Hi, everyone again ! Quick rundown : I’m 26 weeks pregnant with my first child, a girl. I am French and married to an American (whose mother was also French) , & we want to give our girl a French name. Our surname is Eve (pronounced just like the English girls name) which has made it difficult to put names together because many French names clash with it! Our careers require us to live half the year in Paris & half the year in California, so our child(ren) will have a very French-American lifestyle.
Anyways, we are in the «homestretch» (don’t know if I’m using that correctly) of picking names so I’ve been asking opinions of all of the names I’m considering. One of these on my list is the precious name Sidonie , pronounced see-DOE-nee – once again the French Google Translate audio pronounces this name better than my approximation of writing it, so if you are unfamiliar with it, listen to her say it lol !
It is a different name than “Sydney”/“Sidney”. It’s of Ancient Roman origin & means “of Sidon”, which is a city in Lebanon (known as Saida to locals). I actually happen to have Lebanese descent from this city through a grandmother which makes it even more appealing & honouring.
I love it even though I know a few Americans will stumble with it. What I wonder is if too many Americans will stumble with it? And how many will just think it’s a fancy unique way of spelling “Sydney” & pronounce it like that automatically? I don’t mind the name Sydney too much, and actually wouldn’t mind if she went by a “Sydney” pronounciation in the US and “Sidonie” in France, but I also worry how confusing that would be for a child.
Also, I was thinking about possible nicknames. Of course I know that nicknames are usually given by friends/classmates/etc. rather than prescribed to them by their parents, but DH & I will want to have a nickname for her – especially for when we’re in the US. I like “Sido” (SEE-doe) & my husband has suggested “Sisi” (like CeeCee). If anyone has other suggestions, I’m all ears Thanks for reading & apologies for the long post yet again ! - Delphine
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]!
I love the idea of [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f]. I am from Australia and assumed it was pronounced See-doe-nee as soon as I read the title so I don’t think that the pronunciation will be an issue. But as you said, it’s not all that bad if it does end up being an issue as you can always use [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] in [name_u]America[/name_u].
Personally, I don’t think this would be too confusing for a child. She would associate each name with the country, and as long as you explained it to her it would be absolutely fine.
As far as nicknames go, I like both Sido and [name_f]Sisi[/name_f]. Other suggestions:
Siddy
[name_m]Donny[/name_m]
[name_u]Sunny[/name_u]
[name_f]Nini[/name_f]
I can’t think of any more but I’m sure there are heaps!
Good luck, I think you have made the perfect choice!
Thank you so much, & I love your suggestions ! [name_u]Sunny[/name_u] & [name_f]Nini[/name_f] are really especially so precious too. I really can’t thank you enough ! It might be pregnancy hormones but your comment made me tear up in a good way !
PS : I studied abroad in Australia for a year, I went to the University of Queensland in Brisbane (but definitely ventured outside of «Brizzy» & traveled all around when I could) – you have a beautiful country with wonderful, kind, funny people & if we could, DH & I would definitely love to live there
Oh I love [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f]! Such a beautiful yet spunky name.
I think some might pronounce sid-oh-nee but i dont see that as a big deal, no matter what french name you choose the different accent will alter the pronunciation a little. But i think they can still be beautiful.
I hadnt previously noticed its closeness to [name_u]Sidney[/name_u] so I dont imagine that would be an issue.
[name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] is lovely! [name_u]Strong[/name_u], elegant and distinct.
I see it as quite a separate name to [name_u]Sydney[/name_u], but if you don’t mind [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] then it won’t be too bad if people mishear it.
I absolutely love [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f]! I’m American but I’m not sure I count because I currently live in [name_f]France[/name_f] and I took 5 years of [name_u]French[/name_u] in school, but the name feels completely different from [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] to me. Maybe because [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] is clearly 3 syllables when I say it while [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] is only 2. I don’t think Americans should struggle too much with it though, and I think its similarity to [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] will help. I have the sweetest student named [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f]! Seconding the idea of [name_u]Sunny[/name_u] as a nickname because it’s the exact vibes I get from Sidonie☀️
I’m not [name_u]French[/name_u] or American but I think it’s a nice name. I associate it with aunt [name_f]Sidonia[/name_f] from the Suske and Wiske comic books.
[name_f]Sisi[/name_f] is a lovely nickname. [name_f]Sindy[/name_f] could also work as a nickname.
I’m American and unfamiliar with the name. I didn’t see [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] at all - my first pronunciation guess was SYE-doh-nee, because I pronounce Sidon SYE-don. But after reading/hearing the proper pronunciation, that makes more sense. It’s a lovely name (I love your familial Lebanese connection to it!) and I don’t think pronunciation will be a big deal. It goes very nicely with your last name too.
I’m from the US and did pronounce it sid-OH-nee at first, but I think most Americans could understand how to pronounce it fairly quickly, if they didn’t already say see-DOE-nee. Seeing as it is spelled like it’s three syllables, I don’t think many people will think it’s a [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] variant.
