Whoever back there said that this name is a stereotype dog name, you are so right! When I think of this name, I think of some rich person’s pampered and snooty poodle.
My name is Sophia, but lots of people use this nickname for me. Especially my family members, because my nickname in Chinese is "Fei-Fei" which translates into Fifi. It can get a little embarrassing though if someone at school or something calls you Fifi because then everyone starts calling you that and I prefer Sophia. It's still better than Sophie though.
I hate this nickname. (No one in France would actually name their daughter Fifi.) This name sounds like the name of a stuck-up French stereotype you'd see on a British or American TV show.
Personally, I have always viewed "Fifi" as a direct insult to one's intelligence (whether or not it was originally intended); terribly undermining. It receives the same ratings as gifting your child the name (or nickname) of "Froufrou," from me.That being said... I have a cousin by the name of "Sophia" who answers to it (as she cannot stand "Sophie.") Various family members and friends summon her by it, but I stand firmly in using her actual forename.
When I was a little girl, I had a neighborhood friend whose nickname was Fifi. (The Lord only knows why, since her given name was Elizabeth.) Despite this pleasant early association, I can only see Fifi now as a name for a pet, a drag queen, or a sex worker. (Or maybe a clown?)
My niece, 3 years old, is named Sophia. She gave herself the nickname Fifi when she started talking. At first I thought it sounded a little silly and funny, but especially since my daughter, also 3, took right to calling her that, we do all the time, so it sounds normal to me now.
My daughter is named Philippa, and somehow she became known as Fifi. I'm not sure how this came about. It wasn't planned this way. I think I started calling her "Fifi" affectionately when she was very small, because neither I nor my husband liked the nickname "Phil". Fifi (my 16 year old) doesn't mind the name, and actually prefers it to "Philippa", which I think is beautiful. Objectively, I agree, though, that the name sounds cutesy and infantile. But it's not strictly a name for animals!
― Anonymous User 6/9/2008
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This is the kind of name you give to a spoiled lapdog, not your child.
Utterly silly and immature, even as a nickname. There is no way any woman named Fifi could be taken seriously. People would think she's ditzy simply for not changing her ridiculous name.