)
Ezra (m.)
Galilea (f.)
Gianna (f.)
Gideon (m.)
Hamish (m.)
Isaac (m.)
Isabeau (f.)
Isaline (f.)
Ivanna (f.)
Izaiah (m.)
Jacqueline (f.)
Jago (m.)
Jared (m.)
Jeannine (f.)
Jeremiah (m.)
Joachim (m.)
Johanna (f.)
Jonah/Jonas (m.)
Kelila (f.)
Laszlo (m.)
Lisette (f.)
Maija (f.)
Malina (f.)
Marielle/Mariela (f.)
Marlise (f.)
Mateo (m.)
Matias (m.)
Noemie (f.)
Rachelle (f.)
Samson (m.)
Shae/Shay (m.)
Simon (m.)
Simone (f.)
Yaira (f.)
Zafra (f.)
Zeke (m.)
Zuri (m.)

There are so many names to choose from with such a diverse background!

I'll put a few out there...

For a girl
Amelie
Veronique
Verginie
Angelique
Noelle

For a boy..
Asher- love this name, so glad you mentioned it!
Archer
Deacon
Julien (not sure of the proper Fr. spelling)

Yoan is too close to Yann if you do not intend to be naming the baby after your dh. I like Noe, but for a girl.