Manon

French pet form of Marie; the older meaning is uncertain.

Manon is a French feminine name that began as a pet form of Marie and is also used as a given name in its own right. Through Marie and Maria, it belongs to the family of Miriam, whose original meaning remains uncertain. The heroine of Abbé Prévost’s novel Manon Lescaut, first published in 1731, gives the name a lasting literary association. In French, Manon is pronounced /ma.nɔ̃/: the final on is a nasal vowel, without a separate final n sound. The soft m and n and rounded ending give it a gentle, close-to-the-ear quality. Its five-letter form feels spare beside the drama of its literary connection.

Etymology: Manon developed as an affectionate French form of Marie, a form of Maria in the Miriam name family.