For nicknames, I like Sido like you suggested, as well as maybe [name_f]Donie[/name_f] or [name_f]Dodie[/name_f] (doe-nee // doe-dee) ? Also seconding the suggestion of [name_u]Sunny[/name_u]!
I am in the US and knew someone with this gorgeous name. But she pronounced it with more of the accent on the first syllable–SIH–doh-nee, instead of see-DOH–nee, so maybe pronunciation will be an issue.
[name_f]Beautiful[/name_f] name! I could see it being mistaken for [name_u]Sidney[/name_u] on first glance but if that doesn’t bother you too much, I say go for it! I think [name_f]Doe[/name_f] would be a cute nickname!
I’m an anglophone-but-bilingual Canadian. I would have pronounced the first syllable more like “sih” and would have thought it was linked to Sidney/Sydney. Regardless, I think it’s a really nice name! I’ve never met a [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] but the pronunciation is pretty intuitive, so I feel like most people in the US might need guidance on it at first but after that it’s pretty straightforward. And if not, as we’ve seen, it has tons of potential nicknames.
Also, this is just speculation by me, but I don’t think it would be so confusing to go by [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] in the US and [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] in [name_f]France[/name_f]. I think of kids who have different nicknames with different people and I feel like it would be similar to that.
Thanks everybody for your insights and kindness ! I wasn’t expecting so many lovely responses and great nickname ideas ! I don’t mind the first syllable being more “sih” than “see”, I actually think that would make sense for [name_f]English[/name_f] speakers & it isn’t a deal breaker for me – “sih-DOE-nee” still sounds very pretty to me. Thank you for all the input also about how it would be going by [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] in the US & [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] in [name_f]France[/name_f] – I was worried that it’d be way too confusing for her but I’m glad to see that that’s not the case & somewhat normal. I love all of the nickname suggestions too - @LouC I love [name_f]Doe[/name_f] I think that’s darling, @etoilelumineuse [name_m]Dino[/name_m] or [name_f]Onie[/name_f] are ADORABLE (I really love Onie), @coupletoutofrhyme I adore the nickname [name_f]Dodie[/name_f] (have considered it for the name [name_f]Dorothée[/name_f] so it’s already in my heart) & also love [name_f]Donie[/name_f], @Johannaa thank you for your well wishes & the suggestion of [name_f]Sindy[/name_f] as well as the supporting of [name_f]Sisi[/name_f] !, @hellobanjo I appreciate your honesty, @SparkleNinja18 hi again and thank you !! i love [name_u]Sunny[/name_u], @Greyblue you always give such great and varied suggestions, I love [name_f]Sosie[/name_f] a lot !
To everyone else, thank you so much ! It’s been hectic with work & I’m also experiencing some really difficult pregnancy side effects (for lack of better word) so it’s hard to respond to everyone, but please just know that your input is valued & appreciated & I feel all of your support - [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
I don’t really like it, but it could work, if you’re prepared for mispronunciations/misspellings of Sidney/Sydney. As I always say, if you like it, go for it! I could see Sid/Syd as a nickname!
It’s a lovely name but I find it clashes with your surname as they run into each other so much with their EE sounds.
As a nickname, I like Nini/Ninnie/Ninny and am not a hug fan of [name_u]Sid[/name_u].
Thank you ! I’m not a huge fan of [name_u]Sid[/name_u] either, I really like [name_f]Nini[/name_f]! As for the EE sounds, this was something we took heavily into consideration about all of the names we like, but ultimately we decided [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f] [name_f]Eve[/name_f] didn’t sound too bad put together - weirdly we actually like it. In [name_f]France[/name_f], people pronounce our surname like Éve (EHV) rather than EEV so I think it works that way, too, since she’ll be living a lot of her life there !
I know the bumping E sounds aren’t to everyone’s taste but in my mouth it seems to flow better than I thought it would
But I still very much appreciate your input & help, I appreciate honesty no matter what (as long as it isn’t mean), especially when it comes to what I’m naming a human being who will have her own life to live. Thanks again
I think it’s a nice name especially with your heritage, the connection to your grandmother and the way your child will be raised but I think the likelihood of having to correct mispronunciations is high in [name_u]America[/name_u]. Of the nicknames you listed I like [name_f]Sisi[/name_f] best.
Quick rundown : I’m 26 weeks pregnant with my first child, a girl. I am French and married to an American (whose mother was also French) , & we want to give our girl a French name. Our surname is Eve (pronounced just like the English girls name) which has made it difficult to put names together because many French names clash with it! Our careers require us to live half the year in Paris & half the year in California, so our child(ren) will have a very French-American lifestyle. 
Sidonie 
Thanks for reading & apologies for the long post yet again ! 
It might be pregnancy hormones but your comment made me tear up in a good way ! 
It’s a lovely name (I love your familial Lebanese connection to it!) and I don’t think pronunciation will be a big deal. It goes very nicely with your last name too.
i love [name_u]Sunny[/name_u], 