[Opinions] Re: Quebec
in reply to a message by Matthew 05
I have a few exemples like you mentionned, popular first in France, than becomes trendy in Québec 20-30 years later. Arnaud comes to mind. All of the Arnaud I have known in France are in their 30's. If you compare to Quebec, the name has been popular since 2018 probably.
But I know a ton of names that never picked up in Québec but were super popular in France. Pauline was the top name in 1991-1993 for girls in France. In Québec that name would have been considered very old-fashioned in the 90's and still to this day. Grégoire is another good example of a name that was relatively common in France in the 90's but never became popular in Québec. It wasn't considerd old or anything. It just never really became cool. Other names have been pretty popular at the same time period for both territories. Stéphanie and Julie were big in the 80's and 90's in both France and Québec. Same with boys names like Jérémy, Maxime, Alexandre.
My guess would be that if a names becomes more common and more present in the French speaking world (with singers, books, etc.) it becomes less weird to a person's ears. Maybe subconsciously, people are starting to get used to it. But that doesn't mean every name will transfer from one French speaking society to another. Sometimes there are historical explanation or simply old trends that affect how people might perceive a name. Overall, the name trends are very different in both France and Québec. People tend to think because it is French-speaking, that the trends would be the same, but not at all. Both France and Québec have cultural connection for sure (singers, authors, movies, etc.) but it is two very distinct societies.
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But I know a ton of names that never picked up in Québec but were super popular in France. Pauline was the top name in 1991-1993 for girls in France. In Québec that name would have been considered very old-fashioned in the 90's and still to this day. Grégoire is another good example of a name that was relatively common in France in the 90's but never became popular in Québec. It wasn't considerd old or anything. It just never really became cool. Other names have been pretty popular at the same time period for both territories. Stéphanie and Julie were big in the 80's and 90's in both France and Québec. Same with boys names like Jérémy, Maxime, Alexandre.
My guess would be that if a names becomes more common and more present in the French speaking world (with singers, books, etc.) it becomes less weird to a person's ears. Maybe subconsciously, people are starting to get used to it. But that doesn't mean every name will transfer from one French speaking society to another. Sometimes there are historical explanation or simply old trends that affect how people might perceive a name. Overall, the name trends are very different in both France and Québec. People tend to think because it is French-speaking, that the trends would be the same, but not at all. Both France and Québec have cultural connection for sure (singers, authors, movies, etc.) but it is two very distinct societies.
Don't hesitate to rate my different PNLs: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/246179