[name]Hi[/name] everyone! Thanks in advance for your input. We love the name [name]Vinessa[/name] spelled that way for several reasons. [name]One[/name] of them is because we’re honoring a grandfather named [name]Vincent[/name]. Another is that my husband has become very attached to the nickname [name]Vinni[/name], and has been talking to her from “the outside” every night using that name. The female version of [name]Vincent[/name], [name]Vincenza[/name], does not appeal to us or work well with our last name. We feel that the spelling with the i doesn’t change the pronunciation, since either way we wouldn’t say [name]VANessa[/name]. We’ve found that regardless of spelling, most people use the pronunciations [name]VINessa[/name] or VUHnessa. [name]Vinessa[/name] not a spelling used too often, although there is a pretty popular actress named [name]Vinessa[/name] [name]Shaw[/name]. However, we’re not doing it to be “yu-neek”. Wdyt of the name spelled this way? Awful? Tolerable? Passable? Pretty? Thank you for your opinions.
Id spell it [name]Vanessa[/name] and still call her [name]Vinny[/name]. As you said, either way its spelled, its still prn the same so why put your child through constantly having her name misspelled?
Honestly, spelling does influence pn for me, so when I saw it I read it as [name]VINessa[/name], until you talked about how you would pronounce VUHnessa, which too me is the [name]Vanessa[/name] spelling. Not sure what pn you want, but spelling does matter for some people…
@catloverd…My husband and I say it [name]VINessa[/name], but wouldn’t be fussy about VUHnessa at all. @Jills…so you think [name]Vanessa[/name] still lends itself without explanation to the nickname [name]Vinni[/name]? I’ve heard of a few Vanessas being called Vani/[name]Vanni[/name], but we don’t like that at all.
Most people won’t assume [name]Vinni[/name] is a nickname for [name]Vanessa[/name]. However, it makes sense once you’re told of it. (For examble, I’m not going to assume an [name]Elizabeth[/name] is [name]Libby[/name] off the bat). You can still call her [name]Vinni[/name] and spell it [name]Vanessa[/name]. I recommend that just because I’ve never seen it spelled [name]Vinessa[/name] and reacted strangely to it since [name]Vanessa[/name] is one of those names with really only one accepted spelling. I wondered if it should be pronounced Vih-nee-sa.
TBH, I would pronounce both spellings pretty much the same. It’s such a small difference to me that I’d consider it the same pronunciation. I think [name]Vinessa[/name] would confuse people more than [name]Vanessa[/name] nn [name]Vinni[/name] would. That way she won’t have to spell her name out for everyone and have it spelled wrong all the time.
I agree with this. Sometimes nicknames just develop naturally even if they’re not always intuitive. This would be the case with you since your husband is already referring to your baby as [name]Vinni[/name]. Definitely go with [name]Vanessa[/name], nn [name]Vinni[/name]. It’ll save your daughter a lifetime of “No, it’s [name]Vinessa[/name], with an “i”.”
Thank you all for your input, and any more that follows! I’m having a hard time getting behind using [name]Vinni[/name] as a nickname for [name]Vanessa[/name], but that could just be due to my over-thinking the issue. I guess I have to let it simmer (hoping I have some simmering time left! lol).
I’m from Oklahoma, so I pronounce VUHnessa and [name]VINessa[/name] the same way. We’re just weird like that… pen and pin are pronounced the same here too.
With that said, the spelling [name]Vinessa[/name] doesn’t change the pn to me at all. I think it’s fine. 
And… [name]Vinni[/name] is actually pretty cute on a girl.
I’m not usually apt to different spellings, but I like this one. [name]Vinessa[/name] makes it seem less dated than [name]Vanessa[/name], and I looks a little more sophisticated to me. And I have to say, I’m a sucker for “masculine” nicknames on girls. I would go for it. My daughter is [name]Emily[/name] and every time I call the dr’s office they ask, “With a y?” Nowadays, it doesn’t matter what your name is, you’ll be asked to spell it.
I agree 100% with the previous posters who recommend [name]Vanessa[/name], nn “[name]Vinni[/name].” If you go with [name]Vanessa[/name] (as opposed to [name]Vinessa[/name]), your daughter will have no spelling issues, and you’ll save her from a lifetime of frustration over misspellings and constantly needing to spell it out. “[name]Vinni[/name]” is a perfectly valid and reasonable nickname for [name]Vanessa[/name].
I say go for it.
You have a good reason and it’s not crazy weird.
Doesn’t change the pronunciation one bit for me.
She’ll have to tell everyone under the sun how to spell her name constantly, but if that doesn’t bother you, then do it.
Yes, I agree. [name]Vanessa[/name] is the accepted spelling and she won’t have to say “[name]Vanessa[/name] with an i.” The a in [name]Vanessa[/name] is in an unstressed position so it’s pretty much a “schwa”, not [name]Van[/name]. You can still use [name]Vinni[/name].
I would worry that she would get the pronunciation “vine-essa,” personally. But I’m really conservative/curmudgeonly about “alternative” spellings.
I think [name]Vinni[/name] is super-cute, though. You can probably get away with using it as a nickname for [name]Vanessa[/name] (with the standard spelling) pretty easily – although if it were me, I would seize the opportunity to use the name [name]Lavinia[/name].
Thank you all for your feedback! It’s definitely [name]Vanessa[/name] or [name]Vinessa[/name], although I know there are other legitimate names that could be shortened to [name]Vinni[/name]…for example [name]Lavinia[/name] as suggested by I in boston. I’m just stressing a bit as to whether [name]Vinni[/name] truly “works” for the name [name]Vanessa[/name], and if maybe a middle name with an I would help???
I’m normally sort of a stickler about alternative spellings, but in your case I think [name]Vinessa[/name] is fine.
I think [name]Vanessa[/name] nickname [name]Vinnie[/name] is fine. I think you would have more problem with people misspelling it than questioning why [name]Vanessa[/name] is called [name]Vinnie[/name].
I think [name]Vanessa[/name] is a beautiful choice.
Have you considered [name]Livia[/name] or Liviana?
If it helps…
I had a friend in Elementary school named [name]Vanessa[/name], and all her friends called her [name]Vinny[/name]. Also, from what I remember (20 years ago…), she was called by every possible pronunciation there is for [name]Vanessa[/name], and it didn’t phase her one bit. The slight difference in each one was barely noticeable. That being said, if you wanted to use [name]Vinessa[/name] to honour someone, you should most definitely do it! I agree with the previous poster who said that it freshens the name up.
[name]One[/name] sentence answer: [name]Both[/name] [name]Vanessa[/name] and [name]Vinessa[/name] work, and are pretty. Choose what you love best! 
I agree with what most people have said: Nicknames aren’t always obvious from the name and I think less people will question the nickname [name]Vinni[/name] for [name]Vanessa[/name] than the strange spelling. Also keep in mind that whichever spelling you end up using, the name is still honoring [name]Vincent[/name] – through all the thought you’ve put into it and through the nickname – her name came from him. I don’t think you have to spell it [name]Vinessa[/name] in order to honor him. That being said, if you love [name]Vinessa[/name] and you feel confident about it and it feels right, you should use it.