Blanchefleur

Meaning: “White flower”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: blawnsh-FLURE
Origin: French
Other forms of the name: Blancheflor, Blanzifore, Blankiflúr

A beautiful and dramatic name, Blanchefleur is one you won’t hear everyday. Blanchefleur is supposedly the name of Tristan’s mother in the legend of Tristan and Isolde and is the name of the lover of Perceval in “Perceval, le Conte du Graal” by Chrétien de Troyes. But probably the most famous Blanchefleur is from the romantic story told throughout the Middle Ages, “Floris and Blanchefleur”.

The story goes something like this:

King Felix of Al-Andalus is on one of his little ventures in Galicia, Spain when he attacks a group of Christian pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Among them is a French Knight and his recently widowed daughter who has chosen to dedicate her life to the sanctuary. The French Knight is killed but his daughter is spared and is taken to Naples where she is made lady-in-waiting to King Felix’s wife. Well both women are pregnant and both women give birth on Palm Sunday, the Queen to Floris and the Knight’s daughter to Blanchefleur.

Floris (which is a great name also, we need more flowery names for boys!) and Blanchefleur grow up together and grow very close. The King fears that Floris will want to marry her so he decides he must have her killed, but cannot go through with it. He sends Floris to school and sells Blanchefleur to merchants travelling to Cairo where she is then sold to an Emir. King Felix creates a tomb for Blanchefleur and tells Floris that she is dead. Floris reacts so badly that he tells him that he sold her to some merchants. Floris then decides he must find her. He eventually makes it to Cairo and meets the bridge warden Daire who tells him about the maiden tower. Each year the Emir selects a new bride and kills his former bride and rumour tells that Blanchefleur is to be the new bride.

Daire tells Floris that he should play chess with the tower watchman and return all of his winnings to him so that he would be forced to do him the favor of letting him into the tower. All goes according to plan and Floris is snuck into the tower in a flower basket that is mistakenly delivered to Blanchefleur’s friend Claris. Claris plans a marriage between the two but they are discovered by the Emir.

The Emir does not kill them until he he asks a council what to do. The council is so impressed by the willingness of the couple to die for one another that they spare them. Floris is knighted and finally marries Blanchefleur. Claris marries the Emir who promises she will be his last bride, and they inherit a kingdom.

Other versions tell that Blanchefleur is a Christian Princess and Floris (spelled Flores) is a Pagan Prince.

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Archer

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in anything in so long! I took a break for a little while.

Meaning: “Bow”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: AHR-chur
Origin: Old French
Other forms of the name: N/A

The word archer comes from the Old French archier, which came from the Latin arcus which meant “bow”. As a name, it is getting more and more use, ranking #550 in 2010 for the US.

Archery is used for sport today, but in history it has been used as a weapon in warfare and for hunting. After the invention of firearms, the use of bows became almost extinct. In the 18th century archery became a sport for the English gentry, and notably it was a good sport for women, who could still be seen as “feminine” and show off their femininity by playing.  There are many famous archers in mythology, from twins Artemis and Apollo, to Robin Hood. People who hunt using bows are much more skilled than those who hunt using guns. They must get much closer to the prey for it to be a humane kill.

Marie Antoinette and Family

A portrait of Marie Antoinette at thirteen by Joseph Ducreux

I have a weird fascination with the ill-fated Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. I think it is so interesting to hear all the different opinions about her. Here I have listed the names of some of Marie Antoinette’s family.

Marie was born to Empress Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina and Emperor Francis Stephen I in November of 1775 in Vienna, Austria.

She had sixteen siblings including herself:

Maria Elisabeth Amalia Antonia Josepha Gabriele Johanna Agathe – Dead at age three.
Maria Anna Josepha Antonia – The oldest surviving daughter. She was called “Marianna”.
Maria Carolina Ernestina Antonia Johanna Josepha – Dead at one.
Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam II – The oldest son.
Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia – The fourth daughter. She was called “Mimi”.
Maria Elisabeth Josepha – Considered the most beautiful out of the daughters, until she developed smallpox which scarred her face.
Charles Joseph – The favorite of Maria and Joseph. He died shortly before his sixteenth birthday.
Maria Amalia Josepha Johanna Antonia – The eigth child.
Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard II – The third son, known simply as Leopold II.
Maria Carolina – The ninth child. She was named after her deceased sister and died shortly after being baptized.
Maria Johanna Gabriela Josepha Antonia – She died of smallpox when she was only twelve.
Maria Josepha Gabriela Johanna Antonia Anna – She was the ninth but sixth surviving daughter. She died of smallpox at sixteen.
Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia – The thirteenth and tenth surviving child.
Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus – The fourth son.
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna – Marie Antoinette herself. She was the fifteenth child.
Maximilian Francis – The last child.

