Genevieve or Stella?

caitlandrenee

Well DH and I had Genevieve picked out for the longest time, but I cannot picture calling a little girl Genevieve so we had thought of using the NN Evie.  Evie is becoming too popular, and I started to back off.... but I still love the name, and it's far more popular with family and friends than Stella (our other choice).  Not that that will be our deciding factor by any means.  I also like that Genevieve is not even remotely popular.  Stella is in the top 100 baby names, but Genevieve isn't. 

 Then my sister suggested Stella, which I love, and DH likes (but he still likes Genevieve more) but consented to it because he got to pick the middle name.  I also like the idea of being able to give her jewelry or things with stars on them as she gets older.  But I wonder if the charm of the name will start to wear off at some point.

 I had pretty much chosen Stella (see my name tag below) but I still keep wavering. 

 Anybody have any thoughts?  Anything I should take into consideration that I'm not already.   It does look like Noel is going to be the definite middle name.

caitlandrenee

Joy2611:

I think Stella is so harsh sounding.  I can't describe it any better than that, unfortunately.  I really really don't like it.  I do - however - like Estella.  I feel like the E softens it just a bit.

Genevieve is awesome.  It's on my list and I'd use the nickname Eve (not Evie).  You can also use Jen or Jenna.  

 

EDIT: You know that Noel is the masculine spelling of that name, right?  Noel in French is Christmas, but is a masculine noun (le Noel).  The correct way in French to make it feminine is to spell it Noelle.  I'm just throwing that out there.

 I actually like Estella (one of my favorite books is Great Expectations) but I almost think it sounds old ladyish?  Maybe because of Estelle Getty?

 We'd probably go with Ginny as a NN for Genevieve.

And the reason it's Noel instead of Noelle (which I prefer) is because my husband's grandfather was Leon, and that spelled backwards is Noel, which is why he wants it that way.  I've tried to fight for Noelle though, trust me.

Thanks for the input! 

saham07

My mom was a Genevieve with no nicknames........not even in school. Now me niece is Genevieve with no nicknames........it can be done with really no effort at all. I say go with Genevieve and call her that if that is what you want.

i do like Stella also.....I think it is a very sweet name. 

Happy2BPregnant

Genevieve is more original

sunshinelove1

Stella Noel sounds beautiful.

BrittRN+

I seriously love Genevieve. It's gorgeous on its own, but also has a lot of nicknames. Other nn's could be Nev, Nevie, Viv, Vivi, Gigi, etc. Genevieve Noel is perfect.

RedCardinal

I like Genevieve more ! 

I would never shorten it, but if you want to you could use Neve, Viv, Ginny, Vee. 

JNoelleE

I like Genevieve more, but I wouldn't say it's not even remotely popular. It was going to be our babies name last year if we had a girl, and I've heard a lot of people mentioning it lately on a few different pregnancy boards. But, not as popular as Stella. Also, my brothers name is Noel, pronounced Nole. But I also know a girl named Noel spelled and pronounced that way. 

FakeFinn

I used to love Stella, but my love has pretty much worn off. Can't really tell you why, it just gradually lost it's charm. However, if I had had a daughter and would have named her Stella, I'm pretty sure I'd still love it. I much prefer Estelle over Stella, I like that there are more nn options and think that it has an overall softer and more feminine sound. I have been watching re-runs of Golden Girls (don't tell anyone) and I love Estelle Getty, so for me that would be a plus  

Genevieve is lovely, it is such a feminine name that's both soft and full of character. I love all the nn options as well. I'd pick Genevieve over Stella.

Zimger

I like Stella.

Genevieve is also nice but seems frilly to me.

Lhand11

I like Genevieve better and I think the NN Ginny is adorable. I have a cousin whose daughter is Genevieve with no NN. Honestly, Stella is becoming pretty popular. I always think of the Grateful Dead song Stella Blue. Which is not a bad thing! 

LPace84

I like Stella a lot, but the EXPLOSION of Bellas, Belles, Elles, Ellas, etc in the past few years has made me take it off my list.  I feel like it's so close.  Genevieve is beautiful and I don't think it's overused at all.