# diacritic Trema over an "i" in a French name?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diacritic-trema-over-an-i-in-a-french-name/586375>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 22, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diacritic-trema-over-an-i-in-a-french-name/586375 "2011-06-22T03:00:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diacritic-trema-over-an-i-in-a-french-name/586375/21 "2011-06-23T17:55:58Z")

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Enlightening thread; thanks to the participants. It’s interesting that this name appears to be quite popular in France, especially in the Southwest, and has been for some time, but I’ve never met anyone called that. And I’ve seen some unusual names. There really are differences in naming conventions between French-speaking countries.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diacritic-trema-over-an-i-in-a-french-name/586375/22 "2011-06-23T19:20:27Z")

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> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#):
>
> That’s the wiki page on the Maylis name  
> [Maylis (prénom) — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maylis_(pr%C3%A9nom))

Thank you—I do read French, and that backs you up nicely. The name Breton name Maëlis is evidently not the same.

> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#):
>
> Article also says:
> 
> Outside of its region of origins (dont know if that’s proper English…but it definitely implies that most people with that name are SW French), the name Maelis (or Maeli) is often thought as being related. Maelis itself being a Breton name.

In other words, in two corners of France with distinct and separate traditions, two names appeared in the form in Ma+(ë/ï/ÿ)+l+(e/i/y)+s. I can see where people (including me!) might get confused, especially given the fact that a lot of name-origin sites are full of misinformation.

I tried to look into the origin of the place-name, and it seems that it’s not really known. French wikipedia suggests an Occitan _may_ meaning “mother”, i.e. the Virgin Mary, plus _lis_ “lily.” Huh.

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