# Amélie Poulain



## puddlejumper

Bonjour~
I was told by my French professor that Amélie Poulin's name (from the film) has some sort of significance to native French speakers, but we ran out of time for her to explain it to me.  Is this true, whether via a play on words or just linguistically?  If so, what's the significance?

Merci beaucoup!


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## cropje_jnr

Well, a _poulain_ is a fowl...


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## Aoyama

Amélie Poul*a*in is the correct spelling, the meaning being NOT a fowl (poule, poularde, volaille), but a *poney*.
On top of that is also the "Chocolat Poulain", a famous brand (the oldest chocolate brand it is said), a bit forgotten now but still to be found, with a poney for its logo ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_Poulain


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## ocid

to me it's just a surname, I know some people called Poulain and it has no particular connotation to me even if it is similar to poney or a chocolate brand.


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## Aoyama

> to me it's just a surname, I know some people called Poulain and it has no particular connotation to me even if it is similar to poney or a chocolate brand.


That may very well be (and I would think that too), but if someone wants to see some hidden things behind things, let us give him/her the elements to make his/her mind.
But true, chances are *Amélie Poulain *is just a name, with nothing more.


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## lucaskane

There is a connotation. For people who are born during the sixties. Mothers, during the sixties, bought "Chocolat Poulain" for their children. It's like a good old commercial... You feel nostalgic.


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## vanagreg

Aoyama said:


> Amélie Poul*a*in is the correct spelling, the meaning being NOT a fowl (poule, poularde, volaille), but a *poney*.
> On top of that is also the "Chocolat Poulain", a famous brand (the oldest chocolate brand it is said), a bit forgotten now but still to be found, with a poney for its logo ...
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_Poulain


 

poney?

"poulain" is a young horse, not necessarily a pony.

WR gives "foal" for poulain.


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## lucaskane

So, Amélie Poulain is a "Vieille France" name.


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## lucaskane

And yes, a "poulain" is a young horse, not a pony.


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## Carl75

Found on Wikipedia:
_Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain_ fut originellement appelé « Amélie des Abbesses », mais seuls les Parisiens savaient ce qu’était la place des Abbesses à Montmartre. Jean-Pierre Jeunet se creusa alors la tête pour trouver un titre. Il pensa même à baptiser son film _Les aventuriers de la chair de poule_ ! Le titre est quant à lui inspiré du _Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary_ de Sacha Guitry (1942).


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## wildan1

Aoyama said:


> Amélie Poul*a*in is the correct spelling, the meaning being NOT a fowl (poule, poularde, volaille), but a *poney*.
> On top of that is also the "Chocolat Poulain", a famous brand (the oldest chocolate brand it is said), a bit forgotten now but still to be found, with a poney for its logo ...
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_Poulain


 
_un poulain = a colt_ (young male horse)

_Colt_ is also a famous brand of pistol, often used by cowboys in the West. And in AE it is a brand of strong beer as well. So don't try to translate the meaning of the name literally; it has quite different connotations to English-speakers!

_un poney = a pony_ (breed of small horse, no matter what age)


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## Aoyama

> _un poulain = a colt_ (young male horse)


yes, that's the best translation.
For the rest, well ...


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## tilt

wildan1 said:


> _un poulain = a colt_ (young male horse)
> 
> _Colt_ is also a famous brand of pistol, often used by cowboys in the West. And in AE it is a brand of strong beer as well. So don't try to translate the meaning of the name literally; it has quite different connotations to English-speakers!
> 
> _un poney = a pony_ (breed of small horse, no matter what age)


What is a _foal_, then?


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## Fred_C

Bonjour.
Je croyais que "poulain" se disait "yearling" en anglais.
Mais peu importe.
C'est un nom de famille très courant, et on ne peut pas dire qu'il soit "vieille France". Les gens ne choisissent pas leur nom de famille...
(En revanche, les scénaristes de film choisissent les noms de famille de leurs personnages...)


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## blinnith

Fred_C said:


> Bonjour.
> Je croyais que "poulain" se disait "yearling" en anglais.
> Mais peu importe.
> C'est un nom de famille très courant, et on ne peut pas dire qu'il soit "vieille France". Les gens ne choisissent pas leur nom de famille...
> (En revanche, les scénaristes de film choisissent les noms de famille de leurs personnages...)



Un yearling est un jeune cheval d'un an (entre un et deux ans en fait), comme le nom l'indique. C'est un terme qu'on utilise pour les ventes de chevaux de race. 
C'est un poulain, soit, mais yearling ne veut pas dire poulain.


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## Fred_C

Ah très bien.
Je n'y connais rien en chevaux.
Je pensais que comme les chiens, ils étaient adultes au bout d'un an, de toutes façons...


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## frenchspanish

tilt said:


> What is a _foal_, then?


 
A foal is a baby horse, like lamb is to sheep, and kitten is to cat.


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## pascal_zh

I don't see what would be the hidden meaning in the name Amélie Poulain. I was born in the sixties, but Poulain didn't even ring a bell (I used to drink lots of Chocolat Poulain, though!)


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## frenchspanish

puddlejumper said:


> Bonjour~
> I was told by my French professor that Amélie Poulin's name (from the film) has some sort of significance to native French speakers, but we ran out of time for her to explain it to me. Is this true, whether via a play on words or just linguistically? If so, what's the significance?


