Dictionary / French / My name is
How to Say "My name is" in French
Je m'appelle
/ʒə ma.pɛl/
Literally: I call myself
Je
I
m'
myself
appelle
call
Good to know
Je m'appelle works in every situation, formal or casual. Among friends, moi, c'est Julie is very common. Je me nomme also exists, but it sounds more formal. To ask, say tu t'appelles comment ? to a friend, and comment vous appelez-vous ? when you use vous. Watch the spelling: appelle has two l's, but nous nous appelons and vous vous appelez have one. To give your full name, put your first name first: je m'appelle Julie Martin. On official forms the order is often reversed, with the surname in capitals: MARTIN Julie. To introduce someone else, say il s'appelle Paul or elle s'appelle Léa.
Correct
Je m'appelle
What people say wrong
Mon nom est
grammatical but stiff, and nom often means surname
The mistake to avoid. English speakers often build mon nom est, word for word from my name is. It is grammatical and will be understood, but in conversation je m'appelle is far more natural, and mon nom est can sound a little stiff. French uses a reflexive verb instead: je m'appelle, I call myself. There is also a trap in the word nom. On forms and in offices, nom often means your surname, and your first name is your prénom. So when someone asks votre nom ?, they may want your family name.
In context
Bonjour, je m'appelle Thomas.
Hello, my name is Thomas.
Moi, c'est Léa. Et toi ?
I'm Léa. And you?
Comment vous appelez-vous ?
What is your name?