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Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
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I have heard this pronounced Gwen-ah-veev in the American South. Personally my favorite because all else sounds too Jennifer-ish and I despise that name.
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Geneviève Elverum (née Gosselin; 1981 – 2016), also known as Geneviève Castrée, was a Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec.
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Geneviève Picot is an Australian stage, film and television actress.
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Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (1920 – 2002) was a member of the French Resistance and served as president of ATD Quart Monde. She was also an author. Her uncle was General Charles de Gaulle.
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The move to "woman of the tribe" from the Germanic Genofewa is new to me. When we chose the name for our daughter, the references were all French and Celtic. It was "white wave" or "fair phantom" as meaning, related to Guinevere. As the Patron Saint of Paris, we have held to the French origins as the Germanic origins seem less strong. I see far less use of the German name and more from the French and Celtic in our culture, so I think Genofewa or Kenowefa are just different.
However when one person on a name website changes 15 years worth of baby name books (as we had for years), everyone rushes to follow. Anyone have a French history book to check?
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However when one person on a name website changes 15 years worth of baby name books (as we had for years), everyone rushes to follow. Anyone have a French history book to check?
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It's such a classy & elegant name for a child. I love it!
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Elegant and timeless.
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I hope it doesn’t get too popular, because I really like it.
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Elegant and unique sounding.
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My parents named me Genevieve, they understood it to mean 'white waves' which I think is awesome. Growing up, I had the hardest time writing my lowercase 'e's (which there are 4 in my first name alone) so my kindergarten teacher nicknamed me Gen. People would write my name as Jen, and assumed my name was Jennifer which drove me nuts. The worst was being called "Genny" UGH! Terrible. Once I moved out at 17 and got my own place in a new state, I realized I had so many options for nicknames in my long name, so I became Eve, which I still use to this day with casual friends. Eve evolved into Evelyn for a select few, and EveNation to my friends in the rave scene. When I moved back to the bay area and started working in high end retail, I started introducing myself as Genevieve again. Basically I only allow family and people who knew me as a kid to call me Gen. Say what you want about us Yankees "butchering" the pronunciation, but as a few people mentioned, not everyone speaks french. When anyone says my name in the French pronunciation, I'm always pleased, but I don't think it's THAT much more beautiful than the English way. My father was Mexican, and my Spanish speaking family calls me Genoveva (pronounced hen-o-veva) My newest email is my name made into a play on words: gen. Of. eve (generation of eve) I love my name! Took me awhile, but I think it's unique and powerful.
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My youngest daughter was christened Genevieve in 1987. Her elder sister Clara couldn't quite get her tongue around that. Nearest she could manage was Gemmybieve, so Gemmy or Gem she has been ever since. She seems to like it well enough.
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Well I think any pronunciation sounds good as long as it's not pronounced by an asian living in Asia! I've got people calling me “jennabee”， “jenabebe”， “jennavee” and the worst... January.
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I can't be the only one who prefers the "American mispronunciation" (which is not a mispronunciation at all, just the Anglicized version). Je-ne-veev is light, elegant, feminine and rolls off the tongue nicely. Zhe-ne-vyev is pretty as well but doesn't quite have the same charm. And zhawn-vyev is positively hideous.
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Geneviève Sorya (1912-2008) was a French actress. She was the mother of an even more famous French actress, Anouk Aimée. The name sounds much nicer in French than in English.
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Country duo Sugarland have a song called "Genevieve", using the English pronunciation.
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Geneviève is such a beautiful name, especially pronounced the correct, French way. I love it.
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Despite extremely disliking the name Genevieve, the pronunciation of Geneviève (zhe-nə-VYEV) seems to make all the difference. Sounds very pretty.
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People have queried "white wave", but I've always assumed it means a breaking wave, sometimes called a white horse. Other suggestions include "white phantom", which is also pretty obvious, though in today's world an odd name to give a child.
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Love this name, HATE the nicknames.
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Genevieve makes me think of a generous girl. It has some innocence too it. I prefer the French version more than the English version because it is more unique and it has a nice flow to it especially if you're fluent in french. (not too brag, but I'm happy I know how to pronounce this name correctly). It also doesn't sound too innocent and can be used on an older person.
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I only like the correct pronunciation of this name. The butchered English pronunciation sounds terrible.
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My old neighbor and her daughter were named Genevieve, but they pronounce it JEN-ah-veev.
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I think the French pronunciation is much better.