 
Professors often find significance in literature and film that others might not, it was certainly true of my literature and poetry profs  It's up to you to decide whether these often abstract meanings were actually intended by the creator of the film, or have infact just been noticed by a few spectators who want to comment on it and have placed meaning on the name that was never actually there in the first place...

This is of course debatable. Just a thought!


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## blinnith

In the context of the movie, Poulain means children's chocolate (and young horse also), and Amélie is somewhat old fashion, so "Amélie Poulain" is nostalgic, and also "douceur de vivre", someone you want to cherish.
Like the song from Olivia Ruiz "la femme chocolat"


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## ChrisPa

for me, it could have been chosen for the musicality of the name : the sound of "Amélie Poulain" is soft.. (at least for me)
i've seen the movie several times too, and I've never thought to chocolat Poulain...


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## pascal_zh

blinnith said:


> In the context of the movie, Poulain means children's chocolate (and young horse also), and Amélie is somewhat old fashion, so "Amélie Poulain" is nostalgic, and also "douceur de vivre", someone you want to cherish.
> Like the song from Olivia Ruiz "la femme chocolat"



Sorry, I've seen the movie several times, but I don't see why Poulain should mean children's chocolate !!! Maybe you can explain.
I don't understand the comparison to Olivia Ruiz neither. Is there anything in common between Olivia Ruiz and Amélie ?


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## tilt

pascal_zh said:


> Sorry, I've seen the movie several times, but I don't see why Poulain should mean children's chocolate !!! Maybe you can explain.
> I don't understand the comparison to Olivia Ruiz neither. Is there anything in common between Olivia Ruiz and Amélie ?


Like explained above, _Poulain _happens to be a brand of chocolate, the most popular one in France, during the 60's and the 70's.
Yet, I'm not sure Jean-Pierre Jeunet (the movie's director) expected people to think of this brand when he named his heroine.


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## Micia93

frenchspanish said:


> Professors often find significance in literature and film that others might not, it was certainly true of my literature and poetry profs  It's up to you to decide whether these often abstract meanings were actually intended by the creator of the film, or have infact just been noticed by a few spectators who want to comment on it and have placed meaning on the name that was never actually there in the first place...
> 
> This is of course debatable. Just a thought!


 
I totally agree with you Frenchspanish 
we could debate on every title, wording and so on ...
some people like to dream in fact, which is not at all a defect, but sometimes useless ...


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## puddlejumper

frenchspanish said:


> Professors often find significance in literature and film that others might not, it was certainly true of my literature and poetry profs  It's up to you to decide whether these often abstract meanings were actually intended by the creator of the film, or have infact just been noticed by a few spectators who want to comment on it and have placed meaning on the name that was never actually there in the first place...



Very true, you do have to take these things with a grain of salt! 

But in any case, these responses are great.  Merci à tous!


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## kbbylily

Well, I grew up in the city where the Poulain factory is implanted (Blois), so, even now, It's still very famous for us. But I have to admit that I never thought about the chocolate whan watching the movie ( that I saw several times, as many women... )


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## Aoyama

> What is a _foal_, then?


Very good question, which enlightens the fact that there was a mistake here, between *fowl* and *foal *(post#2), induced by the first spelling mistake (Poulin, that could be understood as "pouline, poularde etc", hence "fowl" = volaille).


> Professors often find significance in literature and film that others might not


That is true, it is their job somewhere ...


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## frenchspanish

Aoyama said:


> That is true, it is their job ...


 
Exactly Aoyama


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## Grop

Hi, a surname being clearly a common word is not very common: most surnames in France are foreign (or Occitan, Breton, etc), common firstnames (Martin, Fernand), after a place (Delille), or need some guessing or searching to find a meaning.

(Pour s'en convaincre il suffit de regarder la distribution du film, ou un annuaire).


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## johnL

I'm always kind of reluctant to respond to an old thread, but I've always thought her last name was chosen simply because it rhymes (sort of) with "destin." So if you look at the title of the film as a 2-line poem:
_Le fabuleux destin
d' Amélie Poulain!_

It kind of rolls! (And you have to admit, it makes as much sense as anything else.)


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## Gael:)

I know this thread's really old, but I couldn't help myself. 

I think what everyone here has said about abstracting meaning where it's not obviously present in the first place is valid, but I think that if we do want to look further into the significance of her name in the film we could, in this way:

I have always linked her first name with the verb "Améliorer" (To improve) because her goal is to improve the lives of others through small happiness-inducing acts.
And I like to think of her last name (Foal, in my mind) as referring to her naive, child-like outlook on the world, she is like a little foal, weak in the face of her own 'destiny' (being with Nino).


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## johnL

Gael:) said:


> I think what everyone here has said about abstracting meaning where it's not obviously present in the first place is valid, but I think that if we do want to look further into the significance of her name in the film we could, in this way:
> 
> I have always linked her first name with the verb "Améliorer" (To improve) because her goal is to improve the lives of others through small happiness-inducing acts.
> And I like to think of her last name (Foal, in my mind) as referring to her naive, child-like outlook on the world, she is like a little foal, weak in the face of her own 'destiny' (being with Nino).



_Deep_, Gael!


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## Ellea1

Well it might just be that Jean Pierre Jeunet likes the firstname "Amélie" and horses.


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## wildan1

So in retrospect, the psychological impact in hearing this name might be somewhat similar to a young woman called _Amelia Hershey_ (AE) or _Amelia Cadbury _(BE)… using one of the most common brand names for chocolate in the US and UK respectively.


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