This article deals with the conventions and uses of odonymy in France.
History
It is possible to distinguish several eras where we observe a similar typology of street names on French territory:
Middle ages At the end of the 13th century, with the expansion and population of cities like Paris, the need is felt to separate the houses from each other. The names respond at this time to a functional logic. The name of the road is that of the place it serves, this place being religious ("place de l'Eglise", "rue des Capucins") or civil ("place du marché", "rue des Bouchers", often names in reference to the trades which are grouped together in a street which takes the name or "houses where the sign hangs"), and so on.Jean-Pierre Leguay, Ouest France, 1984, p. 104.
From 1600, on an idea of the Duke of Sully, the streets adopted names that had no direct connection with the designated place, while their name gradually became a public and royal monopoly: according to researcher Dominique Badariotti, the latter "is therefore exercised as best it can, functioning better in Paris than in the provinces and valuing the powerful of the kingdom or regional notables"
Statistics
Occurrences In 2016 in France, the following 15 odonyms are the most frequently cited on street maps. +Most common odonyms in France in 2009#Road in FrenchRoad in EnglishOccurrences1Rue de l'ÉgliseChurch Street7,9652Place de l'ÉgliseChurch Square5,7553Grande Rue, Grand-RueGreat Street3,9434Rue du MoulinMill Street3,5665Place de la MairieTown Hall Square3,4306Rue du ChâteauCastle Street2,9637Rue des ÉcolesSchools Street2,7798Rue de la GareStation Street2,7719Rue de la MairieTown Hall Street2,67210Rue PrincipaleMain Street2,45211Rue du StadeStadium Street2,42112Rue de la FontaineFountain Street2,34613Rue PasteurPasteur Street 2,02014Rue des JardinsGardens Street1,75515Rue Victor-Hugo Victor Hugo Street1,621
Dates Several odonyms recalling important dates in the history of France also approach or exceed a thousand occurrences, if we combine the types of roads and the spelling variants; among others:
19 March (-1962) - End of the Algerian War 8 May - Victory in Europe Day 14 July - Bastille Day 4 September - 4 September 1870, the date Napoleon III fell and the Third French Republic was proclaimed. 11 November - Armistice of 11 November 1918 8 May - 8 May 1945, armistice of May 1945 Liberation - differs in each town
Terms
Cul de sac
References
See also
Street name