Pronunciation question

teeveemom

Just curious -not even sure I like the name-but how would you pronounce Genevieve on first instinct?
I know the American pronunciation is "Jen-ah-veev." But, for some reason, I default to "Jon-vee-ev" and I have to think twice before saying it out loud since I know it's probably meant to be said the other way. Maybe it's too many years of HS french, I don't know. Just curious how most people pronounce it on first instinct.

4N6s

Jen-uh-veev

daisyjo428

Jen-uh-veev

JubilantSquirrel

Jen-uh-veev

DaisyZH

Jen-uh-veev

queenbone

Another vote for the American way. I'd feel like I was TTH if I tried to use the French pronunciation in the PNW. 

tmadden

I much prefer the French version and if I thought people would pronounce it that way, it would be in the running. But I know it would be a lifetime of correcting people.

MaritimeMama3

I live in Canada, and most people here would pronounce it "Jen-vee-ev" with a soft "J".

louloutte87

UK here, I would say Jen-e-veev

kassy66

I've never heard this name said in real life. I always thought it was Gwen-uh-veev or Gen-uh-veev. Huh...

ETA: I figured out why. I've always related it to Guinevere.

pipeTsquared

louloutte87 said:

UK here, I would say Jen-e-veev

Ditto

Koalaknuckles

It's a French name, so if you're pronouncing it like they would it would be 'Jzhon-vee-ehv'.

But almost no one seems to pronounce it that way.

I'm Canadian and there's a huge population of French speakers there. The only person named Genevieve that I knew personally pronounced it 'Jen-uh-veev'.

I've been lurking on these boards for awhile, and it seems to be one of the only names that people who are sticklers about correct pronunciation deviate from their views on.

I live in the U.S. now, and normally when people anglicize French words/names I want to gouge my ears out with a pencil.

But 'Jzhon-vee-ehv' sounds a little pretentious to me if you're living in a predominantly English speaking area.

I'd go with 'Jen-uh-veev'.

Koalaknuckles

Ok, fair enough