Message: "Is Jeanette a genuine French name?"

Is Jeanette a genuine French name?

by guasguendi

1/25/2025, 2:22 PM

I've recently noticed a vast difference between the use of Jeannette versus Jeanette in France, as shown by the country's chart (https://www.behindthename.com/name/jeanette/top/france?compare=Jeannette&type=percent). This made me ask a couple of questions, especially since French is listed as the first usage on the page for Jeanette:

-Is it traditionally used in France? Or is the spelling influenced by English and the Scandinavian languages?
-Was it recorded in France during the Middle Ages?

Thanks in advance.

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Replies

- elbowin

yesterday, 4:01 PM

French registrars insist on correct spellings of given names for French children (there is a bit of leeway for children of foreigners), so the vast difference is not really surprising.

- Kirke

1/25/2025, 11:45 PM

I don't get the sense that it is traditionally used in France. I'm guessing the use is because of misspelling or influence from other languages. According to government stats Jeanette has been used less than 300 times since 1900 while Jeannette has been used almost 20,000 times.

Edited to add: I didn't realize these numbers were already available on this site. I looked them up on a French language site not knowing this.

This message was edited 1/25/2025, 11:48 PM

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