My husband has loved [name]Olive[/name] for a little girl ever since he saw little miss sunshine. At first I loved it, then second guessed it because of the obvious food association, then it grew on me and I love it again. I ESPECIALLY love “[name]Liv[/name]”.
Problem: Our last name ends with V and is one syllable. So early on I kind of tossed it out because of “flow” issues and settled for a middle name of [name]Olivia[/name] (even though I reeeally dont want to go into the top 50). Then I began searching for a first name we both love and…Nothing.
Its been my experience that SOME flow issues are not as bad as they seem once you see the child and the name really fits, but it this a deal-breaker?
If it is what are some other ways besides [name]Olivia[/name] to work [name]Liv[/name] or [name]Olive[/name] in that flow better?
I wouldn’t allow flow to keep me from using the one name that we both loved, unless the flow was REALLY bad (like if people would laugh when they heard the first and last name together). I think you should choose [name]Olive[/name], and don’t look back!
Chances are, it will only be an issue for the first quarter of her life, anyway…then she will likely get married and take on a new last name
You could always choose [name]Olive[/name] [name]Ann[/name] __v, [name]Olive[/name] [name]Kate[/name] __v or something like that to create better flow. I have heard people use [name]Livia[/name] rather than [name]Olivia[/name], but it has always sounded incomplete to me. Another option is to choose a first name and two middles that would create the initials [name]LIV[/name] ([name]Lucy[/name] [name]Iris[/name] [name]Vivienne[/name], for example) Of course the nickname [name]Liv[/name] isn’t an obvious one to outsiders who only know her first name is [name]Lucy[/name], but it could still work.
For the sake of this post, let’s pretend your last name is Biv.
[name]Olive[/name] Biv kind of rhymes. It’s not terrible, but it is really akward. [name]Liv[/name] Biv is actually worse.
If it were me, I might go with [name]Olivia[/name]. [name]Olivia[/name] Biv doesn’t have nearly the same issue and is only one letter away from the name [name]Olive[/name]. You might even use [name]Olive[/name] as a nn for [name]Olivia[/name].
[name]Just[/name] saw that you dislike [name]Olivia[/name]. I’m not sure how else to get to [name]Olive[/name] or [name]Liv[/name], but it seems like the solution would involve softening the ending of either name.
[name]Just[/name] used [name]Baby[/name] Name [name]Wizard[/name] Name Finder and here’s what they suggest:
My husband has a flow issue with his name because he goes by the shorter name [name]Rob[/name] and our last name is 1 syllable and starts with B. He is always having to repeat his name or take a long pause between names. He’s not very appreciative of his parents naming him that. But his name is quite popular, when I have googled his first and last name, I get a lot of professional people with the same name. So it must not be that much of a nuisance if so many parents have chosen it.
I think flow in general is overrated and I agree that you shouldn’t sacrifice a name you love because of it. If you are going to call your daughter [name]Liv[/name] it does not make a huge difference to name her [name]Olivia[/name] instead of olive.
I’m going to assume your last name doesn’t rhyme with [name]Liv[/name] – [name]Liv[/name] Biv would be awful – but is something like Rove. liv Rove? Not an absolute deal breaker if there is not a single other name you like. but at the same time. I wouldn’t quit looking
I think it definitely depends on your last name. As long as it didn’t rhyme? You both love the name. [name]Liv[/name] is so cute! I wouldn’t cancel it out unless it was absolutely awful with the last name.
Okay, I love [name]Liv[/name], and I love [name]Olive[/name] - I even think [name]Olivia[/name] is great! - but I’m also a big fan of great flow. So, I’m having a pretty hard time thinking of names that end in the V sound - maybe [name]Reeve[/name]? [name]Olive[/name] [name]Reeve[/name]. Not great, but not horrendous. [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Reeve[/name] is certainly better, but [name]Olive[/name] and [name]Olivia[/name] are so very different in their whimsy and spunk, right? Hm.