Genevieve really is a gorgeous name, but to be honest all I think of when I hear it is that dog off the cartoon Madeline when I was a kid. Therefore, I don't think I could name a child Genevieve; or a character, even.
That dog is the name Genevieve personified in the psyche younger members of Generation Y.
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Genevieve really is a gorgeous name, but to be honest all I think of when I hear it is that dog off the cartoon Madeline when I was a kid. Therefore, I don't think I could name a child Genevieve; or a character, even.
That dog is the name Genevieve personified in the psyche younger members of Generation Y.
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My name is Genevieve and I absolutely love it. It's pronounced the American way, but if I go to a different place, I think I'll tell everyone it's the French pronunciation. I also really don't like being called "Gen". It's boring and common. I'd much prefer Ginny as a nickname.
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To be honest, I like the English pronunciation better then the French pronunciation. To me, Jennaveev sounds much prettier.
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It is a French name in origin. In French, it is pronounced j-aw-v-ee-ev.
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It is a French name in origin. It means "Pure" in French.
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Such a pretty name. If I should have a daughter, I've thought of giving her this name and calling her Ginny for short. It seems to be a unique name without being way out there and the meaning is decent too. I'm a tad turned off after reading the other entries though. Has anyone known a nice, normal, kind, relaxed Genevieve? Or are they all "mean" and uptight?
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I am a normal person bearing the name Genevieve. It is a lovely name, meaning, I believe, "Pure" or "White" I will probably name one of my children "Genevieve" and thereby carry on the name.
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Pronounced in England, America and Australia/New Zealand as "Jen-ah-veeve". Nickname is spelled Gennie.
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My name is Genevieve. I love my name and many pronounce my name the English way and the French version. Although it seems many believe the name to be French in origin, it has Celtic roots (Welsh) from the name "Guinevere". Pronouncing the name "Jenn-eh-veev" does not butcher this name nor is this a mispronunciation. The French form is simply pronounced "Zhahn-v-yev". The reason for it's popularity in France is because of the custom of naming your daughter after a Saint, especially if her birthday was on the death day of that Saint, and in this instance, St. Genevieve, Patron Saint of Paris, death day January 3. Look up the story of St. Genevieve. Very interesting.
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The incomparable Catherine Deneuve plays Genevieve in one of the greatest movies ever, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, where the name is pronounced "JEN-vee-ev."
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If you pick this name, don't whine about how no one can pronounce it right. It's a French name, and many people, especially in the US, can't speak French, and pronounce French in an atrocious way, for that matter. Pretentious people who think French names sound all sophisticated and classy pick this name, and then grit their teeth when, surprise surprise, people don't pronounce it in the French way. Besides, this name isn't very pretty, and it comes off as old-fashioned in addition to the snottiness. With all those pretty French names out there, why go for this one?
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There seems to be some odd argument over how this name should be pronounced, though I would remind the readers that Anglophones do not speak French.
The name should be pronounced as [dʒɛnəvi:v] in English or as [ʒɛ:nəvjɛv] in French. I think that both are beautiful names, but also that it is really quite silly to argue over them.
If you wish to complain about the IPA symbols I use, please note that I am not spelling English words and need them to transcribe sounds that do not exist in English at all.
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The name should be pronounced as [dʒɛnəvi:v] in English or as [ʒɛ:nəvjɛv] in French. I think that both are beautiful names, but also that it is really quite silly to argue over them.
If you wish to complain about the IPA symbols I use, please note that I am not spelling English words and need them to transcribe sounds that do not exist in English at all.
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This is an elegant name with a beautiful sound. I vastly prefer the French pronunciation; the English version 'jen-a-veev' is clunky.
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Princess Genevieve is a princess in "Barbie In The 12 Dancing Princesses". Barbie plays Genevieve.
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This was my first grade teacher's name. She wasn't French, so I guess she pronounced it the American way: JENNA-VEEV.
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If people are going to insist that we pronounce Genevieve jon-vi-ev, they might as well insist that we pronounce William gwee-yom, or Janice jon-ees.
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I have a friend named Genevieve, but she goes by Gen. She hates how everyone always spells it "Jen" if they don't know her real name. I can see how that would get annoying.
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In the sacrament of Confimation, Catholics choose the name of a saint to call themselves as they enter the Church. It's kind of like naming yourself. When I made my Confirmation, I chose the name of Saint Genevieve. While mostly I chose this because of the namesake, I also chose it because it seems very pretty and French to me. I pronounce the French way, Zhyen e VIVE. However, with my first name being Danielle and my last and middle names both excruciating long Italian names, my name is very long now! Best hope that when I get married it's not to a guy with the last name of Smith! But I love this name, it's a good name for a girl.
