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[Opinions] Jillian vs Gillian
For some reason this name popped in my head but I can’t decide which is better. I think Gillian looks better but I’m scared people aren’t going to understand it. WDYT?
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I prefer Jillian. It's possible I just like J names, given that I have one. If I were using it, though, I'd go with Jillian.
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Jillian is 100x better. I never understood how you got the sound Jill from Gill which should be pronounced like Gil, as in Gilbert.
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I think Jillian looks a whole lot better, but I doubt if Gillian is that unfamiliar that people wouldn't know what it was. There's Gillian Anderson, after all.
I really like Jillian.
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Gillian has been the default spelling since the Middle Ages, no doubt because people then thought it looked better! And it's not as if gin and giblets are confusing people because they don't start with a j. I like Gillian enough to use, and Jillian not at all. I do enjoy Jill as an independent name, but not enough to use it.And I was at school with, I think, three Gillian people and one Jillian, and nobody turned a hair.
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Gillian with this spelling was in the top 100 here from the 1930s to the 1970s, so it looks more normal and familiar to me. I like it. I've never seen Jillian in use.I would have thought that Gillian Anderson was well-known enough in the US for it to be a recognisable name there?
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If Gillian Anderson is the star of the X Files - I've seen her name, but I've never heard it pronounced.
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Thanks. Yup looking at the charts, Jillian has been far more popular across the pond than Gillian - I didn't know that, but now it makes sense that Gillian's less familiar to people.
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I love the Name Gillian. It looks much nicer with a G IMO and I like the "old versions" of names (if historically rooted).
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I prefer Jillian, but that’s just personal tastes. Something about names beginning with G just throws me off. Either one would be fine, though, and I think most people will know how to pronounce Gillian.
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I love Jillian. But I know a Gillian and, while I’m not a huge fan of it, I think it’s more because I’m just not used to this spelling.
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I love the sonority for the name Jillian, but with a "G" I'd wonder if the "G" were to sound like the hard "g" as in Greg or a fish's Gill - than an alternate character for a "j" /Jh/ sound. Still, spell the name as you like it.
I'll admit that I am generally not skilled with assuming a (the) correct pronunciation for a name.
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In Grade 5 a new girl appeared in our class half-way through the year: Gillian. Our class teacher asked her if it was pronounced Jillian or Ghillian, and she said it was always like Jillian except when her mother was trying to impress people!
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That's funny.
I am somewhat indifferent to spelling--and tend to believe that language develops more through sound--and beyond this, by association than by written character. For all that, I like when short forms bear different spellings - &/or even different sounds.That perhaps if a particular Gillian were pronounced with a hard G - she would also have the short name Jill - pronounced with the Jh - as in the old nursery rhyme. (I love the name Jill--even more than Gillian / Jillian). That Thomas can be TomThat Stephen is no less a Stevie or Steve than Steven is a Stevie or Steve - and that Stephanie too can bear any or more of these short names.

This message was edited 8/15/2018, 4:35 PM

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I SOOOOOOOOOOO want to pick Jillian so Janan won't "feel alone" in her opinion, but I can't! (sorry, Janan lol)I pick Gillian because I don't care for Jill (the D*gg*rs tainted it for me), and a Gillian would be more likely to be called by her full name anyway.
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I prefer Gillian.
Jillian seems like a surname to me, and also seems sort of 'dumbed down' because I learned Gillian first. It's like Jemma or Jorja.
I relate to your worry that people would missay Gillian though. People are silly.
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I prefer Jillian because Jill makes more sense to me.Gillian and Jillian are equally as popular here in the UK. I don't think either spelling would confuse anyone here.
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I love the Gillian spelling because of Gillian Anderson :)
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Gillian. Partly because like Perrine said, I dislike Jill, and with Gillian it seems less likely as a NN.I'd also prefer it pronounced with a hard G, though. Like Gili.

This message was edited 8/14/2018, 3:22 PM

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I prefer the way Gillian looks, but I've met a couple who pronounce their name GILL-ee-an, gill as in fish gills, which is ugly. I'm not a huge fan of the name as a whole however.
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Gillian looks so much better. I would definitely go with Gillian. I'm sure people will understand it and if not it is easy enough to explain. Gillian looks classic to me whereas Jillian looks kind of 70s/80s. I also dislike Jill and I get the feeling that a Gillian is more likely to be called by her full name. It also seem more mature and elegant.
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Eh, not really. The only Gillian’s I’ve known have gone by Gill pronounced Jill,
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