Hey everyone!
Haven’t been able to spend much time on NB these past few days, but today I’ve been thinking about these two names: Isabelle and Imogen.
I’ve got a list of pros and cons for each of them:
Isabelle
Pros:
Gorgeous looking and sounding
Love the nickname “Belle”
Cons:
I know so many Isabella’s - combined with Isabella would be VERY COMMON (but they all go by Izzy or Bella not Belle)
Could get shortened to Izzy 
(although if you specify Belle, would it still get Izzy?
Imogen
Pros:
No intuitive nickname (big plus)
Nice sound
Not too common but still known in my area
Cons:
Not as pretty looking as Isabelle
Don’t really like the O in the middle
Not internationally used (not a major issue though)
What are your thoughts - which do you prefer?
Also what vibes do you get from each of them? Thank you so much 
Edit: Love the nickname Belle for Isabelle, but really don’t like Immy. Is it really that intuitive, especially when the Imogen is older?
I much prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]!
I have met so many girls named [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Isabel[/name_f], [name_f]Isobel[/name_f], [name_f]Izabel[/name_f], and I never know how to spell it. 
Growing up, by next door neighbor was an [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] whose family called her [name_f]Belle[/name_f] and who her friends (myself included) called [name_u]Izzy[/name_u]. Could be avoided, but as always, depends on the name-wearer and the nicknamer!
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] feels special and very exciting to me. I’ve never met one, and I’d be really thrilled too! Seems like a storybook name or a woodsy one or a pink-and-orange sunset… any girl could wear it, and I think it’s so fun. I love a consonant ending, too. 
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isabelle:
- isabelle is gorgeous though, as you say, very popular.
- belle is beautiful and i don’t think too hard to enforce - i’m friends with an ann@b3ll3 ‘b3ll3’ and she never gets called annie/anna so i don’t see why people would automatically go to izzy! you would have to keep in mind that an isabelle may prefer izzy, though.
imogen:
- obviously i’m biased towards imogen as she’s one of my favourites!
- however, i wouldn’t say she has ‘no intuitive nickname’ - i’ve known at least 5 imogens and they’ve all been ‘immy’
conclusion:
i would go for imogen, but if you don’t like immy/people shortening to something you don’t like, i think isabelle has a higher chance of your preferred nickname!
That’s a great point! Thank you. I suppose if a preferred nickname is enforced from the get-go e.g. “Hi, I’m Isabelle, but you can call me Belle” it would be easier to avoid Izzy than if you left it to fate.
Immy? I suppose now that you’ve mentioned it…
Did they choose to go by Immy? (I think a young Imogen would be more likely Immy than an adult one, but that’s still worrying as Immy feels very juvenile)
Now that I think, I have heard of Imogen’s choosing to self shorten to Im or Imo which I don’t like either.
Thank you for your reply!
I prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f]. It’s a nice navy blue. [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] does nothing for me, and neither does [name_f]Belle[/name_f] - too wilting and [name_u]Southern[/name_u].
I personally prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], most if not all Imogens I know are shortened to “Immy” but honestly I don’t mind the nickname. I don’t know anyone with the name [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] above the age of around 25 or 30 though so not sure if the nickname still sticks after early adulthood
I prefer the strong but sweet [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] - distinctive but familiar where I am, with Shakespearan vibes and solid, versatile feel. I really like how it looks personally 
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is gorgeous, but [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] may well be hard to avoid and I’ve known a lot of Isabelles/Isabellas/Izzys
I prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] to [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] but that could be since I had around 8 Isabelle’s in my year at school plus around 2 or 3 that I knew outside school 
. As for nicknames with [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] I had friends that went by [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] and Bella/e out of personal choice and we went by what they specified so if they specify the nickname they want to use based on my experience that’s what they’ll get 
. As for [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] nicknames I’m not sure about there being no intuitive nicknames since it’s very commonly associated with [name_f]Immy[/name_f] where I’m from. Also if [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] can go by [name_f]Mimi[/name_f] (not sure how common this nickname option is for the name but I associate it with the UK singer [name_f]Mimi[/name_f] [name_m]Webb[/name_m] that has done this) I think [name_f]Mimi[/name_f] works for [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] even more (maybe a bit more strechy).
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] 
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] 
I like them both a lot, but prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] - whilst [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is so pretty and lively, with its popularity and many spellings it just seems to belong with the current brigade of overused girly girl names like [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]. [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] whilst popular in the U.K. doesn’t feel overdone, to me. It’s got a stronger vibe, warrior princess rather than damsel in distress.
On nicknames…
I’ve known plentiful Isabelles of every spelling and the split of [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] and [name_f]Belle[/name_f] seems pretty even to me. [name_f]Bella[/name_f] is a popular name/nickname here for anything that ends with -bel or -belle so I feel like it’s perfectly intuitive to use the ending as a nn (literally as I am typing this I overheard a girl saying the name [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] in a cafe!). But as @snowmaiden said, sometimes people have different nicknames for different groups so you could never rule it out completely.
[name_f]Every[/name_f] [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] I’ve ever known has gone by [name_f]Immy[/name_f] except one who is [name_f]Mim[/name_f]. Some of the Immys have also used Immo. Maybe that’s just the U.K. and it wouldn’t develop naturally elsewhere, I don’t know, but to me it seems to the most obvious/intuitive and if you don’t love it, I’d probably avoid [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] altogether. (I don’t suppose you like [name_f]Midge[/name_f]? That’s my sort of GP, vintage flapper girl nn for Imogen!)
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I like them both, currently leaning more towards [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] partially because of the vibes and partially because I got burned out on [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] with how popular it is and its only recently started to make a comeback on my list so I’m much more excited by [name_f]Imogen[/name_f].
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is purple. Soft, graceful, elegant. Ballet, painting, afternoon tea in a garden.
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] is green. [name_m]Sharp[/name_m], spunky, quirky. [name_m]Reading[/name_m] books in a tree, solving a mystery or problem with brilliant deductions and witty remarks.
If I were to nickname an [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] I would be much more likely to go for Gen/Jenny/Ginny but the only [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] I’ve ever heard (a character in a [name_f]British[/name_f] comedy sketch) was called [name_f]Immy[/name_f] so that might be the default and if you don’t have another nickname in mind like with [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] vs [name_f]Belle[/name_f] it might be hard to stop [name_f]Immy[/name_f] from sticking.
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I think [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is much prettier. It not only sounds nice, but has a very pretty spelling and has so many nicknames, yet doesn’t need one. I do think [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] is overused, but [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] has never been as extremely popular, and seems to be getting less common now.
I’m surprised so many of these comments prefer the other name. [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] sounds very out of date, but not in a nice way. For some reason, I can’t help but think of “generation” or “genetics”, but I think it looks incomplete without an e on the end. I also don’t care for the i-mm-o sound at all.
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[name_f]Imogen[/name_f], such an underused gem imo. And [name_f]Immy[/name_f], and [name_f]Ginny[/name_f] are cute optional nicknames that are much easier to avoid since [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is much more popular plus her variants than [name_f]Imogen[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is elegant and beautiful and I bet I’m one of many who loved the name [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] when they were younger!
As for [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], I actually found out about that name a few months ago and I thought it was pronounced uh-MOG-in but its unique and pretty!
I think you’ve outlined the pros and cons pretty systematically! [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is prettier (looks, sound, meaning); [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], a cooler, cockier name. I think you could insist on [name_f]Belle[/name_f] and likely have that stunk but am less sure you could sidestep [name_f]Immy[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Immy[/name_f] and would be a hard prob for me!