Marie went on to marry King Louis XVI or Louis-Auguste at the age of thirteen. He was only fourteen.

They had four children:

Marie Thérèse Charlotte – Nicknamed “Mousseline” by Marie.
Louis Joseph Xavier François
Louis-Charles – Known as “Charles”. He died when he was ten.
Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrice – Known as “Sophie”. She died when she was eleven months old.

Tristan

 

"La Muerte de Tristán e Isolda" by Rogelio de Egusquiza

Meaning: “Sad”, “Tumult”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: TRIS-ten, trees-TAWN
Origin: Latin, Old French
Other forms of the name: Drystan, Tristram, Tristen, Tristin, Triston, Drustan, Tristão, Tristán, Trista (female)

The first of my Valentine names. Many people probably know the story of Tristan and Isolde; it was made into a movie starring James Franco and Sophia Myles in 2006.

The story goes that the young Knight Tristan goes to Ireland to fetch Princess Isolde for his Uncle, King Mark, to marry. Along the way the two ingest a love potion that causes them to fall deeply in love with one another. Different stories tell different reasons for the purpose of the love potion, some say that the person who made the potion instructed Isolde to give it to King Mark but she gives it to Tristan instead; others say they ingested it accidentally. Eventually Isolde marries King Mark, but because of the potion Tristan and Isolde seek out each other and have an affair.

The King’s advisors continuously try to have the pair tried for adultery, but they use tricks to keep of the appearance of innocence. Eventually King Mark finds out and resolves to have them punished. There are two different endings to this story.

The first is that Tristan it to be hung at the gallows, and Isolde is to be burned at the stake. However Isolde is instead made to stay in a leper colony. Tristan escapes from the gallows by jumping off of a chapel and saves Isolde. The two run away but are eventually discovered by King Mark. They come to an understanding that Isolde will be spared and so will Tristan if he leaves the country. So he does and marries Iseult of the White Hands, because of her name (which is a form of Isolde) and her beauty.

The other ending states that Tristan is wounded by a poisoned lance while trying to rescue some women and asks his Kahedin to get Isolde as he knows she is the only one who can heal him. He tells Kahedin to put white sails on his ship if has Isolde with him, and black sails if he does not. Tristan’s jealous wife lies to him and tells him that the sails are black and he dies from grief. Isolde arrives to find him dead and dies over his dead body. Two trees, a hazel and a honeysuckle grow on their graves and intertwine their branches. Many times King Mark tries to have the branches cut away, but they always grow back.

Top Fifty Names for France (Girls)

Cockerel, France's National Bird

1. Emma
2. Jade
3. Léa
4. Chloé
5. Manon
6. Inès
7. Camille
8. Sarah
9. Zoé
10. Lola
11. Clara
12. Lilou
13. Louise
14. Maëlys
15. Eva
16. Lena
17. Anaïs
18. Romane
19. Lina
20. Lucie
21. Louna
22. Juliette
23. Océane
24. Clémence
25. Lisa
26. Mathilde
27. Jeanne
28. Marie
29. Ambre
30. Lou
31. Charlotte
32. Louane
33. Noémie
34. Alice
35. Celia
36. Pauline
37. Laura
38. Julie
39. Nina
40. Anna
41. Alicia
42. Rose
43. Luna
44. Élise
45. Lily
46. Justine
47. Elisa
48. Léonie
49. Mélissa
50. Maëlle

Top Fifty Names for France (Boys)

1. Lucas
2. Nathan
3. Enzo
4. Louis
5. Mathis
6. Jules
7. Gabriel
8. Hugo
9. Raphaël
10. Léo
11. Théo
12. Tom
13. Ethan
14. Noah
15. Arthur
16. Matheo
17. Thomas
18. Yanis
19. Maxime
20. Clément
21. Adam
22. Paul
23. Antoine
24. Maël
25. Evan
26. Timeo
27. Alexandre
28. Axel
29. Nolan
30. Baptiste
31. Alexis
32. Noé
33. Maxence
34. Noa
35. Quentin
36. Mohamed
37. Sacha
38. Rayan
39. Gabin
40. Valentin
41. Kylian
42. Esteban
43. Romain
44. Mathys
45. Victor
46. Matteo
47. Martin
48. Samuel
49. Simon
50. Lenny

