I’m really loving [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]/[name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] lately for our second girl. I feel like it fits the bill for everything I am looking for: classy, vintage, feminine.
However, I can’t decide on which spelling. I love [name_m]French[/name_m] names and spellings so I like how [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] looks better; however, I know that spelling is TECHNICALLY pronounced differently. [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] is supposed to be pronounced how most people recognize the name to be pronounced: [name_f]VIV[/name_f]-ee-an. [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f], however, is pronounced [name_f]Viv[/name_f]-ee-EHN.
Am I a totally horrible person for wanting to spell it [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] but pronounce it like [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]? Or do most people just pronounce it that way anyway?
Another concern I have is our last name - Ellic@tt. Is that just too many double letters happening? Maybe I should just go with the [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] spelling?
Personally I’d go with [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] !! I wouldn’t worry about the double letters, its always fun writing doubles when you are writing cursive too lol ” very pretty name… And as for the pronunciation, again I wouldn’t worry it isn’t far off from how you say it…my daughter is [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]. And I always catching myself calling her Nally lol
I think in the U.S. It will be pronounced pretty much the same way so I think you could just pick whichever name you like better visually. I prefer [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] myself because I like it’s stately simplicity, I don’t much care for overly elaborate spellings.
I would spell it [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f]. It looks much nicer and feminine, and everyone will pronounce it the standard way anyway. I don’t think it is a problem with your last name.
I prefer the spelling [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]/[name_u]Vivien[/name_u]. [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] feels fussy and over-feminized to me, plus I would pronounce it differently.
I love [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] together! [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] seems a little too masculine to me, so I prefer the [name_m]French[/name_m] spelling of [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f]. I think either way there are no issues with your surname too. I also say them exactly the same way but eventually correct myself.
If [name_f]Nora[/name_f] was short for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/a/[name_f]Honora[/name_f], I’d say [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] was a better match in the sibset, but since she’s just [name_f]Nora[/name_f], I prefer the simpler, more tailored [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]. I also think [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] looks better with the surname, and since you want to pronounce it like [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] anyway, I would just go with [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]. (Or maybe [name_u]Vivien[/name_u] would split the difference?)
I generally pronounce [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] and [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] differently, but I think in the US most people pronounce them both like [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]. I think that the double letters things isn’t really an issue at all since [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] only has the Ns. I would be different if it was [name_f]Annabella[/name_f], or something like that, but just the Ns I think are perfectly fine. It sounds like you like the [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] spelling better and you might get a couple people pronouncing it wrong but then you just politely correct them and it’s all better! Unless they are [name_m]French[/name_m] or name nerds I don’t think anyone would have an issue with it. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps
Thanks for your input everyone! It definite put my mind at ease. It’s funny - normally I like less elaborate spellings (i.e. [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] and [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] as opposed to [name_f]Juliette[/name_f] and [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]), but [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] just does it for me more so than [name_u]Vivian[/name_u].
