Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
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I'm about to have my first daughter after my 4 year old son, Sam. I'm definitely considering Genevieve. The name is timeless and pretty; it could be shortened to make it sound edgy, or kept at full length to sound formal and vintage like, and even shortened another way to make it sound cute and short. I love that Genevieve can sound long and gorgeous, or shortened to nicknames like Gen, Genny (pronounced Jenny), Evie, or Gena (Jenna). All round a fabulous name to fit any style or trend!
I named my car Genevieve (since I didn’t have children)— and you would be surprised how many people remember that is my car’s name. When I go to the dealership, even the service guy says— “Oh Genevieve is back!” I think the name is memorable to people.
This is my name and I find it quite nice and unique. No one can spell it (I was like 5 years old before I stopped writing my name "Gene") Anyway I get lots of complements on it from primarily old ladies, which may be distressing if you have a problem with old ladies, but personally I've found it a pleasant experience. Anyway I don't at all find that my name has doomed me to a lesser fate compared to a person called say, Emma, but I can see why it's not super popular.
Genevieve "Neva" Gerber (1894 – 1974) was an American silent film actress who appeared in more than 120 films between 1912 and 1930.
Oh my gosh I LOVEEE this name so so much. It's so cute and beautiful and wonderful and just AMAZING!
This is not an attractive name at all. There are so many prettier names out there!
One of my favorites. In fact, I have a cat named Genevieve. I love the French pronunciation a bit more than the English, but I thought it would be pretentious for me to use the French version.
Eve could be used as a nickname.
Genevieve is a brilliant name. Another nickname that I came up with is G'ieve (pronounced JEEV), which I'm infatuated with at the moment.
Beautiful name and underused right now! I love the nickname Evie!
This name is rather cute. I see some people comparing it with Genesis, while I don't think the two are in the same stratosphere. Genevieve is much prettier. The only remarkable Genevieve I know of is Genevieve Hannelius off Disney. I'm sure there's other Genevieve's, just can't think of any. The name is adorable.
One of my all time favorites, and it has many cute nickname options. I particularly like "Genny" or "Ginny" at the moment though I know the confusion for Jenny would be high. Genevieve is beautiful, elegant, sophisticated and charming. I imagine a pretty hostess of an evening party sipping champaign and recalling a witty anecdote before singing a song and playing classics on the piano. It has a very "professional yet princessy" image I believe. I can pretty interchangably imagine a lawyer and/or actress having this name. If you like it I say go for it, it's a great name!
According to https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/genevieve there are slight differences between British and American pronunciations:Geneviève in British English - /ˈdʒɛnɪˌviːv/
Genevieve in American English - /ˈdʒɛnəˌviv/
This is a very cool and underrated name. Evie is a cool nickname.
I like this name for a strong personality girl. Not a weak, boring name, and not too overused. A nice nickname could be Ginny/Ginnie, Vivi and Eve.
Soooo pretty. Idk how anyone could find it ugly. It's a little long for my tastes but very lovely.
Genevieve is a beautiful name, I especially like the French pronunciation of this lovely name. It has an array of nicknames that has already been mentioned by other people. Genevieve Marie sounds good together as a first and middle name. The name has a certain flair to it especially spoken in the French.
I adore the name Genevieve because of the nickname opportunities. I love names like this because she can change her name throughout the stages of her life. I kinda like the name Genevieve Elise.
Really like it with the nickname Evie. I just hope it doesn’t get too popular.
Too long for a name. It has a nice sound though.
Lol when I was younger, I got confused between Genevieve and Guinevere.
I named my daughter Genevieve. Her nickname is Gigi as in "Look, it's baby Gigi!" She's only 16 months old and I don't expect the nickname to stick for long. I'm okay with Gigi as a nickname because it occludes the possibility of Gen becoming her nickname. We currently live in Nigeria so it's a rare name here. However, the most famous Nigerian actress is currently Genevieve Nnaji who I once met at a party in Lagos before I got pregnant. I don't know how I finally decided on my daughter's name. I completely forgot about meeting the actress until after I had Genevieve. I sometimes wonder if the name got stuck in the dark recesses of my mind at that party and shined to the surfaced a few months before I had Baby Gigi.
