The many ways to spell “Kevin” in French

2014-06-08 11.05.24I’m told that the name “Kevin” was a popular baby name in the 1990s, due to Kevin Costner. However, the name “Kevin” doesn’t have any French equivalent that I know of (although there’s a close Breton equivalent, Breton being a Celtic language spoken in the Brittany region of France).  American and French spelling of vowel-nasal sequences don’t correspond very well, leading to some cute misspellings when people ask what my name is and then need to write it down. I’ve been collecting misspellings, just for fun.  Here’s what I have so far:

  •  Kavim: my favorite.  This is what they wrote on my coffee cup at Starbucks (yes, I went to Starbucks in Paris–it opens far earlier than normal cafes).
  • Calvin: what my barber calls me.  Even Americans in the US make this mistake sometimes.
  • Kévin: I saw this written the other day, as some other guy’s name.  The pronunciation would be pretty different from the way that I pronounce my name.

2 thoughts on “The many ways to spell “Kevin” in French”

  1. It amuses me that you felt you had to apologize for going to a Starbucks in Paris. OTOH, I guess I would, too.

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