I know it’s a Nameberry favourite, and I see it suggested in a lot of threads and get a lot of love, but I’ve never really understood the appeal of it myself. For those of you who are fans of [name]Genevieve[/name], I’m curious, just what is it about the name that you love?
I think it sounds sort of romantic and can look cute on a little girl, and fashionable on a woman 
I agree with the above. I also love the nick name [name]Ginny[/name] which reminds me of [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]. Others love the nick name [name]Eve[/name] and [name]Evie[/name].
It sounds pretty and fancy with out being over the top like some popular names here.
I love [name]Genevieve[/name] because…
- It’s a French saint’s name
- it’s lush
- it’s chic
- it’s romantic
- it has nn options ([name]Evie[/name] is cute)
It’s not my style either. Seems a little too frilly. I do think the French pronunciation is fun to say though - I think I would like this on someone else’s kid.
I love elegant girls names with different sounds in them like the double v’s in [name]Genevieve[/name]. It allows a name to be flowery and beautiful without being overly frilly or sticky sweet the way some -ella and -iana names seem to me. I also love [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] for similar reasons.
It isn’t overused.
It doesn’t fall into any ‘name trends’ like [name]Kay[/name]- or L- names on girls.
It’s elegant in full and spunky when using a short form.
There are a lot of nickname options.
It’s easily pronounced by english and french speakers, which my family is made up of.
I love it!
I agree with most of what’s been said. I’m not very fond of most frilly names–the [name]Gabriella[/name]'s and [name]Evangeline[/name]'s and [name]Margareta[/name]'s.
[name]Genevieve[/name] is long, but has nice nicknames and a pretty sound.
It’s not at the top of my list, but I do like it.
I love [name]Genevieve[/name] because it sounds so gorgeous when you say it out loud.
I like [name]Genevieve[/name] because of the nns [name]Ginny[/name] and [name]Evie[/name] ([name]Ginny[/name] was my great-aunt’s name, so I love the tie to her memory), I like the connection of St. [name]Genevieve[/name], patron saint of [name]Paris[/name] (especially since my best friend was from [name]Paris[/name]!). I love that it’s long and elegant and fun to say. A lot of the same reasons others have listed. It’s so rich with personality and lush and romantic. Then again, it’s starting to feel overplayed, so I’m getting a wee bit tired of it. It is a lovely name, though.
It’s not a personal favorite of mine, but I do like it and I totally get the appeal. I think people like it because:
- It’s uncommon but familiar (currently at a 76 year high at #228,) a trait many parents look for in a name. It’s unlikely that there will be multiple Genevieves in the school, but people won’t think it’s weird.
- It’s got a sounds similar to popular names ([name]Jenna[/name], [name]Jennifer[/name], [name]Jeanette[/name], [name]Eve[/name], etc.) but it still stands out. You don’t find many names with double v’s and the -v ending.
- It follows several trends: the letter V, long and feminine, and French.
- It doesn’t have any major negative associations: it’s no [name]Jemima[/name] or [name]Cohen[/name].
- Tons of nicknames!
So yeah, I totally get the love of [name]Genevieve[/name].
I love the name - especially the French way of saying it. It’s a beautiful name and would be in my top 5 of choices except hubby doesn’t like it at all…
It’s got that old fashioned, vintage charm that’s all the rage right now, it ages well, has a huge variety of nickname options, seems like an updated [name]Jennifer[/name] to some…
Obviously it’s personal taste, but it fits a lot of the trends right now
I agree with all of the above–it’s uncommon, vintage sounding, and elegant without being too over-the-top. [name]Genevieve[/name]'s my top name choice for a girl as well because I like to think think the “[name]Eve[/name]” in it honors my grandmother [name]Evelyn[/name], who I never had the chance to meet. My initial plan was to call future-child “[name]Evie[/name]” until I learned that [name]Evie[/name] is becoming a popular name by itself here in Australia, but it also has a lot of other nickname options–like “[name]Neve[/name]” which is great since my husband vetoed it as a name choice (shh, he hasn’t worked this one out yet).
- It isn’t popular, but is well known enough to be spelled correctly
- [name]Both[/name] pronunciations are stunning.
- It has many good nicknames.
- Has history (French [name]Saint[/name]'s name)
- Could be a little girl in braids or an attorney at law.
[name]Don[/name]'t ask me, I can’t stand it!
[name]Genevieve[/name] is a middle-aged woman in a lumpy sweater, in my mind. Sorry if that sounds horrible.
Same goes for [name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Vivienne[/name]. [name]Do[/name] not get it.
Genevieve is my absolute favorite name! I think it has a romantic sound in French and English (important in Canada where I’m from!) and is stunning on a grown woman, as well as cute and fresh on a little girl with beautiful nickname possibilities. My favorite nn is Ginny, which someone just suggested on a thread not too long ago. I also think Evie is super cute. I like that it’s well known but still uncommon enough that she won’t be one of five in her class.
It’s also the name of a grandmother I never knew, so while I can say ‘it’s a family name’ that actually has less influence than the fact that I just really love the look and sound of Genevieve.
Selfishly, I hope that it doesn’t catch on, since I’m several years away from having a babe of my own and don’t want to suddenly skyrocket before I ever get a chance to use it!
I love it in French, not so much in English.
It’s one of my favorite names (though it’s not on my top twenty as I’ve used it on a character.) Like many previous posters, I find it versatile with many nicknames. I like it because there’s a French saint who kicked [name]Attila[/name] the Hun out of [name]Paris[/name] with prayer,courage and thinking. Plus, it’s romantic without being too fru-fru.
But I can see why it can be a bit much for some people. I still like it though.
I think it is stunning! I agree with [name]Mischa[/name]'s assessment. [name]Just[/name] an elegant name!