Please do not do this to a poor child! Absolutely awful name!
Perfect name! Looks so strong, fits for different age women! Classic beauty!
A little long, but can be fixed with some cute nicknames, like Gen. Overall a pretty name.
Ugh. I don’t see the appeal!
I think it's not an overestimate to say that Genevieve is one of the prettiest names out there. I mean, I love it. It sounds feminine, stylish, mature, classy and is a name that ages very well. Because it's long, you can shorten it to Gen, Genny, Genna, Gigi, Vivi, Evie and, well, I think it's one of the prettiest names you can give your daughter. Seriously, I am deeply in love with this name.
I really don’t like this name. It’s not pretty at all.
Love it! Definitely going on my list.
Despise this name!
It’s very pretty and elegant. I think it goes nicely as a middle name and will go nicely as a first name as well, I think it sounds nice with any middle name!
Jenavieve Sarahi is my daughter's name and I love it.
I don't care for it, but I see the appeal.
I've changed my mind, I like this name now. I still wouldn't use it, but I really like the ring of it. It's pretty.
Genevieve is so queenly and elegant! I definitely prefer it to Guinevere and Gwendolyn. Love the nickname Eve!
It’s quite elegant, but too old fashioned for my taste. Each person’s taste in names are very different, as well as mine.
Elegant sounding.
Genevieve Taylor is the daughter of Josh and Aly of the TV documentary “Rattled”.
This is one of my favorite names in the world. I love how French it is and it makes me think of a classy girl or woman.
This is my name and it's a French name. My parents named me after a distant relative that was a queen.
In 2018, 86 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Genevieve who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 782nd most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
This is my middle name, but I really wish it were my first name. I might start going by it one of these days.
I adore this name, I have always found it so lovely.
Genevieve is a recurring villain in the show Totally Spies!.
I love the name Genevieve, so classy! And it's less likely to be misspelled than Guinevere.
My name is Genevieve, I prefer the French pronunciation, but mostly go by Jen-a veeve. My hubby calls me Gena, pronounced short e, Genna. My family will call me Guinevere sometimes as they did growing up. In school I still go by Gen if people have a difficult time pronouncing or remembering. I was named after an ancestor. My family is old Virginians and a man went to New Orleans on business and came back with a French wife, Geneviéve. So we have one about every other generation, oldest granddaughter usually with ring that goes along with it. Belonged to first Geneviève.I’ve read Germanic, French, old welsh depending on pronunciation. I’ve read it means white wave, (the froth in waves that hits the beach) fair one, white lady, fair lady.. I’ll take any of them, I do like fair or white lacy as I am quite pale!
One could thing is I’ve always known when telemarketers call! I don’t care for Jen or Jenny or Jennifer anything with a J!
I will be using this name if I have a girl, named after my sister who was stillborn. I think it's a beautiful name. I have always loved the name Evie, which is a great nickname for a young girl, and Eve, or Genevieve in full, is a very elegant and sophisticated name for as they grow older. I'm not a fan of Gen/Genna/Gene as nicknames.
Genevieve is actually my middle name, but I love it. I actually go by Genevieve. I wouldn’t be afraid of calling my daughter Genevieve just for the nicknames, if she really likes her name, like I do, she won’t let people call her Genny or Gen. I used to let people call me Gen, but then my mom told me one day that my name was too pretty to be just “Gen”. And, I realized she was right. Now I introduce myself as Genevieve and people go, “Wow, I will not forget that name! Wow! That’s a very pretty name!”.
I really like Genevieve, almost as much as I like the names Guinevere and Gwendolen. She can go by Genie or Eve, and this name actually has history and meaning. I would use Genevieve as a middle name, and Guinevere as a first name though. I like Gene and Eve.
