I've seen Toto used before in a story, but the writer wasn't French, so I wasn't sure how credible it was. It does seem to go with a convention I read about of repeating a single syllable in a long name. Thanks for your input :)
Hmm. That's interesting. The Oxford 'Dictionary of First Names' which is normally exceptionally good for diminutives and alternates, includes Anatole (and Anatoli) but gives no diminutives or pet names. Sorry.
Maybe it depends on how to spell it. I know it's not really a 'real world' example, and things are crazy in space, but Padmé refers to Anakin as "Ani" in the Star Wars movies.
I thought it was a female name, but like the other one said, it depends on how you spell it/how it is used. Also, it's a nick-name so it may or may not be gendered.
For eg, Anya can be both male or female, though it's mostly used for females. Here in Maharashtra (India), it is also used as a male dimi, pronounced 'A-nya'.
French person here. There's no set diminutive for the name Anatole in French. In Russian you could use Toli or Tolya, but in French that would sound a bit weird, as the emphasis isn't on the last part of the name. Unless you want to give someone Russian origins so they go with one of them, 'fraid you'll have to make up your own.
Toto does sound pretty French, if also more silly/buddyish/ than affectionate to me in this time period -- it feels like a nickname a mother would give her troublesome but loved child or people would call out at a pub to a friend. It pings me as pretty clown-of-the-classroom though.
Yea, in Russian in would be Tolya, at least in modern day, but I'm not looking for a Russian diminutive unfortunately. I'm good at those, but they don't fit here :)
Other than Toto, what would sound natural to you in French? Is there a diminutive you'd use yourself? I don't really care if it's "set" or not, just looking for something that would sound plausibly French from a French speaker's perspective.
I dunno, it's just not a name that lends itself well to diminutives in my mind. It would probably have to be based on some life event rather than a natural tendency for the word to be shortened in a certain way. The strongest part for me is "nato" as the first "A" doesn't have much emphasis and that sounds kind of weird as a nickname.
The most famous real-world Anatole who comes to my (admittedly EFL-American) mind is Anatole France; perhaps a biography might mention diminutives his loved ones used?
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For eg, Anya can be both male or female, though it's mostly used for females. Here in Maharashtra (India), it is also used as a male dimi, pronounced 'A-nya'.
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(Rhymes with jolie? *g*)
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Toto does sound pretty French, if also more silly/buddyish/ than affectionate to me in this time period -- it feels like a nickname a mother would give her troublesome but loved child or people would call out at a pub to a friend. It pings me as pretty clown-of-the-classroom though.
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Other than Toto, what would sound natural to you in French? Is there a diminutive you'd use yourself? I don't really care if it's "set" or not, just looking for something that would sound plausibly French from a French speaker's perspective.
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'Tole? :/ Urgh. Sorry.
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