Well, I have one suggestion for you. [name]Oliva[/name]. As in St. [name]Oliva[/name] of Brescia, [name]Abbott[/name] [name]Oliva[/name] ([name]Count[/name] of Berga), and [name]Oliva[/name] Mitevski (an artist). [name]Oliva[/name] is also a town in Spain, a municipality in Spain, a town in [name]Argentina[/name], a commune in [name]Italy[/name], a village in Paraguay, and a monastery in [name]Navarre[/name]. And, [name]Oliva[/name] is also a cigar brand - not the greatest connection, but it’s out there. [name]Oliva[/name] is far more unusual than [name]Olivia[/name], not quite as whimsical as [name]Olive[/name], but certainly elegant, sophisticated, and cool.
So, Spanish-speakers tend to pronounce [name]Oliva[/name] as [oh-[name]LEE[/name]-vah], but I’m going to tell you that I pronounce it like [name]Olivia[/name] without the extra syllables, [OH-liv-ah] - that’s just how I like it. [name]Liv[/name] is a great nickname for it, but with “[name]Reeve[/name]” as your last name, you might want to consider the cute [name]Livy[/name] nickname, too…
[name]Liv[/name] Biv, as people have stated, is bad, but if it’s something like [name]Liv[/name] Dav, that’s not horrible, and [name]Olive[/name] Dav is better.
Well our last name actually STARTS with V and is one syllable. So like [name]Vaughn[/name] for example. [name]Olive[/name] [name]Vaughn[/name]. Its V heavy, but is it that bad if we really like it?
Okay, if your last name really is [name]Vaughn[/name], then [name]Liv[/name] [name]Vaughn[/name] totally sounds like “live on” - ha! I’m torn, because obviously I think you should go with a name you love, but at the same time I find [name]Olive[/name] [name]Vaughn[/name] a bit challenging to say! I think something like [name]Livia[/name] [name]Vaughn[/name] “[name]Liv[/name]” or “[name]Livy[/name]” would be an improvement, but I don’t want to say, “No, you definitely shouldn’t use [name]Olive[/name].” Sorry, that’s not much help…
I never found flow all that important, it is a major plus but for me its always been more of a tool to narrow down the choices when your torn between multiple names.
But there is a difference between simply not having flow and sounding bad. Or rhyming (like Biv). I’d call it a deal breaker.
The only V-surname I thought that would be horrible was Veal, how gross does [name]Olive[/name] Veal sound.
But for other V surnames yes they will run together when said quickly so while its worth seeing if there’s a way to break it up that suits you its far from a deal breaker. And for most of them [name]Olive[/name]/[name]Liv[/name] will sound nice when properly enunciated. They ways to go about breaking up the two V’s have already been said using a similar name like [name]Livia[/name] or two first names like [name]Olive[/name] [name]Rose[/name] if one of those works for you great but if just [name]Olive[/name] still feels most right then go for it.
But one similar name I love and that hasn’t been suggested yet was [name]Olivine[/name] (the O is pronounced the same as [name]Olive[/name] or [name]Oliver[/name] and the line is an ‘een’ ) Its actually worse if your surname is in the same vain as [name]Vaughn[/name], but if its more like [name]Vale[/name] or Vox then I think it would sound lovely
[name]Do[/name] you personally find it hard to say?
That is, are you stumbling a little, slurring too much etc?
Does it sound blatantly comical to you?
And I mean, right off the bat? Like poor little Miss [name]Liv[/name] Biv? Not after repeating it ad nauseum for the last 4 months of your pregnancy, b/c I’ve been there, and EVERYTHING starts to sound weird at that point!
And for the record, I think a name like [name]Jeff[/name] [name]Jefferson[/name] is fine even though most Berries here would shudder. It’s easy, strong, and memorable and would suit that little boy well through his life.
Does it inadvertently create a silly or off-color phrase?
– [name]Lucy[/name] Bowles comes to mind, or [name]Haywood[/name] Jablomey, or even the more benign [name]Justin[/name] [name]Case[/name] or [name]Joe[/name] [name]King[/name]
I think if you answer “No” to all of these, and you are in the enviable position of having found a name that both you AND your partner love, then like a previous poster said, choose [name]Olive[/name] and don’t look back!
Like the previous posts have said: if it rhymes or sounds silly then do not use the name! But if it is just a little bit clunky then i think it is fine. When the last syllable is the same sound as the first it isn’t a deal breaker to me. [name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Reese[/name] Saunicer, etc all are perfectly acceptable to me and in the same category as [name]Olive[/name] [name]Vaughn[/name]. I think it is a great name!