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My grandmother had this name and it was pronounced jenna-veeve and they called her Jenny. I thought it was a pretty name but she was a mean woman.
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All the South African Genevieves I've ever known have used a "JEN a veev" pronunciation; one of them was nicknamed Jenny. Not much French is taught here; same with the USA, no doubt. Same with Why-vonny (which is rare) and Helloiz, and Charl for a man to prevent the -es from being sounded!
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This was to be my name, but my mother hated how the name was butchered into jenna-VEEV whenever she told someone about it.
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I you think that the English pronunciation is bad, let me tell you that my aunt did something worse! I have I cousin named Genevieve and her nickname was Genevy so my other aunt decided to name her daughter Jenevy but I told her that it wasn't Jenevy that it's Genevieve (zhon-vee-ev) and she insisted that it was Jenevy. That happened 5 years ago, and yeah, my cousin is named Jenevy.
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If I have a daughter, I want to name her Genevieve or Genowefa. Genowefa is the Polish version of Genevieve. Sounds like: shjen-o-vee-fuh.
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I have to agree with the poster above, different countries, different cultures, different pronunciation, doesn't make it wrong. The only people I have met with this name pronounce it JENNA-VEEV.
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I don't think there is a "correct" or "incorrect" pronunciation. It's simply pronounced differently in different languages, as most names are, and parents have a choice as to whether they'll use the French or English pronunciation. Either way it's a beautiful name!
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Canadian actress Genevieve Buechner bears the name.
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My two friends who have the name Genevieve pronounce it jenna-veev. I was surprised to find it was actually a mispronunciation, but I guess they like it that way.
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Fascinating that St. Genevieve's parents were German and Gaelic. Being that the name Genevieve is Ancient Germanic, I doubt it's original pronunciation was zhe-ne-VYEV! I find the English pronunciation so much more beautiful, and the name so diverse.
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This was almost my name, but my mother decided against it. She was afraid that people would say JENNA-VIVE instead of the lovely (and correct) French pronunciation!
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There is a character in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events whose full name is Esmé Gigi Geneviève Squalor. She is a very vile woman.
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I love this name, but wouldn't use it because it would ultimately be shortened to Gen, which is boring! Oh and I like it pronounced the English way better than the French way.
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The source language of Genevieve is an Ancient Germanic expression meaning "Woman of the people." This meaning is an educated guess by scholars, who trace the elements of this name to Celtic sources only with great difficulty. Another interpretation could be "Mother of the race." This is the name of the patron saint of Paris, France, and its use in modern times can be seen as a tribute to that city, thus the association with France.
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Genevieve is a lovely name, whether pronounced in the American way ("the American mispronunciation"), Jenna-veev, or the French way, Zhahn-vyev.
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The name 'Genevieve' means 'White-Wave'. It is the French version of the name Gwenevere.
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The way I pronounce the French way of saying Genevieve is the way you say 'Jean' in French and then VYEV. I'm pretty sure that's right.
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A famous bearer is Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold (born July 1, 1942). She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion-Picture Drama and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1969 movie, "Anne of a Thousand Days".
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In the children's television show, Madeline, Genevieve is the talented pet dog.
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I think this name is beautiful the way it's actually meant to be, but the only way I've ever actually heard it is the 'American mispronunciation' jenna-veev. We somehow manage to screw up everything over here don't we? :) Anyway like I said this name is beautiful, I just can't seem to pronounce it right and the pronunciation guide didn't help me at all.
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Americans do not "always find a way to mess things up" as you say. People in different countries say and do things differently, it has to do with a difference of language and accents that give names different sounds. We don't speak French so we are not going to pronounce it like the French. I like Genevieve pronounced both the American way and the French way.
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I like Genevieve with the nickname Evie.
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Genevieve Gaunt plays Pansy Parkinson in the Harry Potter movies.
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Beware the American mispronunciation of this beautiful name: JENNA-VEEV.
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From several sources that I have read, the name Genevieve is Gaulic, and means "white wave". The Gaulic, or Gallic, or Gaelic all stem from the same root. Galatia. The Galatians were a nomadic people with roots in the area south of the Black Sea at the time that St. Paul preached to them in the early Christian years. Genevieve's mother was Gerontia, a Gall, while her father was Valerius, a Roman.
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It's a beautiful name. I might want it someday for my own child.
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