Imogene/Imogen? Which do I pick?

Girl Names
1

hi berries! i hope you are all having a wonderful day!

as some of you may know, i love the names imogene and imogen (pronounced ihm-uh-jeen and ihm-uh-jen respectively). i just can’t seem to pick between them! so here are my pros and cons to both of them. i’d love to hear from all of you which one you think would be better for me overall. this probably won’t be a final descision, but i hope it helps!

imogene

pros:

• it’s the name i’ve loved for the longest time! i have been absolutely sure for the longest time that my someday daughter was going to be an imogene

• imogene herdman! for those of you who’ve read the herdman books, you probably think it’s a little silly to want to name a future daughter after her, but i loved the books and loved imogene and i think it would be a sweet connection to one of my sister and me’s favorite series from when we were little

• it goes better (in my opinion) with my favorite boy’s name, jude. they both give me sweet, warm southern vibes!

• my family likes it best

• it’s more uncommon than imogen

cons:

• it’s longer, and just looks less aesthetically pleasing

• besides jude, it kind of clashes with all of the other names i love, which does bug me a little

• it’s definitely considered to be an old-lady name, which i’m not sure i like?

imogen

pros:

• such different vibes than imogene! it gives off a calmer, more peaceful vibe to me, which i’m really liking right now, a bit more than imogene’s vibes

• the shakespeare reference :yellow_heart:

• it goes better with almost all of the names i like! a well-matched sibset matters a lot to me.

• i can imagine myself with a baby imogen one day in the future :two_hearts: as far as that goes, it just feels right

• my favorite nickname for imogene/imogen, mim, makes more sense to me sound-wise, for some reason

cons:

• it’s a bit harder for me to say. the sound of imogene feels cleaner to me, somehow.

• really clashes with jude, a little bit more than jude clashes with imogene, and they give me completely different vibes :pensive:

• it’s more popular than imogene, especially in the uk. i don’t think i’m going to move to the uk when i grow up, but you never know!

thank you for reading! i’d love to hear your thoughts!

best,
hallie :yellow_heart:

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I tried to help you by ‘calculating’ which name is better for you: [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] or [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]. To every pro you listed I assigned a value, from 1 to 10. If it seemed to matter to you very much a 10, if it seemed to matter to you only a little bit a 1. Similary, the cons got negative values. In the end, I added these values up for both [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and [name_f]Imogene[/name_f]. This resulted in a score of 14 for [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and a score of 10 for [name_f]Imogene[/name_f]. So according to my calculations, you should pick [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]. However, if you take this seriously, you should have a look at the numbers below, because I probably didn’t accurately guess how important each point is to you. You could change the numbers and re-calculate the scores.
[name_u]Or[/name_u] you could just pick the name that feels the best to you :smiley: .

imogen pros
+4 such different vibes than imogene! it gives off a calmer, more peaceful vibe to me, which i’m really liking right now, a bit more than imogene’s vibes
+4 the shakespeare reference :yellow_heart:
+10 it goes better with almost all of the names i like! a well-matched sibset matters a lot to me.
+8 i can imagine myself with a baby imogen one day in the future :two_hearts: as far as that goes, it just feels right
+3 my favorite nickname for imogene/imogen, mim, makes more sense to me sound-wise, for some reason

imogen cons
-5 it’s a bit harder for me to say. the sound of imogene feels cleaner to me, somehow.
-8 really clashes with jude, a little bit more than jude clashes with imogene, and they give me completely different vibes :pensive:
-2 it’s more popular than imogene, especially in the uk. i don’t think i’m going to move to the uk when i grow up, but you never know!

imogen score: 4 + 4 + 10 + 8 + 3 - 5 - 8 - 2 = 14

imogene pros
+4 it’s the name i’ve loved for the longest time! i have been absolutely sure for the longest time that my someday daughter was going to be an imogene
+4 imogene herdman! for those of you who’ve read the herdman books, you probably think it’s a little silly to want to name a future daughter after her, but i loved the books and loved imogene and i think it would be a sweet connection to one of my sister and me’s favorite series from when we were little
+5 it goes better (in my opinion) with my favorite boy’s name, jude. they both give me sweet, warm southern vibes!
+2 my family likes it best
+3 it’s more uncommon than imogen

imogene cons
-4 it’s longer, and just looks less aesthetically pleasing
-3 besides jude, it kind of clashes with all of the other names i love, which does bug me a little
-1 it’s definitely considered to be an old-lady name, which i’m not sure i like?

**imogene score:**4 + 4 + 5 + 2 + 3 - 4 - 3 - 1 =10

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Personally, I prefer [name_f]Imogene[/name_f], but, regardless of personal preference, it sounds to me like [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] is the name you love more and should not give up! :slight_smile:

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I prefer the sleek and straightforward [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]. I also think [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] sounds lovely with [name_u]Jude[/name_u].
I don’t mind [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] but it feels a little bit ’ trying to hard’ kind of thing.
With [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] I want to say the hard G in [name_u]Gene[/name_u] too but with [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] the softer G seems more intuitive. Not sure where you are but I’ve actually heard [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] pronounced with both soft G and hard G. Both equally as pleasing to my ears.

