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Help[Facts] Nanou & Nanouk, two French feminine names.
Are Nanou and Nanouk variant spellings of Manou and Manouk? Manou is a blend of Manon with Milou (a contracted form of Marie-Louise) and Manouk is a blend of Manon with Anouk.
If Nanou and Nanouk are not variant spellings of Manou and Manouk, then from what names are they derived? It is certain that Nanou and Nanouk both have the same first element; the second elements are the same as with Manou and Manouk.
So where does the Nan- part come from? Does it come from a name like Nanda (a short form of Ferdinanda)?
Thank you for your input. :)
If Nanou and Nanouk are not variant spellings of Manou and Manouk, then from what names are they derived? It is certain that Nanou and Nanouk both have the same first element; the second elements are the same as with Manou and Manouk.
So where does the Nan- part come from? Does it come from a name like Nanda (a short form of Ferdinanda)?
Thank you for your input. :)
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Replies
Nanou is a French nickname of Anne. Nanouk could be a variant, via Anouk. (Here you have a post about Anouk as possible nickname of Anne: http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=2877162&board=gen)
Old French nicknames with -ou/-oun/-on are not odd (Michou, Fanchou...), even for feminine names, just as in other Romance languages like Catalan and Occitan. Sometimes, the nicknames with -ou are unisex (Michou is generally Michel, but it was used in '40s and '50s for Michèle/Michelle, as you can check at Donner, ou le journal d'Anne-Marie by Michel Quoist, if I don't remember wrongly).
Manou is not a blend of Manon (originally a nickname of Marianne but later used as nickname of Marie and lately as independent name) with Milou (which is a nickname of Émile), but a nickname of Emmanuelle. Since Manon is being used as independent name, Manou is a non unusual nickname of it.
Manouk (or Manoug) is a masculine Armenian name, meaning "child".
About Milou, as I said, it is strictly a nickname of Émile (and Émilie). Hergé used the name for Tintin's dog and since his girlfriend was named Marie-Louise (nicknamed Malou), some fans have deducted that it was a variation in honour of her; in fact, Hergé was born May 22th, saint Miloud's day, then Milou was a selfhomage using a well known nickname/name.
It is very possible that some Marie-Louise are using Milou as nickname instead of Malou (the straigt nickname), but that is not the origin of Milou and not the main use.
Old French nicknames with -ou/-oun/-on are not odd (Michou, Fanchou...), even for feminine names, just as in other Romance languages like Catalan and Occitan. Sometimes, the nicknames with -ou are unisex (Michou is generally Michel, but it was used in '40s and '50s for Michèle/Michelle, as you can check at Donner, ou le journal d'Anne-Marie by Michel Quoist, if I don't remember wrongly).
Manou is not a blend of Manon (originally a nickname of Marianne but later used as nickname of Marie and lately as independent name) with Milou (which is a nickname of Émile), but a nickname of Emmanuelle. Since Manon is being used as independent name, Manou is a non unusual nickname of it.
Manouk (or Manoug) is a masculine Armenian name, meaning "child".
About Milou, as I said, it is strictly a nickname of Émile (and Émilie). Hergé used the name for Tintin's dog and since his girlfriend was named Marie-Louise (nicknamed Malou), some fans have deducted that it was a variation in honour of her; in fact, Hergé was born May 22th, saint Miloud's day, then Milou was a selfhomage using a well known nickname/name.
It is very possible that some Marie-Louise are using Milou as nickname instead of Malou (the straigt nickname), but that is not the origin of Milou and not the main use.
This message was edited 8/19/2007, 11:55 PM
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