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Isabeau
The name Isabeau has been growing on me for a while. It was the name of a French queen, Isabeau de Bavière. I think it sounds classic and beautiful, and it would be a good alternative to Isabelle. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was once a masculine name, though, as nouns that end with -eau are masculine in French, and "beau" is the masculine word for "beautiful", while "belle" is feminine. Anyway, that hasn't put me off it. What do you think of Isabeau?
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Isabeau is gorgeous. Love it.I'm starting to tire of Isabelle and Isabeau is much more refreshing. But Isabeau was never masculine, despite the "-beau" in there. In medieval France, one way to make a feminine nn was to have it end in an "o" sound: Marguerite --> Margot, Mathilde --> Mahaut, Marie --> Manon, Isabelle --> Isabeau. I have no idea why the spelling of the "o" sound varies so much.
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I think it's very pretty. Used for the heroine in the movie Ladyhawke, played by Michelle Pfieffer.
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That's where I saw it for the first time. :-)
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I know an Isabeau. I wouldn't use it myself but I think it's better than Isabella. I'd probably still rank it below Isobel, though.
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I love it too. It's a nice change from Isabella and Isabelle. I don't think it was ever masculine.
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I feel like I see this every second post (lol) but I know an Isabeau! She's about 9 and goes pretty exclusively by Izzy, but I've always loved her name. And it's always been cute and feminine to me, simply because she is. I get what you're saying about beau vs belle though but I find it's definitely feminine when you say the name aloud, compared to Isidore.
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I do like the sound of it, but it does look too masculine. Like it could be the masculine form of Isabelle. Well, it is, technically. Maybe if you spelled it Isabaux?
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I really don't like it. It sounds too precious.
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I love Isabeau- I much prefer it to Isabelle or Isadora (although I like them too). It is unusual but still has depth and history to it
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I don't like it . . . but it certainly seems like a name that could grow on me, and I haven't heard it before. I think I like it more for a boy than for a girl.
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