This is my name. I've only ever met 3 other Genevieve's in my life and I'm 37. 2 as an adult. I've always loved my name and I go by Jenny with a J. My daughter is called Eve which is named after me as Eve is a legit nickname for Genevieve too. Genevieve means white water. It's pronounced Jeen-vee-yerv in French and Jenna-veeve in English. My brothers and sister call me vieve.
This is my name and I love it (pronounced gen-EE-veeve) I believe your name really determines the path of your life in some respects and I've always been proud of my name. I think it's beautiful, unusual and romantic and I get told a lot that it's pretty. My nickname was Gennie which I don't really like. - I wish it had been Evie.
Overall I think that the name Genevieve sounds sophisticated and also pretty, like a fairy tale name.I think that Genni or Vevie are really cute as nicknames!
This is the name I want to give my daughter! It is *so* gorgeous. Utterly stunning.
Genevieve Morton is a South African model. Genevieve was born in Benoni, in the South African province of Gauteng and from there moved to a small town called Scottburgh on the South East Coast of KwaZulu Natal at the age of twelve where she grew up.
Love this name! We named our daughter Genevieve, we call her Gigi for short since I'm not a Jenna or Gen fan. We get so many compliments about how elegant her name is.
This name always sorta sounded awful plain, and I think the spelling makes it sound ugly. I prefer Jennifer.
We named our middle child Genevieve and pronounce it the American way. My husband wanted to call her Evey and I wanted her to have a formal name so we settled on Genevieve but call her Evey. She loves her name and it suits her well. At her pediatrician's office there used to be a receptionist that pronounced it the French way, Jean-v-ev (Jean sounds like Shawn with a J). We both loved it and sometimes I call her that for fun. She is a gymnast and at awards she is often called Ev-ie even though we spell it Evey. She gets annoyed at that and is thinking of going with her full name next year to avoid that. I love her name and we don't know anyone else that has it but we did bump into another gymnast last year with it. And I met someone whose sister wants to use the name with the nickname Evey as well. But it's not a mainstream name yet. It's so pretty. It's unique, like my child.
Genevieve is one of my favorite girl names. I think it is a very lovely, feminine name, plus it's pretty uncommon, which is nice. I definitely prefer the English pronunciation though, because it seems more "in place" with classic American names, so less people will mispronounce it.
My name is Genevieve. Though I'm not much of a classy and formal person, I still like the name. I usually introduce myself as Gen to make people's lives easier since the full name is just too complicated. I don't mind being called Gen or Vieve, but I hate it when people call me Genny. It makes me feel like a 5 year old. I also hate it when people mistake my nickname as being short for Jennifer and go on to call me Jennifer. I usually just correct them but I don't want to make them sound stupid. Having a complicated name can be difficult but hey, blame my mom for it.
My name is Genevieve (Gen-A-Veev) and I love it, but always introduce my self as just Gen because sometimes it sounds a bit posh. Introducing myself as Gen also helps the pronunciation issues in role call, and spelling... Except sometimes it is spelt with a 'J'. I HATE it when people call me Jenny, but other than that I'm ok with any other abbreviations, but mostly get called Gen anyway. I live in Australia and it is pretty uncommon, and I always get a nice reaction when people hear my name, but Gen is often perceived as an abbreviation of Jennifer or something like that, but I don't mind. My sister is actually called Madeline, which ties in with the tv show, and in my opinion a very good metaphor for our relationship... One time I went to Paris and I got to introduce my self as 'zhen- a- vee-ev' (French pronunciation) and felt so fancy!
