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So this is probably a stupid question but it’s something I’ve been wondering for a while, How do Feminine diminutives of masculine names work, I get Charlotte because it’s a female form of diminutive but what about names like Francine, Wouldn’t a woman have to be called Francois for it to become a diminutive?
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Françoise is the feminine form of François. It is not a diminutive, as it does not contain any of the known French diminutive suffixes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diminutives_by_language#French (in English)
Francine is one of the diminutives of Françoise, as it contains the French feminine diminutive suffix -ine.
A woman's legal name does not necessarily need to be Françoise in order to justify calling her Francine in everyday life. Sometimes diminutives become independent names (see the links below), and eventually people forget that the name started out as a diminutive. Such names can then get diminutives of their own, e.g. Francinette for Francine.
• -eau: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*eau (this diminutive suffix is unisex)
• -elle: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*elle
• -ette: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*ette
• -ine: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*ine
• -on: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*on (this diminutive suffix is unisex)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diminutives_by_language#French (in English)
Francine is one of the diminutives of Françoise, as it contains the French feminine diminutive suffix -ine.
A woman's legal name does not necessarily need to be Françoise in order to justify calling her Francine in everyday life. Sometimes diminutives become independent names (see the links below), and eventually people forget that the name started out as a diminutive. Such names can then get diminutives of their own, e.g. Francinette for Francine.
• -eau: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*eau (this diminutive suffix is unisex)
• -elle: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*elle
• -ette: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*ette
• -ine: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*ine
• -on: https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/french/pattern/*on (this diminutive suffix is unisex)
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