I’m due in 3 weeks, and we’re going back and forth between two (similar) names for our little girl: [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] or [name_f]Neve[/name_f]. Here are my concerns with both:
[name_f]Nelle[/name_f]: We would pronounce it “Nell”, but I prefer the spelling this way (with the e), because I think it looks more feminine and complete. [name_f]My[/name_f] concern is that people might pronounce her name “Nellie”, or that even if they pronounce it correctly, she would end up with the nickname Nellie… which I don’t love.
[name_f]Neve[/name_f]: We would pronounce it “Nev”, like [name_f]Neve[/name_f] [name_u]Campbell[/name_u], but I prefer the spelling this way to the traditional [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], or to [name_u]Nev[/name_u], which I don’t think looks feminine or complete either. The drawback with [name_f]Neve[/name_f] is that several people I’ve asked about pronunciation said they would think it was “Neev” or “Ne-Vay”. To me, this isn’t as big of an issue as the [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] thing, though, because if people mispronounce a name when they read it you just correct them once and then they know! Whereas it seems much harder to me (if not impossible) to keep people from calling someone named [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] “Nellie” as a nickname.
It sounds like [name_f]Neve[/name_f] has less concerns for you, so I’d pick [name_f]Neve[/name_f]!
But – I don’t necessarily think [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] is inevitable for [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] with some reinforcement if people were to attempt it. Maybe take both with you and decide when you meet her?
I pronounced that correctly (in the way you prefer) no problem. If I hadn’t, I could be easily corrected. But [name_f]Neve[/name_f] is one that I’d pronounce “neev” at first, rather than “nev.”
[name_f]Nelle[/name_f] especially works with that extra ‘e’ thanks to its similarity to other names like [name_f]Belle[/name_f], [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Estelle[/name_f], [name_f]Michelle[/name_f], and even [name_f]Elle[/name_f] with that same spelling and pronunciation of “elle!”
I think [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] feels super whole and super classy. It ages wonderfully, feels familiar but not so popular, looks lovely, sounds lovely, and is full of spirit and pep!
As for nicknames, it’s pretty much impossible to decide what people will call her. They’ll call her what they call her, and even if that ends up being [name_f]Nellie[/name_f], you can always just call her [name_f]Nelle[/name_f]! But, if others (her friends, your family, etc.) giving her the nickname [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] would really turn you off that strongly, maybe [name_f]Neve[/name_f] would be the better choice.
Also with [name_f]Nelle[/name_f], there’s a very decent chance that she might like [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] as a nickname once she’s old enough to have an opinion on it. This is a possibility even if you are able to keep others from calling her [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] when she’s really little. Would you be okay with the possibility of her coming home from kindergarten or 7th grade choir practice answering to [name_f]Nellie[/name_f]? Is dealing with that worth getting to use [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] or would you rather sidestep the issue and forgo the name in the process?
I like [name_f]Nell[/name_f] and [name_f]Neve[/name_f] both.
[name_f]Nelle[/name_f] is fine - I would say it [name_f]Nell[/name_f], but I know what you mean about [name_f]Nellie[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Nell[/name_f] a lot, but am not keen on [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] and I think whichever way you spelled it, she’d be likely to be called [name_f]Nellie[/name_f].
I thought [name_f]Neve[/name_f] was pronounced [name_m]Neev[/name_m], but if I were corrected, I’d say it your way. I think that is a safer bet.
I would go with [name_f]Nelle[/name_f]. Both names are beautiful and unique but for ease of pronunciation purposes I would say [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] is the safer bet (and I too prefer the [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] spelling to just plain Nell), and I also wouldnt worry about most people pronouncing this like [name_f]Nellie[/name_f]. It’s quite common for the ‘e’ at the end of names to fall silent and since [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] as a name has been on the outskirts of public knowledge for some time I think it is familiar enough that you shouldn’t have much trouble.
[name_f]Neve[/name_f] on the other hand I would say would be a problem. In [name_f]English[/name_f] speaking countries anyway most everyone would say ‘neev’ which is what you don’t want. And I think a lot of [name_f]English[/name_f] natives would be confused by [name_u]Nev[/name_u].
I’d also like to say since [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] is already so short I would say you have equal chances that your daughter will choose [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] or [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] to go by in general. Both are soft and feminine and pleasant so I wouldnt sweat it
I love the sound of [name_f]Nelle[/name_f]. I agree with a previous commenter that a silent E at the end of a name is widely accepted, so I think it would be easier to live with than [name_f]Neve[/name_f], which I would also assume was pronounced “neev.”
[name_f]Nelle[/name_f] is pretty! I wouldn’t have gotten [name_f]Neve[/name_f] right. [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] is my favorite but I think your nickname & pronunciation analysis is correct She might even choose [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] when shes older but I don’t think its inevitable at all. Correcting people nev not neeve could be a pain though.
I actually pronounce [name_f]Neve[/name_f] as nev-EE. But to each their own. I was actually going to say [name_f]Neve[/name_f], because of my instinctive pronunciation inside of my head, and then I saw [name_f]Nelle[/name_f] and figured it was pronounced like [name_u]Nelly[/name_u], but I guess I’d say [name_f]Neve[/name_f] now since you don’t like the possibility of [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] as a nickname.
[name_f]My[/name_f] advice is that both have a pretty likely chance of being mispronounced anyhow and if you don’t like nickname possibilities just don’t use it. I would actually say I prefer [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] but that would be butchered.
(Nelle is pretty but [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] does seem inevitable)
She might even choose [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] when shes older but I don’t think its inevitable at all. Correcting people nev not neeve could be a pain though.