My name is Genevieve and I completely love my name. When people first meet me and I introduce myself I get instant admiration. I am always complimented on my name and often asked questions about it since it's rare. Having this name you need to expect that people will shorten your name both written and verbally. We can't fault others for this since it is a long name. The one who is adorned with this name will need to expect it and must be patient on this issue. My suggestion is when you meet people, tell them your full name and give the person the option of calling you the nickname you like if they want. This way you avoid the automatic Gen issue. I personally don't mind Gen if it makes things easier on others. My husband has a unique nickname for me that only he gets to use which is Veve. If you are thinking about naming a child this name please do and don't worry about nicknames. I have not met that many other Genevieve's in the world, but the ones I meet love their name like I do.
I'm surprised at how many people won't use this name just because they don't like the nicknames Gen, Genna, or Genny. I felt the same way when I chose this name for my daughter so we use the nicknames Evie and Eve. I wasn't seeing these listed as possible nicknames anywhere, so I thought I would post them as alternatives for people who are thinking about Genevieve. It's a beautiful name, and I feel like it works well for my daughter because, for now, she is Evie but later in life she can use the more sophisticated Eve or Genevieve.
I haven't heard a more beautiful name for a woman. It is strong, feminine, classy, and nostalgic yet chic. I've always loved it. Hands-down, if I am having a girl this will be her name. My husband and I both love it. I like both pronunciations, and like Eve, Eva, Evie, and Vieve for nicknames.
I think this name is gorgeous in both English and French and almost used it for a daughter but ended up picking another name. It does seem hard to spell.
I love the name Genevieve! It's so beautiful, regal and classy. :) Annoyingly enough, sometimes I get this name confused with Guinevere. X_x.
Princess Genevieve is the main protagonist in Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses.
This is a terrific name! Beautiful, elegant, dignified, and rare. I've never heard of one. It's a solid, unique name unto itself, rather than being a variation or something with a bunch of similar versions. PLUS, it's essentially two names in one; you can say "Jen-uh-veev" or "Zhjahn-vee-ev" depending upon your mood! I like both pronunciations.
And for nicknames you've got Gen/ny, Vee, Vivi, etc.
Ok, so I have this name and I pronounce it the "American" way. Just because some of you heard it pronounced the French doesn't mean the American way is a bad way to say it. I LOVE my name the way it's pronounced. Besides, most of you that say "it's pronounced wrong" probably don't even HAVE THIS NAME! So quit saying it's pronounced wrong. Another thing, I love this name but hate how people start nicknames like "Gen-Gen" or "Genny" some people probably don't mind if this happens to them, but I just want to be called Genevieve.
My name is Genevieve, with my middle name being Michelle, which I think sounds nice together, but I hate my name. No one can spell it and many casual teachers at school would look at my name on the roll and have difficulty pronouncing it. My name is pronounced the English way of Jenna-veev, and from birth have been nick-named 'Gen' which I'm really over. I now prefer to be called Genna or Genevieve, but people still automatically call me Gen. My mother found the name as it was the brand of her maternity swimmers. My family call me either Gennybean or Jellybean as my young cousin was trying to say my name while pointing at my photo but my uncle thought he was saying Jellybean! My Dad also called me Genibear when I was little and now one particular friend writes my name as Genibear in things such as birthday cards. Most people also commonly mistakenly spell it with a J.
I adore this name. I find it to be very elegant, and something about it is a bit quirky too (in a likable way.) I can definitely see myself eventually using this name. I like the name Genevieve Snow.
I love this name! So pretty and uncommon here in the U.S.
This name is gorgeous and has a few different nickname options. I just worry it would be hard for a little one to learn to spell, and that it would get mispelled a lot by others. It would also get mixed up with Jennifer, but that is okay. I love both the English and French pronunciations.
My name is Genevieve and I just get called Gen, I hate Genny and Gene. Wouldn't have minded being called Evie- that would have been nice but everyone just called me Gen growing up and that's how it stuck. Growing up I hated my name but I have grown to love it. Everyone compliments my name when they hear it, many people can not pronounce my name, and at work when I speak to people on the phone I've often been called Debbie, Jennifer and Louise, I am English and pronounce it jenna-VEEV so I have no idea why people think the above names have come out of my mouth. My sisters' names are Saffron, Jessamine and Tamsin, my daughters' name is Peyton. My middle name is Daisy which I have also given my daughter.
