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Last Updated: 1 March 2020

In French, the term for people who live in cities and regions is known as ‘gentilé’. The French definition of the term is: “Nom donné aux habitants d’un lieu, un pays, un continent, une région, une province, etc.” Some cities of France have unexpected or odd names for their inhabitants. Here is a list of the 10 most difficult inhabitant names followed by more examples of ‘gentilés’.


Top 10 Most Difficult Names

Here is the list of the 10 inhabitant names we found the most challenging!

1. Angers (Pays de la Loire)

The inhabitants of Angers are the Angevins and Angevines.


2. Auch (Midi-Pyrénées)

The inhabitants of Auch are the Auscitains and Auscitaines.


3. Besançon (Franche-Comté)

The inhabitants of Besançon are the Bisontins and Bisontines.


4. Fontainebleau (Ile de France)

the inhabitants of Fontainebleau are the Bellifontains and Bellifontaines.


5. Metz (Lorraine)

The inhabitants of Metz are the Messins and Messines.

The view from Moyen Pont © French Moments
Metz © French Moments

6. Périgueux (Aquitaine)

The inhabitants of Périgueux are the Pétrocoriens and Pétrocoriennes.


7. Le Puy-en-Velay (Auvergne)

The inhabitants of Le Puy-en-Velay are the Ponots and Ponotes.


8. Reims (Champagne-Ardenne)

The inhabitants of Reims are the Rémois and Rémoises.


9. Saint-Etienne (Rhône-Alpes)

The inhabitants of Saint-Etienne are the Stéphanois and Stéphanoises.


10. Tours (Centre)

The inhabitants of Tours are the Tourangeaux and Tourangelles.


Inhabitants names for more cities of France

 

Gentilé Villes de France 01 © French Moments Gentilé Villes de France 2 © French Moments Gentilé Villes de France 3 © French Moments


 

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About the author

Pierre is a French/Australian who is passionate about France and its culture. He grew up in France and Germany and has also lived in Australia and England. He has a background teaching French, Economics and Current Affairs, and holds a Master of Translating and Interpreting English-French with the degree of Master of International Relations, and a degree of Economics and Management. Pierre is the author of Discovery Courses and books about France.

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