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Iphigeneia
This has become a guilty pleasure of mine recently. What do you think? And what are some nicknames for it?
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I love Iphigeneia. Effie is a very appropriate and cute nickname for it, I think...Genie is more cutesy, but might work, too.Anyways, as a whole, I really adore the name.
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Iphigenia has been a GP of mine for decades. I say "guilty" because (a) it's too out there to give to a real child and (b) I'm using the old British "if-i-jeh-NIE-uh" pronunciation. I love the sound of it so much. But I always felt bad about altering the pronucnation from Greek that much. I've been toying with pronouncing it "if-i-jeh-NEE-uh" which I thought was more authentic. But now that you've got Iphigeneia listed I'm starting to wonder if it should be "if-i-jeh-NAY-uh." What's a snobby, self-righteous name nerd like me to do? The only honest answer is that I'm greedy and love both forms and all three pronunciations. :-) I use Iffy as a nn (another source of guilt), but also Effie and Idgie. I love the nn "NIE-uh" too, but can't make up my mind how to spell it (Nia or Nyah?). I can also see nns Jenny, Genie, and Neia. ETA: I should disclose that I have a sentimental reason for loving Iphigenia. When my dh and I first got together and were talking names for potential children he said he liked unusual names from Greek mythology for a girl. I timidly offered Iphigenia and crossed my fingers. Miracle of miracles he loved it. I knew that we had a lot in common. :-) It even made me start to think Iphigenia was usable. So there's at least two people on the planet that think it could work on a real child. Oh, and thank you Tiggs for the mention. But Jiffy is all yours. Very inventive nn for Iphigenia / Iphigeneia.

This message was edited 5/18/2011, 8:47 AM

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AwwI think it's adorable, but it has a really big presence, too.Great nickname possibilities! Iphie/Iffie, Idgie (aww), Gin/Ginny, and I guess Neia.

This message was edited 5/18/2011, 6:02 AM

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It's definitely too long and over-complicated to use in real life.Genie could be a nickname, but I can't think of any other.
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The sound of this name makes me think of "vagina." Sorry, but I think it's very unattractive.

This message was edited 5/18/2011, 5:06 AM

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I love the name in Greek, but I find the English pronunciation to be quite awkward. I think others have covered the nicknames quite well. :-D
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Well, I recently took some of the sounds from Iphigenia, creating "Giphie", and then jumped to the homonym "Jiffy" from there. I was looking to name a goat, but "Jiffy" did receive Bear's stamp of approval as a nickname for a human Iphigenia as well. I don't see why it couldn't also work for Iphigeneia. "Effie" is cute, too, of course.
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Love it! I think Effie is an adorable nickname.
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I can't even sound this one out, so I couldn't help you with nicknames.
How do you pronounce it!
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if-ə-jen-AY-ə
Probably different in Greek, but that's how I've heard it in English.
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hmmm...Gen, Genny, Neia, Iffie?
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I have a cousin in Greece, Effe, pronounced Eh-fee. That might be a cute NN for Iphigeneia.
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