I am wondering what you think of [name]Signe[/name]. It is very ethnic, obviously. I was searching my family tree for names. I had heard this one long long ago, before I ever had children. I am part Scandinavian. So I was searching that particular family tree. (The English one is not interesting, just a bunch of Elizabeths, Anns, and Sarahs.)
I am afraid [name]Signe[/name] is so much like [name]Sidney[/name] that everyone will constantly mis-hear her name and it will just be a life of difficulty. I am torn. I want her to love her name. But having some of our heritage might be nice too.
BTW…please give honest opinions. No need to humor me. I really want to know what people think.
I like the sound, but when I read it I just see “sign”. You’d certainly have a lot of pronunciation issues, and I think you’re absolutely right about the [name]Sidney[/name] thing. Maybe it’d be better as a middle name? It can be pulled off as a first since it’s so close to the more familiar [name]Sidney[/name], as long as you’re willing to deal with the difficulties.
[name]Signe[/name] is gorgeous. It will stand out among the [name]Emily[/name] and Jordans. And it has family connections. I’d go for it. I don’t hear [name]Sidney[/name], but I know how to pronounce it.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Signe[/name]! I think the pronunciation is very intuitive, but I’m also from the Midwest so I might be more familiar with it. I love the idea of passing on your heritage, and I love the meaning. I vote one giant yes
I love it. I think it looks different enough from [name]Sydney[/name]/[name]Sidney[/name] on paper, that people would not jump to saying that necessarily. It’s a name I think is definitely worth using, and worth correcting people if they mispronounce it.
I like [name]Signe[/name] a lot. I have known 2 Signe’s - both from Minnesota with Scandinavian heritage. I would use it. It should only take one time for people to learn how to say it correctly. If people can learn to pronounce [name]Saoirse[/name], they can pronounce [name]Signe[/name].
I know a [name]Signe[/name] (spelt Signey) and to be honest she’s often called ‘[name]Sidney[/name]’ but it isn’t a big problem for her, she just quickly corrects them and moves on. But if your worried about that, another similar option could be [name]Sigourney[/name].
I didn’t think this was said anything like [name]Sydney[/name]. Previous posts on these boards have led me to believe the pronunciation is sing-ne (short E ending). [name]Non[/name]-intuitive.
I love [name]Signe[/name]. I currently have a [name]German[/name]/Norwegian student named [name]Tordis[/name] in my class and no one has an issue with it.
I like [name]Signe[/name] alot. I knew a women who spelled her name [name]Signy[/name], that makes it more intuitive if you are going for the [name]Sig[/name]-nee sound.
However I would never use it since my mother is danish and she insists that the “correct” pronunciation in danish is with a silent “g”, sort of like [name]Zena[/name] (the warrior princess) with an s: scene-ah. I absolutely love this pronunciation but know it would be next to impossible to get it in english speaking countries.
I like the suggestion of [name]Sigourney[/name].
I bet if you dig long enough in your family tree, you’ll find some of the following, all of which are great names:
The myth of the Scandinavian [name]Signe[/name]/Signys would put me off, honestly. I realise most people don’t read the sagas, but if you’re choosing it to honour Scandinavian roots, then the roots of the name are important too. And neither of those women met happy ends, one married her brother and then killed herself by setting herself on fire, the other also burned to death when her husband is sentenced to be hanged. I think the spelling is pretty intuitive, I wouldn’t worry too much about that kind of thing. It’s really not that big a deal correcting people once. Having said that, I know one [name]Signy[/name] (who dislikes her name for the myth reason, which is partly why I know about it at all) and when she introduced herself to me I thought she said [name]Sydney[/name], and didn’t realise my error until she added me on Facebook! But that’s my failing, not the name’s!
I have never heard the name before and read it as sign with an e on the end. I like the idea of family names and Scandinavian names, but I think this one is just not ‘familiar’ enough to me. What I mean is that I have a hard time even deducing the origins of the name to try and guess a pronunciation. I actually thought it may have been ‘seen-yay’ in a French prn of the ‘gn’ sound.
If it is more common in your neck of the woods, then ignore me, but that’s my two cents!
I grew up in a strong Norwegian community. I knew one [name]Signe[/name] who was born and raised in Norway. She pronounced her name with a soft ‘e’. like the the second syllable of the name ‘[name]Anna[/name]’. I think it is very beautiful this way, and is not similar to [name]Sidney[/name]/[name]Sydney[/name]. [name]Hope[/name] that helps!
I would intuitively pronounce it “seen-ya,” but I’m a French teacher. Professional hazard. And for the same reason, I can’t get “sign” out of my head. I think once I get my head around the actual pronunciation, I’ll be a fan.