Quitterie

Meaning: “Quiet” or “Calm”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: kee-TRHEE
Origin: French
Other forms of the name: Quitéria, Quiterie

A very unusual but highly beautiful name. Saint Quitterie was said to be a Visigoth Princess of Galicia, Spain, she supposedly fled from her home because she did not want to be forced to renounce Christianity and marry an unchristian man. So she was tracked down by some of her father’s men and was ordered to be beheaded. Legend states after being beheaded she stood up, picked up her head and walked up a hill from which a fountain burst forth.

 There are lots of Churches in France and Spain dedicated to her. In Gascony, France, (of which she is patron Saint) she was said to have left some of her relics but were scattered around by Huguenots. Her fountain in Gascony is said to get rid of mental illnesses and headaches. Quitterie also supposedly protects against rabies, which is why she is often pictured with a dog on a leash.

Quitterie comes from the Latin adjective “quietus” meaning, “quiet”, or “calm”.

Tinsel

Meaning: “Sparkle”
Gender: Unisex
Pronunciation: TEN-sull
Origin: Old French
Other forms of the name: N/A

A sweet little name with a lovely meaning. Tinsel is, of course, the thin strips of silvery polyvinyl chloride that we use to decorate our house and Christmas tree. It was originally made from actual strips of silver, but because it tarnishes so quickly they decided to start using other materials. It was originally used to decorate sculptures instead of Christmas trees. It was supposed to represent the starry night sky over the Nativity scene and enhance the flickering of candles in the Christmas tree. The word “tinsel” comes from the Old French estincele which means “sparkle”. Tinsel is sometimes referred to as lametta.

Now you may be thinking, where in the world did I come up with this one? Well, I’ll tell you. I saw this name on an actress named Tinsel Korey. She is probably best known for her role as Emily Young in the “Twilight” movie franchise.

Noël

Meaning: “Christmas”
Gender: Unisex
Pronunciation: NO-el, NOHL
Origin: French
Other forms of the name: Noel, Noelle (female)

Is there a more perfect name for a Christmas baby? I think not. Most of the time when used for a boy, this name is pronounced NOHL, when used for a girl, it’s NO-el. Though it is most often spelled Noelle for girls.

Noel is another name for Christmas that came into the English dictionary in the 14th century. It comes from the Latin phrase nātālis (diēs), which means, “day of birth”. There of course is also the song, “The First Noel”. It was originally “The First Nowell”, though the spelling changed over the years.

Gaspard

Gaspard Ulliel

Meaning: “Treasurer”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: gahs-PAR
Origin: French
Other forms of the name: Jasper, Gaspare, Jesper, Kasper, Casper, Gaspar, Gáspár

A name that currently ranks at #78 in France, could it work here? Gaspard may have some pronunciation issues as the D is silent, but after a few corrections you would think people would finally catch on.

There have been a few prominent Gaspard’s in history. Gaspard Dughet was a French painter who was born in Rome who was famous for his paintings of landscapes, Gaspard de Coligny was a French Huguenot leader who came from a noble family in Burgundy, his family can be traced back to the 11th century and served King Louis XI of France. He was friends with
François of Guise and went to court at the age of 22. Later on when the Protestant King Henry of Navarre was getting married Marguerite de Valois he was shot by a man called Maurevert but it only tore one of his fingers from his right hand and shattered his elbow. It was never found out who hired this man to try to kill Gaspard, however this “Maurevert” whoever he really was came from the house of de Guise, so it is thought the family Guise wanted him killed, maybe also Catherine de Medici or the Duke of Alba. After this the Catholics were afraid the Huguenots would want revenge for this and decided to assassinate them in what is called the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Gaspard was stabbed in his lodgings by one of the Guise’s in the breast and thrown from his window, he didn’t die until one of the Guise’s cut off his head. 

Gaspard Bauhin was a botanist. Gaspar is often one of the names of the Three Wise Men that come to give Jesus gifts when he is born. Sometimes he is referred to as Jasper though.

Today it is recognized as the name of French actor and model Gaspard Ulliel, known for portraying a young Hannibal Lecter in “Hannibal Rising”, and for playing Manech in “A Very Long Engagement” opposite Audrey Tautou and is more recently the face of the cologne Bleu de Chanel, you may have seen the commercials which Martin Scorsese directed.