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HelpJennifer is Gentle - what do you think?
I am quite fascinated with the tryptic flow of "Jennifer" right now. I love how the letter f opens into the final stress for the "fer" sonority, which reinforces a new onomonopietic classification – and may I suggest that Jennifer is Gentle – and by this I mean pure softness.
While Jennifer bears all the tradition of Guinevere—so it is also replete with heritage; yet it also seems simultaneously new: almost an All American classic, though it bears extensive heritage through Arthur – Jenn & Gwen hold hands as near as twin sisters (Middle English folk / fairy tales in modern American reality!), yet are as separate as fact & fiction – yet even these commonly perceived opposites to me bear extensive relation.
Jennifer is Gentle - pure softness: what do you think?
While Jennifer bears all the tradition of Guinevere—so it is also replete with heritage; yet it also seems simultaneously new: almost an All American classic, though it bears extensive heritage through Arthur – Jenn & Gwen hold hands as near as twin sisters (Middle English folk / fairy tales in modern American reality!), yet are as separate as fact & fiction – yet even these commonly perceived opposites to me bear extensive relation.
Jennifer is Gentle - pure softness: what do you think?
This message was edited 3/17/2018, 11:20 AM
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I don't think it's soft. It's a bright solid angular name, with a sense of stature and determination. Not quite as fierce as Guinevere. I think Jenn and Gwen are more warm and give me more impression of movement than the longer forms, but they're not soft names either.
Jennifer / Guinevere are "gentle" in the sense of being associated with nobility (or maybe just dis-associated with vulgarity).
Soft J names, to me: Jessica, Janel, Josephine.
Jennifer / Guinevere are "gentle" in the sense of being associated with nobility (or maybe just dis-associated with vulgarity).
Soft J names, to me: Jessica, Janel, Josephine.
This message was edited 3/20/2018, 12:21 PM
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Cool
For me - Jennifer is strong with natural stature too; however gentleness & softness can bear a fortuitous quality - as patience, "the still and silent" component behind determination.
For me - Jennifer is strong with natural stature too; however gentleness & softness can bear a fortuitous quality - as patience, "the still and silent" component behind determination.
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Jennifer does not strike me as gentle. On the contrary, it comes across as bold, assertive, and possibly athletic. Guinevere has more of a musical flow and seems comparatively more gentle. Jennifer does sound very 80s and 90s American and is extremely common where I live; however, it does have a fairly long history before that and it may come back in a few dozen years.
This message was edited 3/19/2018, 3:46 PM
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Well, the nifer part reminds me of the word 'conifer', which isn't particularly soft. I wouldn't say it's new, either.
I do like a lot of feminine names that share sounds (jen/nif/fer) with it, though: Winifred, Fern, Fernande, Fernanda, Genevieve, Ginevra...
I do like a lot of feminine names that share sounds (jen/nif/fer) with it, though: Winifred, Fern, Fernande, Fernanda, Genevieve, Ginevra...
This message was edited 3/18/2018, 8:36 AM
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It is soft and gentle but it is so so dated. I really wouldn't use it. There are so many girls and women named this. It feels so tired. It needs a really long break being one of the most common names of all times. It didn't leave the top 100 too long ago either so it's not like Susan or Linda which were super common but are hardly found among children. There are still quite a few young children with this name around.
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Yes, Jennifer does have a soft sound, however, it's waaay too common for my tastes to even consider using. I read somewhere that after the 70s Jennifer explosion, Jennifer was launched into the top 10 US names for females in just one decade (and that's not counting the 60s, 80s and 90s). Now THAT'S popular.
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i agree, and it would appeal to me a lot if it weren't so common. seeing it so much waters down that impression to me. though it is an interesting and lovely sounding name if you look beyond that, like you do.
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I am almost indifferent to popularity; initially, it affects me too, but I enjoy reconsidering, as there are always additional values.
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I think ...
That sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
That sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
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Soft-sounding, yes. But dated.
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Yes, it's soft and gentle. But I still don't like the "fer" ending, and it was still way too popular for me to even remotely consider using.
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I think I like the 'fer' ending most - as it brings distinction on the polysyllabic formality, even amidst the given popularity, yet this very syllable is not (to my limited knowledge) used in any popular hypocoristic versions. I love that it ends with a consonant other than "ette", which implies lesser or inferior--which, ethically to me is a meaning which should never be imposed or supposed upon anyone.
Jen / Jenn can be an independent formal name - without raising much question, though most would assume it a short name for Jennifer. As a short name - I like it much better than Jean - as a short for Jeanine or Eugene. If I were named Eugene - I'd use the Jeanine version - and who would be the wiser: if one asserts etymology, I'd counter with morphology.
Jen / Jenn can be an independent formal name - without raising much question, though most would assume it a short name for Jennifer. As a short name - I like it much better than Jean - as a short for Jeanine or Eugene. If I were named Eugene - I'd use the Jeanine version - and who would be the wiser: if one asserts etymology, I'd counter with morphology.
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Now I've got the song about "Jennifer, Gentle and Rosemary" firmly stuck in my head!
I would agree with you about the sound of Jennifer, but the two Jennifers I know the best are anything but! One is very feisty, an international sportswoman in her day (a fencer!) and the other has been self-obsessed and sly since she was six years old and is unlikely to change now.
That said, I like Jennifer enough to consider using it, given enough daughters and a different husband.
I would agree with you about the sound of Jennifer, but the two Jennifers I know the best are anything but! One is very feisty, an international sportswoman in her day (a fencer!) and the other has been self-obsessed and sly since she was six years old and is unlikely to change now.
That said, I like Jennifer enough to consider using it, given enough daughters and a different husband.
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Interesting - I never knew of any songs or lyrical texts which praise this name - Thank You. I popped the title into YouTube and found a holy host of examples; happily I found a folk style recording, rather than a pop tune.
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