Names With Accents

I have always been a huge fan of names with accents and umlauts. They just look so pretty, elegant, chic and exotic. Below are some of my favourites.

Séverine – This beautiful and feminine name has been popular for a while now in France, though would seem unusual and rare for a British or American baby. However, it has a negative meaning of "stern". Last year, it had a rank of #16099 in the US popularity charts, though in 1914 it ranked at #4112. In France however, it ranked at #74 in 2000.

Athénaïs – This spunky and exotic name has had its use in history. Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montesan was the mistress of Louis XIV of France, and in modern times, there is a little Princess Athénaïs de Ligne de la Trémoïlle, who is the daughter of Italian actress Isabella Orsini and her royal husband, Prince Edouard de Ligne de la Trémoïlle. It is derived from the Greek Athena, whose meaning is largely unknown, though it is thought to mean "sharp" or "praise".  In 2010, it was #496 on the French popularity charts.

Élisabeth – This beautiful and sophisticated French variant of Elizabeth has a meaning of "God is my oath" or "my God is abundance". In America, it ranked at #609, whilst in Austria, it ranked at #53, in its native France at #408 and in the Netherlands at #118. Élisabeth also has a royal namesake, as it is the name of the Duchess of Brabant, the daughter of the new King and Queen of the Belgians.

Adélia – This pretty and delicate French variant of Adelia, who in turn is a variant of Adela, means "noble". In America, it ranked at #966 in 1928 on the popularity charts.

Ildikó – This quirky and spunky Hungarian variant of Hilda has a meaning of "battle". At present it has a royal namesake, Archduchess Ildikó of Austria, a member of the Hungarian branch of the defunct Austrian Imperial Family.

Félicité – This pretty and dainty French form of Felicitas has a charming meaning of "good luck, good fortune". It is not as popular as its English counterpart Felicity, and has never ranked in the popularity charts.

Désirée – This beautiful and dreamy name is from a French word with a beautiful meaning of "desired" or "wished". In America, it ranked at #629 in the popularity charts. It is also the name of the first Queen Consort of the Swedish House of Bernadotte, French born Désirée Clary, whose actual name was Bernadine. At present, it is the middle name of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, as Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée.