View Message

Yvonne
What do you think of Yvonne? I can never make up my mind how I feel about it. I like the way it looks but not sure about how it sounds, and I find it awkward to pronounce, but that's probably just me.Another question: Do you like Yvonne or Yvette better?And yet another: I've only known one Yvonne in my life and she was a child when I knew her, though she'd be a young adult now, as she was born in 1990. Her parents were from Scotland and that was where she'd been born. Does anyone know what the popularity level of Yvonne was in the UK in the 1980-2000 time period? By that time, it was far past its popularity peak in the US, which had occurred in the 1930s. Just curious, as it's not a name you hear often in the US and particularly not on a little girl.

This message was edited 4/15/2014, 11:57 AM

Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I agree it looks cool but it's so ick. I get the image of a 40 something year old woman who smokes and has frizzy bleached blonde hair with bad dark regrowth
vote up1
I like it only as a middle name. I like Yvette as a middle name also.
vote up1
I don't really like it. I think the Yv part looks awkward. Also, I remember seeing a programme at some point where someone pronounced it WY-von in an really overexaggerated way, and now that's all I hear when I say it!
vote up1
I quite like it. It's got a pleasant sound - usually pronounced ih VON here - and a happy feel to it. I prefer it to Yvette. Not sure about Scotland but I wouldn't be surprised if your Yvonne was the only one in her school - it was fairly rare in England and Wales at the time: less than 30 babies in 1990, and hasn't been top 100 since the 1960s (Rox was right, peaked in the 1950s). The only Yvonne I know is 30ish and Nigerian.
vote up1
I like it :-)Yvonne is one of those names that I forget I like until I use it in a name game or something. It's smart and understated. I think it could really make a combo pop, if you found the right name to pair it with. I prefer it over Yvette. Yvette has a bit of a "French maid joke" vibe.
vote up1
Yvonne was almost my name.My mother considered naming me for her childhood friend, a French-speaking girl named Yvonne.
It's a good name, I wouldn't have minded, though I like my own name just fine. Yvette is pretty, but, just locally, it's come to be the name for politically uninformed and timid women. For example, in an election campaign, -"That policy sounds interesting, but how will it fly with the Yvettes?"But, outside my own little bubble, Yvette is a nice name.
vote up1
Yvonne is just so French looking and sounding. When I first saw it (I was a kid) I thought it seemed super exotic and that attracted me to it. But it also now seems dated and everyday. So it's exotic to me, but in a really ordinary way... I guess... like ... the sushi at the supermarket deli? It's got raw fish on it, but so what - it's American sushi now. Yvonne has a glamorous Yv and a graceful onne, but so what. I won't be shocked if she doesn't speak French.Anyway I think it is a nice name. I don't really enjoy the second syllable stress. It sounds a little supercilious to me. Yvette is warmer seeming to me. But I kinda like Evette and Evonne better, for myself (basically because I don't speak French?).According to my name book, which has a few popularity lists in it, Yvonne was not on the England/Wales top 50 list in 1981. Nor 1965, nor 1975, nor 1925. But it was #46 in 1950. And according to the entry for the name, it broke into the British top 50 in 1970 as well.I think Yvon for a girl would be kind of cool. I guess that is creative of me. But it'd be better than Evan on a girl. And would seem more fashionable IMO than Yvonne would.
vote up1
I've never known any Yvonnes before. I don't really like it. I don't like the look or the sound of it, especially the sound. Yvette is slightly better, but I still don't like it.
vote up1
I think Yvonne is a very pretty name, elegant but down to earth. Yvette, like most ette names, has a tacky vibe.My stepfather has a cousin named Yvonne, I guess she's around sixty, very pretty and youthful. I think I know of an Yvonne who is around thirty but can't be absolutely sure.I can't be sure but I believe Yvonne was popular in the UK in the 1950's or thereabout.
vote up1
Heh-heh...I went to grade school with a girl who had Yvonne for a middle name, and she thought it made her so fancy. She used to introduce herself as Stephanie Yvonne , like in a stereotypical rich people voice. When I hear the name, I always think of her.I like it okay.
vote up1
It was my favorite name when I was a teenager. I am now lukewarm to it. It's a little severe and not as earthy as my current faves (Susannah, etc.).
vote up1
I really like Yvonne! It's silken and sultry but also earthy and grounded. I'm fond of Yvette as well, though at the moment I prefer Yvonne.
vote up1
It's ok. I'm sorta the same, I think it looks better than it sounds. Although it does sort of make me think of 70s smoking waitress. The pronunciation is confusing, too. I'm never sure if I should say iv-ON, ee-VON... yuh-VON?My SIL and niece's middle name is Yvonne (and I think it's also her mom and Grandma's middle name). They pronounce it yih-VON.I do like Yvonne better than Yvette... Yvette makes me think of Chevette. My dad had that car when I was little. :)
vote up1
I'm from England, born in 1990 and for my generation Yvonne is very uncommon. In my experience though, names go out of fashion a lot slower in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. When I lived in the latter, I met people in my age group with names like Patricia, Judith and Sharon, which are definitely considered dated in England. I think the culture and the pace of life there is a bit slower, so maybe it makes sense that the change in popularity of names is too. I don't really like either name, but I guess I prefer Yvonne to Yvette. I find both hard to pronounce and Yvette comes out sounding like 'a vet'!
vote up1
Woah, that's exactly my reaction. Before I had opened your post I kept thinking "It looks awesome, but I'm so conflicted about the sound." So it's not just you.I have pretty much the same reaction to Yvette. Not that it's that similar, but I like Yolande and Yolanda much better than Yvette and Yvonne.
vote up1