^^ d'accord
Here is a page for Quentin:
http://www.un-prenom.com/prenom-tou...in/signification-prenom-quentin-r0pr8681.html
Some of them have nicknames listed - "diminutifs"
You can search for the other names in the box on the right:
Recherche prénom
Rechercher les prénoms en fonction :
- du sexe : FémininMasculinMixte [gender: F/M/mix
...
- syllabes ou lettres
suivantes : Quentin [etc]
And this article may be helpful on making your own (but note that some of it is apparently modern):
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004419.html
"How far back does this go? Where does it come from? Does everyone in France have a secret two-syllable nickname in -/o/? Is this related to the informal quasi-abbreviations like "bachot" for "baccalauréat"?
Suffixation is very old in proper names. It goes back to the Middle Ages, and is actually one of the major mechanism for patronyms. Typically, people would keep the last syllable of a name, and add –o (-eau, -aud, -ault), - in, -eu(x), -et, -ou (x, d…), -ard (or –art) (-/o/ is only one mechanism). Raymond would become Mondet, Mondon, Thibauld would become Baudet, baudin, Baudon, Baudart, etc. These are still common family names.
Suffixation to form nicknames is still very common these days, although it seems that people tend to keep the whole orginal name instead of truncting to the last syllable :
Jean → Jeannot
Paul → Paulo
Marc → Marco
Jacques → Jacquot
Funny to realize that what we call "diminutifs" (the French word for nick name) sometimes lengthen the word (as in Jeannot, Paulo, Marco).
It is only one of the mechanisms. I've seen
* Duplication of one of the name syllables :
André → Dédé
Gérard → Gégé
Monique → Momo
Lucien → Lulu
Louis → Loulou
Gisèle → Gigi
Joël → Jojo
* Truncation (possibly with change of vowel)
Marguerite → Margot
Marjorie → Marjo
Raphaelle → Raphie
Danielle → Dany
Véronique → Véro
Obviously, there is a strong tendancy to aim at two-syllable nicknames, ending with a vowel. However, I think that there is a recent growing trend for one-syllable nicknames, ending with a consonnant :
Sébastien → Seb
Delphine → Delph
Fabrice → Fab
Camille → Cam
Xavier → Xav
I don't think that we were doing these when we were kids. Influence of English though movies, celebrities, etc.?"