Baby name confusion..

ryannecb · September 2015

My husband and I both love the name Gia. My husband's only issue though, is he feels like it's not a "full" name. He loves it, but he sort of feels that it sounds like a nickname. I've tried explaining to him that it is a real name on its own, but he wants to give her a more "substantial" name (Giovanna or Gianna - leaning toward Giovanna) and call her Gia. I should also mention, one of his favorite relatives in Italy is named Giovanna and he feels like it would be a sweet nod to her (even if we end up calling her Gia).

He's Italian (first generation American though, he was born and raised here) and he and his father seem very concerned with how things are pronounced and understood in Italy - which is a little frustrating because we won't be raising our baby in Italy! I understand and respect that viewpoint, but at the same time, we're American and our child is American, and I'm not super concerned with what someone in Italy might think if she goes there to visit someday.

And as a side note, I know that the proper Italian pronunciation of Giovanna is "joh-vanna" not "gia-vanna". This just adds more confusion for me though! In America, it's more commonly pronounced "gia-vanna", which could easily translate into the nickname Gia. His family pronounces it "joh-vanna" though, and I have a hard time getting the nickname Gia from that. I don't want to give our daughter a name that will be pronounced differently depending on who is speaking to her.

Maybe I'm overthinking this. I just feel like if we love Gia, and are planning on calling her Gia, we should just name her Gia! lol. I want to respect my husband though and make sure we both have equal say in what we name our daughter. I guess I'm looking for opinions, or anyone who may know a Giovanna or Gianna who goes by Gia? Baby name is tough lol

CaraBoonie · September 2015

I think Gia is cute! If he's hung up on making it a full name (which is his prerogative as one of her 2 parents!) maybe suggest an alternative to Giovanna? I definitely know a couple Gianna's who go by Gia (and it also gives the opportunity for her to choose Anna as a nickname later in life if she feels that embodies her more, which is nice to have choices!)...Gia isn't commonly a nickname for Giuliana, but it wouldn't be nonsensical if you like that name maybe and wanted to call her Gia

Or Giada...Gia has become a name on it's own, for sure, but make sure your husband feels heard too

fragglemom · September 2015

I've only known Gia to be short for Gianna, but I've also known plenty of Italians who were simply named Gia without any long form name. As far as pronunciations go, it all depends on where you are/where you are from in Italy. There are quite a lot of vastly different accents throughout the country to the point where the nickname to a name could differ just by what region you're in.
I wouldn't sweat it if I were you. I think Gia is beautiful and you should let it stand on it's own if that's what you like. Good luck!

ariasbabyblog · September 2015

We had a similar problem with DS1 which is how we ended up with Daniel nn Dean. He has been Dean his entire life, but we both felt it wasn't a formal name and we wanted to give him options later in life. And before anyone asks, we get Dean from Daniel the same way you get Bob from Robert or Dick from Richard. I rather like Gianna or Giovanna. I think it's a cute nn and both are nice formal names for an adult woman. We have to remember as we name our children that they will grow up and be adults with whatever name we stick them with. Princess-Joy might be cute for a little girl, but for an adult woman? (and I do know a woman with that name, it's horrible)

As far as what the family in Italy thinks, who cares? Your families aren't raising this child, you are.

ccoleeman · September 2015

I think it's ok for her to have family pronouncing it differently than everyone else, it kind of keeps the tradition alive. My mom's name is Emilie (pronounced Emily) but every time we're around our Danish relatives they call her by the Danish pronunciation, which sounds more like "Amelia". It's very sweet and it's kind of special to her to get to maintain the cultural connection with her grandparents/relatives

babybluu · September 2015

We are naming our baby Gianna, and her nickname will be gia. I like gia as a first name as well.

babybluu · September 2015

I like giada too but dh said no to that one

leap_frog · September 2015

Giavanna was the girl name I picked this time.

love. But this one's a he. So.

ambercakes92 · September 2015

I wouldn't be especially concerned with the different cultural pronunciations, but that's just me. My older sister is named Imani, pronounced Ee-monnee. Her husband, and most of her friends, pronounce it Uh-monnee. It used to irritate me whenever I heard it, but it doesn't bother her at all. I think it boils down to these people just having southern accents (or maybe she has just never corrected them, I don't know). I also have a friend from Poland named Magdalena, nn Magda for short. I, and all the non-Polish people I know, pronounce the first "a" very clearly because that is how she introduced herself to us. However, I notice that her family pronounces the first "a" like an "o", sounding like Mogda.

Basically what I'm saying is that people are going to pronounce the name however you tell people to pronounce it. I don't think naming her Giovanna would be a stretch for the nn Gia no matter how you pronounce it. It's a lovely name! Although my personal vote would be for Gianna or just straight up Gia. Hehe.

mamaksweez · September 2015

I love all 3 of these names! I think Gia can be a stand alone name, Mia is. I love the name Gianna. I also like Giovanna. I had a friend named Giovanna in grade school, but we called her Gio for a nn.

BabyBump2 · September 2015

I am pretty biased to loving Giana, as that is my daughters name. We don't call her Gia, and I guess we've never even thought of it. I like it though!!

mamakculb · September 2015

ambercakes92 said:
I wouldn't be especially concerned with the different cultural pronunciations, but that's just me. My older sister is named Imani, pronounced Ee-monnee. Her husband, and most of her friends, pronounce it Uh-monnee. It used to irritate me whenever I heard it, but it doesn't bother her at all. I think it boils down to these people just having southern accents (or maybe she has just never corrected them, I don't know). I also have a friend from Poland named Magdalena, nn Magda for short. I, and all the non-Polish people I know, pronounce the first "a" very clearly because that is how she introduced herself to us. However, I notice that her family pronounces the first "a" like an "o", sounding like Mogda.

Basically what I'm saying is that people are going to pronounce the name however you tell people to pronounce it. I don't think naming her Giovanna would be a stretch for the nn Gia no matter how you pronounce it. It's a lovely name! Although my personal vote would be for Gianna or just straight up Gia. Hehe.

I completely agree with this post. My SIL is Hispanic and her name is Dayci. She goes by Day-see and Daisy depending on if her family or if her someone more American is saying her name. Neither seem to bug her at all.

ryannecb · September 2015

Thank you guys for the input!! All three names (Gia, Gianna, Giovanna) are beautiful so it's a win-win situation

and I agree with those of you who are saying not to worry about the pronunciation too much, you guys are all right! I'm sure it will change based on where we are, who we're with, etc. I especially liked what ccoleman said about the different pronunciation from the grandparents being a sweet way to connect to the culture

hope you all are having luck in picking out names for your little ones, thanks again!!