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I love [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] - it’s so friendly sounding and quirky. If it’s the name you’ve loved the longest, it sounds like it’s the one for you!

[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] is beautiful, in a slightly icy way. I think it’s really which vibe you would rather go with, they both have such a different feel.

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I personally love [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] more, beautiful name, besides I want to pronounce [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] as “gin-ee”

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I prefer Imogene over Imogen...

I actually think Imogene looks more aesthetically pleasing! The -e ending looks like a little smile!

I think Imogene works perfectly with Camille! The pairing reminds me of a character in the TV show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” named Imogene with a daughter named Estelle.

Imogen is also a little hard for me to say. I’m not sure whether to pronounce the end syllable with an ehn, ihn, or uhn sound.

but this

makes me think Imogen is the better choice for you! I think the feeling of “this is the name” negates any minor issues, and outweighs the benefits of choosing another name.

2 Likes
9

Hey Hallie

Honestly name conundrums are so challenging so I understand why your struggling!

Personally my favourite is Imogen to me the name looks more aesthetically pleasing, as a Brit feels more familiar and I think will be easier for her moving forward in relation to spelling. I love the Shakespeare connection and finally I’ve just always had a soft spot for Imogen. I recently had a baby and Imogen was a name I considered but decided against using as we have a distant family friend who has a daughter Called Imogen who would have taken credit for the name & that would have annoyed me greatly.

Anyways moving away from my personal preference (which really doesn’t matter) I feel for you your name is Imogene. You talk about Imogene with such fondness, your family love her which is always good, I think Imogene makes you happy and I think you’d regret not using Imogene. So in my opinion I would stick with Imogene as she’s your favourite!

Either way they are both lovely and in my opinion both work with Jude.

Hope this helped

1 Like
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Both are lovely but i think i prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]. I find it easier to pronounce and its cleaner and tidier! I think [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and [name_u]Jude[/name_u] go nicely together

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Regardless of anyone else’s opinion, if Imogen feels right, then I think that’s the most important.

I also don’t find that Imogen and Jude clash to me, but I’ve never seen Imogene before so I don’t really have a clear perception of its vibe. It’s also close enough to Imogene that I still see it as a lovely connection to the book series.

Fwiw I prefer Imogen.

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I prefer Imogene for me, but Imogen seems right for you!

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[name_m]Hi[/name_m] [name_m]Hal[/name_m]!
I can see why this is such a hard decision for you!
First off, I want to say I like [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] better. It’s easier for me to say, it looks more complete, and I like the sound better.

But looking at your points, here’s my opinions:

  • [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] isn’t an old lady name! She’s fresh and cute and adorable!
  • [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] does make more sense for the nn [name_f]Mim[/name_f], and honey, I think [name_u]Jude[/name_u] goes fine with either name! If you feel like this is the name then go for it, love!
  • Also, this may sound a bit harsh, but you aren’t having a kid tomorrow. Right now, you’re allowed to love both names, you’re allowed to have both names on your list, dear.

Pick the name you love more, and remember, it’s not a final decision. It’s not going on a birth certificate yet.

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14

I personally like [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] way more than [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] :relaxed:
I also think this spelling is great to honour someone called [name_u]Gene[/name_u] :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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personally I think that Imogen is fabulous and Imogene feels to me like a mispronunciation of the name Imogen. In the same way that I love Megan but hate Meghan, and love Welsh girls’ names ending in Wen but not when they get changed to Wyn (the male ending) e.g. Bronwen/Bronwyn, Arianwen/Arianwyn, etc. (not that I can complain about that with Imogen when Imogen is in itself a misspelling of the Celtic Innogen)

I think Imogen feels softer and I prefer the sound. I think because to me Jean/Jeanie/Gene feels dated, it makes Imogene feel super dated.

I actually think Imogen sounds much nicer with Jude than Imogene.

I’ve only ever met Imogens here in the UK, I think Imogene is exclusively an American pronunciation.

But if you prefer Imogene you should go with a name you love.

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I generally prefer Imogene; it seems softer and more musical. (I think it especially sounds fantastic in a [name_u]Southern[/name_u] accent.) I think it looks nice and is unexpected!

However, it sounds like you’re feeling [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] more, and it’s a nice name! I think either of these names would suit you well.

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[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] is better. [name_f]Imogene[/name_f] makes me wanna pronounce it “em-o-gene”

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I much prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], it’s on my list. I personally think it has a prettier sound (but in no way frilly). It’s strong, classic but not overused, and feminine. It also looks nicer written down and I think there’s a possibility for pronounciation issues with [name_f]Imogene[/name_f], I would still pronounce it [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] until corrected. I think it goes perfectly with [name_u]Jude[/name_u].

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[name_f]Imogene[/name_f] sounds perfect for you! :yellow_heart::seedling:

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