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HelpRe: Nicola
in reply to a message by Lily8
I'm in the US, and I've never met a Nicola, but I've met many Nicoles. Most of them have gone by Nicky (more often than not spelled Nikki). I prefer Nicola. It's pretty and elegant.
If I had to guess, I'd say Nicola never took off in the US for a couple reasons. 1- Nicky is the main nickname, and people may be burnt out on it. I know I am. 2- People are unsure how to pronounce it and each pronunciation has problems to the American ear. NIC-o-la sounds like "nickel" and ni-COH-uh sounds like "cola."
I think this combination of pronunciation plus nickname issues may be why Michaela, Gabriela, and Daniela marched in as fresher alternatives to Michelle, Gabrielle, and Danielle, but Nicola hasn't gained any ground on Nicole.
If I had to guess, I'd say Nicola never took off in the US for a couple reasons. 1- Nicky is the main nickname, and people may be burnt out on it. I know I am. 2- People are unsure how to pronounce it and each pronunciation has problems to the American ear. NIC-o-la sounds like "nickel" and ni-COH-uh sounds like "cola."
I think this combination of pronunciation plus nickname issues may be why Michaela, Gabriela, and Daniela marched in as fresher alternatives to Michelle, Gabrielle, and Danielle, but Nicola hasn't gained any ground on Nicole.
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hm but
I still wonder why it wasn't common in the 70s and 80s, when Nicole was at the height of its popularity. People are sick of Nikki now and I understand why there aren't many young Nicolas around, it's just a mystery to me while people never used it while Nicole was common because they weren't sick of Nikki back then. I thought people would turn to Nicola because it's less common yet still has the nn Nikki, like people nowadays turn to Madeleine because it's less common than Madison and they can still call her Maddie.
Yeah, you're right about the "cola" part, it bothers me quite a bit as well. Maybe that's why I prefer Nikola.
I still wonder why it wasn't common in the 70s and 80s, when Nicole was at the height of its popularity. People are sick of Nikki now and I understand why there aren't many young Nicolas around, it's just a mystery to me while people never used it while Nicole was common because they weren't sick of Nikki back then. I thought people would turn to Nicola because it's less common yet still has the nn Nikki, like people nowadays turn to Madeleine because it's less common than Madison and they can still call her Maddie.
Yeah, you're right about the "cola" part, it bothers me quite a bit as well. Maybe that's why I prefer Nikola.
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I think it comes down to trends at the time...
When Nicole was at the height of its popularity, French names, especially those ending in -le, were really 'in' and variants ending in -a were not as popular. Nicole, Danielle, Michelle, and Gabrielle, for example, were all more considerably more popular during that period than Daniela, Michaela (any spelling), or Gabriela. I bet Nicola wasn't used as an alternate path to Nikki at that time because Nicole itself was so fashionable.
The pendulum has swung in the other direction now, and the -a ending is hot while old Gallic favorites sound dated. So, Danielle is falling while Daniela/Daniella climbs, and so on. Nicola should be more popular than it is...I'm starting to think it must be the pronunciation issue.
When Nicole was at the height of its popularity, French names, especially those ending in -le, were really 'in' and variants ending in -a were not as popular. Nicole, Danielle, Michelle, and Gabrielle, for example, were all more considerably more popular during that period than Daniela, Michaela (any spelling), or Gabriela. I bet Nicola wasn't used as an alternate path to Nikki at that time because Nicole itself was so fashionable.
The pendulum has swung in the other direction now, and the -a ending is hot while old Gallic favorites sound dated. So, Danielle is falling while Daniela/Daniella climbs, and so on. Nicola should be more popular than it is...I'm starting to think it must be the pronunciation issue.
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