Is [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] or [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] a better sibling name for [name_f]May[/name_f]?
I prefer [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] to [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], but I like [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] much better for siblings! I’m not sure why. I feel like [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] work better together for a combo (FN and MN) but [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] work better for sisters?
[name_m]Both[/name_m] are lovely, though, and I don’t think you could go wrong.
Good luck!
Thanks! I kind of think so too. I know [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is more on trend, and theoretically I think it’s a very pretty name, but for some reason I keep getting hung up on the length and the frenchness compared to [name_f]May[/name_f].
[name_f]Joanna[/name_f] was one of my favorite names as a little girl, and although it reminds me of girls I went to high school with it feels more classic next to [name_f]May[/name_f]. I think. Maybe.
I think [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is perfect with [name_f]May[/name_f]. But it sounds like you prefer [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. [name_m]Both[/name_m] are fine, so use what you love!
Right this second I am leaning towards [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], but I think my husband would prefer [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]. And if I start thinking about [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] from a slightly different angle…the association with [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_m]Baker[/name_m] for example, then I like it more. So I’m very interested to hear other people’s impressions of both names.
I like the options of [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] ([name_u]Josie[/name_u], Phina, Seph) but I don’t like that it has a full male name in it…I’m just weird like that, I know it doesn’t bother most people. I just always get this vision of parents planning for [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and when they see a girl pop out they just slap a feminizer on the end of their hoped for name.
I guess I’d pick [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. [name_u]Joey[/name_u], [name_f]Joanie[/name_f], [name_f]Annie[/name_f], [name_u]Jan[/name_u], Janny, etc. are all nice with [name_f]May[/name_f] as well.
I know a lot of people think [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] is dated, but I much prefer it to [name_f]Josephine[/name_f].
I wouldn’t mind [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] if I were going to always use a nickname but I don’t find the full name [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] to be that pleasant sounding. I think [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] just rolls off the tongue more easily. I also think [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] goes better with sister [name_f]May[/name_f].
I love both, have since childhood so I see where you’re coming from. I think [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is more flexible for nicknames ([name_u]Jo[/name_u], [name_u]Josie[/name_u], Phee, etc) and a little more elegant, but [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]'s got a brightness and joy to it. [name_m]Both[/name_m] have spunk and sweetness.
You’re right that [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]'s on-trend and [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] was popular in the 80s, but both have history and are superb names.
I think both go well with [name_f]May[/name_f] but in different ways. I’d expect [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] to have siblings named [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] or [name_f]Constance[/name_f] or [name_u]August[/name_u], while [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] would be siblings to [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] and [name_u]Sam[/name_u].
Is [name_f]Joanie[/name_f] an intuitive enough nickname for [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]? I like it a lot, but would want to keep [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] as the full name since the [name_f]Ann[/name_f] component would have kind of a nice significance.
I like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] with [name_f]May[/name_f], they both have a sweet feel to them 
I like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] much better, but I think they go equally well with [name_f]May[/name_f]. I adore [name_f]May[/name_f], by the way!
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] defiantly!!
[name_m]Both[/name_m] are lovely but [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is so gorgeous : )
I prefer [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] both in general and with [name_f]May[/name_f].
Personally, I prefer [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. And I think it goes better with [name_f]May[/name_f] as well.
My offbeat name sounds a lot like [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] and I get called [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] a lot.
I love [name_f]May[/name_f], and it’s classic. [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] just feels middle-aged to me. Like [name_f]Deanna[/name_f] and [name_f]Leanne[/name_f] and all those '80s anne/anna names (BTW I am an '80s baby with an -anna name so don’t hit me for that)
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is more in keeping with a classic feel to me. It makes me think [name_m]Little[/name_m] Women. I’m at peace with my name now but I used to wish I was named [name_f]Josephine[/name_f].
To me [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] has a regal, classic sound, like [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] or [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]. Polished and classic doesn’t have to be long, [name_f]Jane[/name_f] feels that way to me too. But [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] doesn’t.
I agree 100% with what [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] said.
I like [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] much more with sister [name_f]May[/name_f].
I think all three are sweet, but [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] feels a bit lengthy next to [name_f]May[/name_f], it looks stuffier and heavier (this is not to say I don’t like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] - it’s on my short list for girls). [name_f]May[/name_f] is so light and airy that it makes [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] look dusty. [name_f]May[/name_f] reminds me of new grass and strawberry pie and sunshine, and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] next to it makes me think of older ladies with hair piled on their heads, doing cross-stitch on embroidery hoops.
[name_f]Joanna[/name_f] also has three syllables, but it has fewer consonants and seems much shorter. I really really like [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] and [name_f]May[/name_f], that extra H gives it so much spunk, and I think [name_f]May[/name_f] is very sprightly and spunky. [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] seems like the autumnal name to accompany springy [name_f]May[/name_f] - it makes me think of apple cider, plaid, and nice, worn-in boots on a crisp day.
Also, the nicknames I am fond of for [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] - a baby would almost certainly get the quirky [name_u]JoJo[/name_u], and as she gets older, the more serious [name_u]Jo[/name_u] - can just as easily be used with [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]/[name_f]Johanna[/name_f].
I’ve almost convinced myself to ditch [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] for [name_f]Johanna[/name_f]!
Thanks! Ironically, [name_f]May[/name_f] was born in [name_u]August[/name_u] and this baby is set to be born in [name_f]May[/name_f] (We will not be naming it [name_u]August[/name_u], no matter what). [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] definitely helps eliminate the 1950s smush name feel from [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], but it’s probably too Latinized for my husband’s taste, and I’m thinking I really like [name_f]Joan[/name_f] as a nickname option. But I do like the imagery that you associate with it. I think at this point, it’s really an issue of perception vs. reality. [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] seems like a timeless classic…but in reality it can be traced back to one individual, [name_f]Empress[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] ([name_m]Napoleon[/name_m]'s wife) and that association kind of bugs me. [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] seems like it could be a modern invention, but it’s actually not at all. The question is whether I can train myself to hear it that way, and not as [name_u]Jo[/name_u]-[name_f]Anna[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Susanna[/name_f], for example.
When I was in third grade I had a friend named [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], and she was really sweet. I think [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and [name_f]May[/name_f] sound well together, and they both sound sweet.
I prefer [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] with [name_f]May[/name_f]!