French proper nouns

What is a proper noun in French ? 

A proper noun (French: un nom propre) is a word that allows to designate persons or objects of the same category. It is always written in capital letters and it does not necessarily have a precise meaning

Some proper names are used with determinants: un, une, des, le, la, les etc...  except in some cases.

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List of French proper nouns ? 

Here you will find an overview of proper nouns and the catergory they belong to: 

When to use French proper nouns ? 

Categories of proper nouns 

Nouns can be used to designate a person or object in a unique and individual way. There are different categories:

1. Surname and name of a person 

• Je m'appelle Nicolas Anelka. (My name is Nicolas Anelka)

​2. Historical characters

• La jeune guerrière s'appelait Jeanne d'Arc. (The young warrior's name was Joan of Arc)
• Il était surnommé Napoleon III. (He was called Napoleon III)
• J'adore l'histoire de Cléopatre. (I love the story of Cleopatra)

​3. Names of countries

• Italie 
• France 
• Irlande 

4. Names of regions

• Texas
• Latium
• California
• Angleterre du Nord-Est (North East England)

5. Names of monuments

• la Tour Eiffel (the Eiffel tower)
• le Colisée (the Colloseum)
• la Statue de la Liberté (the Statue of Liberty)
• le musée du Louvre (the museum of Louvre)

6. Names of godheads 

• Bouddha
• Dalai-Lama
• Mohammed
• Moïse
• Jésus-Christ
• Dieu 

7. Titles of artworks, role plays

• Roméo et Juliette (Romeo and Juliet)
• les Misérables (the Miserables)
• Guernica
• la Joconde (Mona Lisa)

8. Names of brands

• Adidas 
• Nike
• Lacoste
• Dior
• Chanel 

Plural of proper nouns

As a general rule, proper nouns are invariable even if there is a plural determinant. But there are different rules regarding the plural of proper nouns:​

• There are proper nouns that are composed, in this case, they do not take a capital letter but remain invariable.

Exemple: J'ai mangé des Saint-Nectaire. I ate Saint-Nectaire (type of french cheese).

• The proper nouns of dynasties agree in the plural.

Exemple: les Tudors (The Tudors).

Particularities and exceptions

There are many particularities and exceptions that are important to consider:

• Proper names are not attached to a determinant except for certain countries and area names, names of inhabitants, names of monuments, and titles of works.
• The proper name almost always has a unique meaning, unlike common nouns.
• Some literary style figures use proper nouns as common nouns (this is called an antonomase) and in this case, proper nouns can agree.
• The names of days and months are not proper nouns, sp they can agree in the plural. 

Examples 

• les Français. (the French)
• les Britanniques. (British people)
• le Colisée (the Colosseum)
• les Misérables (the Miserables)