The problem with Genevieve

Girl Names
1

[name_m]Bear[/name_m] with my long-winded venting please!!

From a young age, I remember thinking that if I had a girl I’d name her [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]. (and I thought if I had a boy I’d name him [name_m]Sebastien[/name_m] or [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], but that’s not happening lol)

So, imagine my happiness when my hubby now said that’s his favourite name if we had a third daughter.
(Currently expecting a boy, but on the 5% chance they were wrong - we want to be prepared with a girls name too!)

THE PROBLEM IS, a few things.

  1. Where we live: we live in a city with a huge [name_m]French[/name_m] population, so here, it is pronounced the [name_m]French[/name_m] way (and a lot of [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]'s have an accent on one of the e’s).

  2. I had a friend tell me that someone she knew (Anglophone) named her daughter [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] (in this city) and after TWO YEARS actually CHANGED her name to something super English like, [name_f]Abigail[/name_f], that had no other pronunciation, because she was sick and tired of introducing her as [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] but then having people echo back to her only the [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation. We are not [name_m]French[/name_m], and although my hubby said he wouldn’t mind if people pronounced it the [name_m]French[/name_m] way, I have a problem with it, I’d prefer that if I give a child a name it just be one name, not two different names (it feels like to me anyway!).

I’ve already seen this tendency when telling bilingual friends about our current top pick for a girl, I say “We like the name [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]” and they say “Oh, [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-vieeve! I love that name!” It’s odd to me, because they don’t pronounce any of my other childrens names with a [name_m]French[/name_m] accent! Anyway!

I’m worried that if I named her [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] I’d be feeling the same name regret this other woman obviously did. I also wouldn’t want to give my child a lifetime of explaining no, she’s not [name_m]French[/name_m], yes she knows its a [name_m]French[/name_m] name.

  1. I ALSO, HATE the nickname [name_f]JEN[/name_f] ([name_f]GEN[/name_f]).

And I just had the icing on the cake experience…

a professional with whom I’m in contact with, always said her name was [name_f]Jen[/name_f]. I had no idea she was actually a [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] until just a couple days ago when she sent an email and I saw her signature on it. Also, her voicemail message on which she says her name, [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] is said so quickly that my English ear literally doesn’t even pick it out, I couldn’t ever hear that it was her name. That just makes me super uncomfortable with the name, if my English ear might not even pick up sometime when someone says my childs name!

Also, when I went to reply to an email from this professional, my instinct was to type “Hello [name_f]Gen[/name_f],” and I was literally peeved when I had to type out the whole thing because it is long, also going back down to the bottom of her email to double check her spelling and accent placement. So, what the heck, if I’m not willing to call someone else [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], other people would definitely call my kid [name_f]Gen[/name_f] eventually!!

So for these reasons, I’m really feeling like [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] is not the name for us.

I know we could move some day… but that doesn’t fix the [name_f]Gen[/name_f] thing.

Thoughts??? Experiences??? Thank you berries!
(on the hunt for a new favourite now…)

2

For the nickname, the professional [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] that you know calls herself [name_f]Gen[/name_f]. If you called your [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] something else (like [name_f]Vivi[/name_f] or [name_f]Eve[/name_f]) she would introduce herself that way in the future and people would know NOT to call her [name_f]Gen[/name_f]/[name_f]Jen[/name_f].
Since you don’t like the [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation, you could put it in the middle spot?

3

The way I see it you have two options 1) constantly try to correct people (probably futilely) or 2) grin and bear it. If I were in your shoes, I would probably just find another name…but then again my favorites are many and change over time so it’s not hard to find something else I like.

4

Yeah, as gorgeous as it is, I would probably choose another name. There are too many concerns here.

5

Ha, we have a very similar issue except opposite?

I’m [name_m]French[/name_m] and live in a bilingual city. I love Geneviève, strongly dislike [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]. I don’t want the English population to pronounce it the English way. I sadly had to remove it from my list.

I also dislike [name_f]Gen[/name_f], but met a [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] who went by [name_f]Evie[/name_f], so that’s a thought.

As a [name_f]Marie[/name_f]-[name_f]Eve[/name_f], I understand the daily struggle of the [name_f]Eve[/name_f] in a bilingual environment ([name_f]Eeve[/name_f] vs Ehv pronunciation). Therefore I wouldn’t use it, even if it’s a gorgeous name.

6

[name_m]Just[/name_m] call her [name_f]Gigi[/name_f] in everyday life.

