Vivienne?

doubleuxyz

Any thoughts? This one is an old family name, but we're concerned that no one will be able to spell it, but we're not fans of the simpler "Vivian."

Manderlin923

I love Vivienne

nittanyllama

I'm not a complete name nerd... but I would have pronounced them both the same.

jgengo0

I love this name and this spelling only. I say go for it

VTGal

I love it, very very pretty! And I love family names!

doubleuxyz

Good point. No one has spoken French fluently in my family in a long while! We'd be taking on the English pronunciation, but the spelling without the "e" bugs me. Hmmm.

VTGal

NittanyMama said:

I'm not a complete name nerd... but I would have pronounced them both the same.

 

 

 

I thought the exact same thing!

doubleuxyz

Thanks everyone! So helpful!!

SuperMom17

I doubt most people would distinguish the pronunciation/spelling...

Ineedmorecoffee

Was my top girl choice for a girl when I was pregnant with my son. I love it so much. This spelling only.

BLPL101

I had no idea they weren't the same name. I like Vivian. 

JustCricket

okay so someone who doesn't speak a lick of french... I cannot figure out the difference between the two pronunciations explained above... are you just putting  an emphasis on a different syllable? if so it seem like a very minute difference. It's seems almost (to me at least) like the difference between a southerner saying Ash-uh-ley and a northerner saying Ashley. ETA- can someone break it down a little better for me?

ETA again... even less of a difference between the two ashley's.. like almost not even there.

BulgariHeart

Joy2611 said:

PET PEEVE.  Vivienne is not the same name as Vivian.  One isn't just "a fancy spelling."

Vivian = VIV-ee-an

Vivienne - vivi-ENN

I would totally side eye parents who use this and don't pronounce it correctly.

Me too. I'm sorry but it's just not arbitrary. Vivian is one thing, Vivienne another.

BulgariHeart

flyawaycricket said:

okay so someone who doesn't speak a lick of french... I cannot figure out the difference between the two pronunciations explained above... are you just putting  an emphasis on a different syllable? if so it seem like a very minute difference. It's seems almost (to me at least) like the difference between a southerner saying Ash-uh-ley and a northerner saying Ashley. ETA- can someone break it down a little better for me?

ETA again... even less of a difference between the two ashley's.. like almost not even there.

Yes it's a different placing of the accent that results in a different pronunciation. Whether one speaks French or not that are people legitimately named Vivienne in this world who will not turn around when called Vivian. That's what happens with me and my name as well. Despite being similar, and many names are, among the different language variations, they are still most definitely not the same name.

apmom

I love this name, and i love how its spelled!

shannm

Quote fail. See below.

shannm

2013mommy said:

I adore Vivienne but I agree with Joy about the pronunciation. I would not pronounce these names the same. If you pronounce Vivienne correctly as "VIV-ee-an" I don't think you will have any issues with spelling. 

So confused. Didn't previous posters including joy say this was the pronunciation of Vivian?

homediva

Definitely needs to be spelled the way it'll be pronounced! But it's a pretty name!

Vivian - Viv-eee---en
Vivienne - Vi - vienne.

homediva

Definitely needs to be spelled the way it'll be pronounced! But it's a pretty name!

Vivian - Viv-eee---en
Vivienne - Vi - vienne.

Sorry, bump burp!

FrecklesInside

I agree with PPs that if you use Vivienne you need to pronounce it correctly. There is a difference between the two. I prefer Vivienne over Vivian. 

JustCricket

okay well call me an idiot... but with all of the pronunciation guides above, saying them aloud I cannot for the life of me figure out how to say them different. Below is how they both sound to me

https://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/vivienne

JustCricket

Also how is this any different than saying... YOU MUST pronounce Maria/Cristina/Mercedes with it's spanish accent! If you don't do it, you're disgracing all of SPAIN!

BulgariHeart

The difference is that we're saying that it makes no sense to stubbornly incorrectly pronounce the French version of a name instead of using the established English version. If you name a child Marie and insist that people call her Mary it would sound ridiculous. Same exact thing happens with the name Vivian. Mercedes on the other hand doesn't have an English version, correct pronunciation of foreign names on a single name basis isn't what's being pointed out here. Edited typos


ETA I apologize for being unclear... What I mean is that pronunciation and accent are two different things. Suppose my name is Carlotta - I would never expect people from around the world to say it exactly the way I'm used to hearing it my whole life. On the other hand though, I would not let them switch directly to Charlotte for convenience, as however close that might seem, it in not my name.

JustCricket

I'm not dense.. but thanks for that. I'm just honestly trying to figure out the difference in pronunciation... maybe if you gave a better breakdown on how to correctly pronounce it.. then I would understand. But like I said before... every breakdown above sounds exactly the same. To clarify... ONCE again.. this is how both of them sound to me. Please tell me where I am incorrect.

https://www.pronouncehow.com/english/vivienne_pronunciation

unless you want me to pronounce it like this, french accent and all (obviously minus the first part)

https://www.forvo.com/word/galerie_vivienne/#fr

BulgariHeart

The second link doesn't work for me but the first is pronouncing it wrong. The screen says Vivienne while the voice pronounces Vivian. Lost cause.

LisaG09

I'm guessing probably only 1 out of every 500,000 Americans will care about this argument and the majority of all Americans will never know there is a pronunciation difference between the two. I prefer the spelling Vivienne and would pronounce it the way it is spelled Viv-ee-en....it's a lovely name either way.

Emiliethiessen

The two pronunciations are so similar....I am thinking of naming my next baby girl Vivienne and read this thread for insight into the name. I never knew pronunciation was such a big deal between the two different spellings. I have a degree in French so know exactly how to pronounce Vivienne, and to be truthful, in order to pronounce this name 100 percent correctly (meaning 100 percent French), you would have to pronounce the entire name with a French accent, not just change the emphasis. And, as an English speaker, if you did that every time you spoke your child's name, you would sound super pretentious. If my husband and I choose this name, I would be using the French spelling and would never in my wildest dreams correct someone if they put the emphasis on the first syllable rather than the last and didn't pronounce the i-sounds more like e-sounds.  In the end, it doesn't matter how you pronounce each spelling because they are almost exactly the same. Countless names in the English language are borrowed from other languages and are often not pronounced "correctly" and it really doesn't matter. All languages are in constant states of evolution.

Ceridwen21

The comedian/comedienne comparison is perfect.  I love both names but would absolutely pronounce them differently.

AmandaR204

Dh and I just dropped this name. I pronounce Vivian as vivi-uhn and Vivienne as vi-vienne, emphasis on.vienne. it's really similar and nbd imo. Joy tried telling me Idk how to sayIt either when I made a poll for it...even though she never saw my pronunciation of it, she just assumes no one knows how to say it correctly but her.