View Message

Genevieve
Genevieve is the ONLY Genny/Jenny name I like. I also like nickname Eve, Evie. But I don't care for the meaning "woman of the people or tribe." What does that even mean? It's French. I've also heard that it can mean "white wave" which I love since I love the beach! But obviously BTN doesn't have that meaning. Can you help me solve this mystery?
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

My sister is Genevieve nn Evie! It's a great name. Gen/Genny is not a nice nickname though. It really downplays the awesomeness of the name. We always said that it meant "white wave". That is a legit meaning. I think it comes from Gwenhwyfar rather than Genovefa. "Gwen" definitely means "white/fair". "Woman of the people/tribe" is good meaning too though! It's got a nice belonging element.
vote up1
Hm. I would think that maybe "of the tribe" would be meant as a kind of virtue. So the name would mean something like, "Woman who is true/native-born/loyal to her people/heritage/culture." You might try asking about the meaning on the Name Facts board - someone might have some more solid information over there. Here is one post made there in the past about its meaning:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/2866387
vote up1
St. Genevieve is a pretty amazing character. Actually I don't know that at all. But her church in Paris is beautiful and has the most love-feeling of any church I saw. My advice is read about her if you want to be reassured about the meaning.
vote up1
Genevieve is lovely. It's the name of one of our cats. :-) She has several nns, however, Gen is the most common. We also call her Vivi (pr. vee vee). I like Eve and Evie as well. Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris which is pretty cool. Re: meanings, they matter to me but not as much as the feel of the name itself.
vote up1
I adore Genevieve. Evie is my favorite, and I've never liked anything it could be used for until you pointed this out.I honestly like the meaning. It has a very communal, grass roots, down to earth vibe.
vote up1
I don't think the meaning is as important in this case as the feel of the name to you. I met a Genevieve over the weekend, she was 4 or 5 I would guess, and everyone kept commenting on how beautiful her name was, including me.
vote up1
I've only ever seen the meaning woman of the tribe or tribe woman. But at the end of the day, who really cares about the meaning? Unless you're deeply connected to wanting a specific meaning, just go with a name you love. I mean, my daughter's name means "work". Not a cherished meaning at all. Doesn't matter because I love the name.
vote up1
I would suspect that the "white wave" stuff comes from trying to tie Genevieve to Guinevere and Jennifer - I've often seen both those names with the "white wave" meaning.
vote up1
Agreed. Most of the sources I see say the same thing about it meaning "woman of the people" or "tribe woman". From "genos" people. However, a few sources link it to Guinevere, which is derived from the elements 'gwen' meaning white, fair, blessed, holy ; 'hwyfar' smooth.
Though, most of the sources say that the origins and meaning are cloudy between the two options, simply because it is a French variation and the reason for the alteration is not historically clear.
vote up1