Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
Marie Lanen
Head of parenting sections (baby, pregnancy, family), psychology and beauty
Some first names are full of history. This is the case for this feminine name worn by more than 70,000 people in France. Doctissimo tells you more about this top 900 first name.
Between the years 1900 and 1929, certain first names were very popular, such as Adrienne, Albertine, Alphonsine, Andrée, Antoinette, Augusta, Berthe, Émilienne, Fernande, Francine, Geneviève, Georgette, Germaine, Gisèle, Henriette, Julienne, Lucienne, Marcelle, Marie-Louise, Marthe, Odette, Paule, Paulette, Raymonde, Reine, Renée, Simone, Thérèse, Yvonne. Some of them are now considered obsolete and no longer appeal to future parents. Others, however, have taken advantage of the retro wave to make a notable comeback in the ranking of first names popular with parents. This is particularly the case for Louise, Charlotte and even Jeanne. Doctissimo today highlights a first name worn by a famous icon of feminism.
Gisèle, a French first name steeped in history
Future parents who are interested in feminism have necessarily heard of the fabulous story of Gisèle Halimi (1927-2020). According to the authors of the book L’Officiel des Prénoms (First Editions): “She became a lawyer and trained her first weapons with the defense of Algerian independence activists. Her career is punctuated by trials and historic victories for the cause of women.” Gisèle Halimi is a young Tunisian who, through her many struggles, will become a true icon of French feminism. Moreover, she was the only lawyer to sign, in 1971, the manifesto of 343 women who declared having had an abortion and demanded free access to contraceptive means and free abortion. Alongside Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Rostand, the same year she founded the feminist movement Choosing the Cause of Women.
No wonder Gisèle has its origins in Germanic language and means “sword”. Moreover, little Gisèles are optimistic, pragmatic and have a great sense of communication. They like to solve problems and find solutions to everything. Sympathetic, they enjoy great popularity among others.
In France, 73,000 people have a first name, making it one of the top 900 most given first names and seeing its popularity grow from year to year.
The top retro first names in 2024
If Gisèle is returning to the forefront, it is also thanks to the retro trend which has continued to have many first names for several years. Moreover, the authors of the reference work on first names have put together a list of trendy retro first names for 2024: Adèle, Agathe, Aimée, Alice, Angèle, Anna, Antoinette, Apolline, Augustine, Blanche, Candice, Céleste , Célie, Clarisse, Colette, Églantine, Élise, Émilienne, Emma, Eugénie, Félicie, Hortense, Irène, Jeanne, Joséphine, Juliette, Léontine, Léopoldine, Louise, Lucie, Lucienne, Madeleine, Marcelle, Marguerite, Mathilde, Mona, Ophélie , Pauline, Rosalie, Rose, Sidonie, Simone, Suzanne, Victoria, Victorine, Zélie, Zoé.
Slide: Retro, but trendy female names!