I never realized there was a difference between the two until today and now I’m kind of stuck. Can you tell me which name you prefer? And do you think people would constantly say Imogen incorrectly in the States?
Imogen - pronounced Im-uh-jen
Imogene - pronounced Im-uh-jean
Thank you!
They don’t have the same pronunciation. [name]Imogen[/name] is im-uh-jen, [name]Imogene[/name] is im-uh-jean.
I prefer [name]Imogen[/name], my sister prefers [name]Imogene[/name]. I admit [name]Genie[/name] is a cute nickname, though.
[name]Imogene[/name] is more popular in the States, [name]Imogen[/name] is all but unheard of there, [name]Imogen[/name] is in the Top 50 in Australia and is as far as I know also popular in the UK.
I would not use the spelling of one and the pronunciation of the other, as they are they’re pretty straight-forward.
I like [name]Imogene[/name] (pronounced im-uh-jean) better, but that might be because I’m from the south! 
[name]Imogen[/name], for sure.
[name]Imogen[/name] for sure!! It sounds so much classier/prettier than [name]Imogene[/name].
I too prefer [name]Imogen[/name]
I much prefer [name]Imogen[/name]!
[name]Imogen[/name], by far! Gorgeous name.
I prefer [name]Imogen[/name]. It’s much prettier and classier and doesn’t sound so twangy when you say it. Personally, I can’t stand [name]Imogene[/name]. I love [name]Immy[/name] or Idgie as nicknames (Idgie like in [name]Fried[/name] [name]Green[/name] Tomatoes)
I love [name]Fried[/name] [name]Green[/name] Tomatoes but since they were super southern, they did say [name]Imogene[/name], lol. And I live in the south, I’m worried about people only saying [name]Imogen[/name].
I much prefer the spelling and pronunciation of [name]Imogen[/name]. [name]Imogene[/name] just sounds like you’re trying too hard to be upper-class to me, a bit [name]Hyacinth[/name] Bucket.
I don’t know about saying it correctly in the States but it’s pretty popular in the UK at the moment (somewhere in the top 100, I think) and it could cross over in a few years anyway.
I know I’m in the minority, but I’m actually loving [name]Imogene[/name] at the moment. [name]Imogen[/name] is nice, but whenever I hear it all I can hear is “imagine” and I’m afraid that’s what it would always be mistaken for, at least where I live. [name]Imogene[/name] just seems very vintage and sweet.
I agree with the above post saying that the [name]Imogen[/name] pronunciation sounds like imagine. I actually like it with the gene sound at the end, and genie is such a cute nickname.
I like them both! [name]Even[/name] though they look and sound so similar, to me they have completely different personalities. [name]Imogene[/name] is a southern charmer and [name]Imogen[/name] is more upper crust. I prefer [name]Imogene[/name] but that might be because I’m from the south :). I don’t like the -gen ending and love how the gene drags out the name. And I can’t resist [name]Genie[/name]!
I do think you will have trouble with the pronunciation here in the USA. I have talked to my non-namenerd family members (southerners and northerners) about [name]Imogen[/name] before and they thought that I had made up a name!
I really prefer [name]Imogen[/name]. I’m not very fond of [name]Immy[/name], but I think [name]Jen[/name] or [name]Jennie[/name] is nice.
I know it was [name]Imogene[/name] in the movie but Idgie could work for [name]Imogen[/name] too!
I’m in Arkansas too, and I wanted to add that the few [name]Imogen[/name]'s I’ve met have never had a problem with people mispronouncing their names. It’s because people understand that [name]Gen[/name] is suppose to be said how it looks and [name]Gene[/name] is said how it looks. People understand the difference from what I can tell. Not one had a problem (according to their mothers anyway).
[name]Just[/name] wanted to share because I know you live in Arkansas too and was worried about the pronunciation.
I really appreciate it, dantea I’m glad you’ve actually met little Imogens. My boyfriend prefers [name]Gen[/name] to [name]Gene[/name] because a friend of ours from high school goes by his middle name, [name]Gene[/name] and he was unfaithful to his wife. That’s all he can think of when he hears the name. That’s fine though, I love the [name]Gen[/name] version as well. I just thought about [name]Imogene[/name] because I had an uncle named [name]Gene[/name] who was killed the year before I was born and I thought it might be nice to honor him. Then [name]Shannon[/name] reminded me that friend [name]Gene[/name] was named after uncle [name]Gene[/name]… So there’s a lot of weirdness, haha.
Well I’m glad i could help you! For [name]Gene[/name], you could always do something like [name]Geneva[/name] (which I think would count even though the pronunciation is slightly different) [name]Georgene[/name], Jeanice ([name]Jean[/name] being the feminine of [name]Gene[/name]), [name]Jeanine[/name], [name]Jeanette[/name], etc.
I’ve thought of honoring him with [name]Holden[/name] [name]Bradley[/name] [name]Gene[/name] ([name]Holden[/name] [name]Bradley[/name] being my constant #1), but I’m not sure how that sounds.
I love it, but I think [name]Holden[/name] [name]Gene[/name] [name]Bradley[/name] has better flow. I think it’s great though