[Opinions] Re: Zéphine
in reply to a message by Ora (hufflepuffer)
It's quite nice :)
I'd assume it was a not-so-common French name, and I read it as 'zay-feen' before looking at the pronunciation.
My second thought was that it might be 'ze-fa-nee' (like Stephanie but with a Z).
The thing says French literature though. Does that mean only Josephine from Les Mis gets called that, or is it a ligit French shortening?
It wouldn't bother me if someone not-French used it, because using names from other languages never does bother me. But some people might expect French ancestry? I don't know..
Definitely prefer it over Zephyra and Zephyrine. Both, for some reason, make me think of Zeppelins.
I'd assume it was a not-so-common French name, and I read it as 'zay-feen' before looking at the pronunciation.
My second thought was that it might be 'ze-fa-nee' (like Stephanie but with a Z).
The thing says French literature though. Does that mean only Josephine from Les Mis gets called that, or is it a ligit French shortening?
It wouldn't bother me if someone not-French used it, because using names from other languages never does bother me. But some people might expect French ancestry? I don't know..
Definitely prefer it over Zephyra and Zephyrine. Both, for some reason, make me think of Zeppelins.
Replies
You know, I have no idea about the usage! I'm completely unfamiliar with Les Miserables in general... I mean it was written by a Frenchman, so it might be legit, or it's possible the story made it legit?
eta: found this in googling-- http://records.ancestry.com/zphine_lefebure_records.ashx?pid=99344448
There's no birthdate, but seeing as her parents were born in early 1800s, it's likely she was born around 1820/30, and the novel is from the 1860s, so it appears to be a legit French name, just uncommon.
eta: found this in googling-- http://records.ancestry.com/zphine_lefebure_records.ashx?pid=99344448
There's no birthdate, but seeing as her parents were born in early 1800s, it's likely she was born around 1820/30, and the novel is from the 1860s, so it appears to be a legit French name, just uncommon.
This message was edited 4/24/2014, 6:53 PM