7

Sorry, but I’ve gotta side with the [name_m]French[/name_m] crowd–[name_u]Jean[/name_u]-vieve sounds gorgeous, young, fresh…[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] sounds old and fussy to me. Anglo names I like…[name_f]Guinevere[/name_f], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f], [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Alison[/name_f] (though it’s dated)…and that’s about all that aren’t way overused or Biblical.

8

I think [name_f]Evie[/name_f] is becoming a more popular nickname for [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], if you prefer this nickname. If the pronunciation bothers you that much, I’d abandon this name altogether.

9

I went to college with a [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], and she pronounced it the English way. I accidentally gave her a nickname by teasingly calling her [name_f]Gigi[/name_f], which other people picked up. One of the Chinese exchange students told us that [name_f]Gigi[/name_f] is slang for the male reproductive organ so I’d avoid that nickname just in case.

I think if pronunciation is important to you, then you might want to pick a new name or put it as the middle name.

10

I’ve never liked it’s [name_m]French[/name_m] pn so the fact people would try to correct my ‘‘mispronunciation’’ would absolutely do my head in.

As gorgeous as it is, I’d honestly avoid it all together. It’s a very [name_m]French[/name_m] name for a non-[name_m]French[/name_m] child in a [name_m]French[/name_m] speaking community, anyway (like a [name_m]German[/name_m]-blonde [name_f]Juanita[/name_f] in a Latino community for example). Sorry!

11

I think your real problem is whether to confess to your husband, now that you have him on board, that you’ve changed your mind? Because to me, you have clearly changed your mind and don’t want to use the name [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]. So yes, confess right away. You can look for another girl’s name on the off-chance you’ll need one soon, but it sounds like you will actually be able to consider alternatives at leisure. But you have me convinced that [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] is out for you!!

12

She won’t necessarily have nickname issues. Once in a great while people call me [name_u]Angie[/name_u] and I say ‘actually I go by [name_f]Angela[/name_f]’ and that’s that, no big deal.

Similarly I live in a large Spanish speaking population so I sometimes get my g pronounce like h, it’s never bothered me too much. I didn’t grow up here though so I can’t speak for how it is in childhood.

13

I am the opposite in that I like Geneviève, but dislike the English pronunciation.

I think for all the reasons you listed, it’s not the best fit. I used to live in a bilingual English-[name_m]French[/name_m] city, and I found people generally defaulted to the [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation on [name_m]French[/name_m] names. You might find yourself correcting people a lot if you only want the English pronunciation.

14

The dominant language of your environment will always trump. I have an [name_u]Antoine[/name_u]. At home and with his [name_m]French[/name_m]-speaking and Arabic-speaking relatives, he’s the proper [name_m]French[/name_m] ‘ahn-TWAHN.’ In the real world here in Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f], he’s the African-American ‘[name_f]ANN[/name_f]-twahn.’ I’m cool with that and knew that’s how it would be going into things. It sounds like you’ve thought through things with [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] and there are enough impediements to make the name a poor choice. An at-home nickname like [name_f]Evie[/name_f] won’t solve the problem.

Would you consider the rather ravishing Italian/Spanish [name_f]Genoveva[/name_f] instead? Or is there another A/G girl name you’re considering?

15

Thank you for your feedback! Exactly what I was looking for, in particular your struggles! There are just too many great names in the world to saddle my kin with anything I can already see potential problems with.

16

Wow thats great to know about [name_f]Gigi[/name_f] because that was my nickname of choice!!! [name_m]Ty[/name_m]!!

17

Yes your example made me laugh but thats what I was tthinking too! It just took me awhile to wrap my head around it because my first daughter is named a spanish name but ironically since no one is spanish around here no one is the wiser! Youd think it appropriate to use a name culturally closer, but it doesnt really work like thatlol

18

First of all, it seems highly unlikely that you will have a daughter, so problem solved. And second of all, it sounds to me like you don’t want to name a daughter [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]. You’ve listed many legitimate reasons not to use it, so don’t. Best of luck!

20

I understand what you mean, my own name [name_f]Carol[/name_f] sounds different depending on what culture is saying it, but those are different accents saying the same name, not differing legitimate pronounciations. The difference can even be seen on nameberry where it lists the two different pronunciations under [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f].
The difference between french and english cant be seen in colour of skin or anything else visible which makes french vs english names more important! Its a cultural signifier. The french canadians here understand… it takes some french english history in canada!

21

I think the biggest problem here is that you have an emotional attachment to the name. Clearly, you have plenty of objective reasons to veto [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], but it’s hard to say goodbye after years of thinking it’s the “if only” name. I agree with [name_f]Pam[/name_f]: fess up to your husband, and pick something else.

Actually, I like [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] even better than [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] [name_f]Aurora[/name_f].