Monday 22 May 2017

What's in a name?


It won't have escaped your attention that I make a lot of resources.  You might even have used some of them!  When creating a resource, I want it to be as authentic as possible, and so choose carefully the names that I am going to use.

My favourite website for choosing appropriate names is Meilleurs Prénoms.  I particularly like it because you can select a year to see the most popular boys' and girls' names for that year.  For example, let's say I'm making a new resource for Year 4.  They are 8 or 9 years old, and so are likely to have been born in 2008.  So I click on "Tendances" on the homepage of the website, then "Prénoms par année".  Underneath the lists of names there is a box where you can enter your "Autre année". I have entered 2008:


The lack of a name in the no.1 position on each list is a fault that I've noticed the last few times I've used the site.  Hopefully it'll be put right soon.  So if I'm making a resource for Year 4, I'll use some of the names from this list.  If they were to go to France, the children their age would more than likely have these names.  Similarly, if I'm making a resource about family members, I'll choose appropriate names for the parents and grandparents.

Here's the list for 1970.  I recognise quite a few penpals and exchange partners!


Some other name-related websites that I like:

French



Spanish

This Spanish website allows you to see the most popular names in recent years (scroll down to below the lists to see the years to select)

Calendar of Saints' names, month by month



German

This German website also shows you the list of the most popular names for a given year.


And finally, an interesting graphic which shows how the names of countries, continents and oceans translate in their native languages.

Italian

No comments:

Post a Comment