I personally love this name. It sounds strong and independent, yet still approachable and kind. I hate my current name more than anything and plan on legally changing it, probably to Genevieve, when I turn eighteen (I want no connection with my family, they are borderline verbally abusive to me). I love the way it sounds, and I will never go by a nickname like Gen or Genny when this is my name.
Genevieve (Cortese) Padalecki, actress.
Genevieve Duchannes is a character from the "Caster Chronicles" book series.
15 year old US actress Genevieve Knight Hannelius, she goes by the nickname 'G' although she prefers Genevieve or 'Geneviee'.
15 year old Disney Channel Actress, Genevieve Hannelius.
My older sister's name is Genevieve and her nickname is Jenna, though her name is spelt Genevieve not Jenevieve.
In the TV movie "Too Young to be a Dad," the title character, Matt, names his daughter Genevieve.
This is my name and I love it! I don't mind any nicknames I get. Viv, Vivieve, Kivitz and Kiv. I simply love it, it's way better than Riley or Madison, they are last names!
The name Genevieve was very popular for a long time in France, but began its decline in the 80's. It is now very uncommon among baby girls. It's most popular year was 1947, when it was given to over 5, 000 babies.
We just named our daughter Genevieve, everyone absolutely loves it so far. I just love how elegant and old fashioned it is, in my opinion names like this are better than Madison or Riley on girls. I had never met a Genevieve in my life until I had my daughter, so I think it's pretty unique. An excellent choice for anyone looking for an beautiful, vintage, French name :)
In the book 18, Pete's middle daughter is named Genevieve, though she prefers to go by Evie.
Pretty name, I've only ever heard it as the name o the dog in Madeline... Not sure why they gave a dog such a "human" name, but this reminded me of that. It's a really pretty, unique name, Jennie or Evie would be good nicknames.
I like the name Genevieve. It has some pretty meaning to it. My sister will use this name on her daughter as a middle name if she has one, but I won't probably use it. I like the short forms of Genevieve as well: Genny, Ginny, Jenny, Jinni, and so on.
This is one of the names my parents wanted to name my sister, after my great-grandmother who died three weeks after I was born. It sounds pretty, though it's not one of my favorites. It reminds me of the dog from Madeline.
My sister is called Genevieve, but we mostly call her Evie, which I think (although I may be biased) is definitely the nicest nickname for Genevieve, unlike Genna etc. You can even see Evie in GenEVIEve. I'd never use Genevieve, simply because it's my sister's name, but I probably wouldn't use it anyway. I think I prefer Guinevere, but Genevieve is much more useable and still sounds lovely. It is a very regal, elegant name.
The sister of award-winning Australian actor Cate Blanchett is named Genevieve.
Genevieve Smart is one half of the Australian fashion brand Ginger & Smart, with her sister Alexandra.
Genevieve Nutting is a contestant in the Miss America 2012 pageant. She represents Idaho.
Genevieve Marie Johnson is the name of American NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson's daughter.
There is no one correct pronunciation of the name, it depends on where you are from and where the accent mark is, so technically if you spell it Genevieve without the mark it would have an American pronunciation.Also, many French people consider this name to have Celtic origins and not French, they just consider Genevieve (with the mark) to be a French version of the name.
I love the name Genevieve pronounced JEN-NA-VEEV. I think the English pronunciation is prettier than the French.
Is it wrong to consider calling future twin girls Guinevere and Genevieve? Cause I'm likely to do it anyway!Love this name; so beautiful and feminine yet works in the modern world as well as giving images of a medieval princess.
I used to find it quite old-lady-ish. But I've grown pretty dang fond of it, to the point of actually thinking about naming a future daughter this. It's really very classy and elegant, a excellent choice for a child.
I love Genevieve, it is my grandmother's name but she goes by Jenny which I think is cute especially when my grandpa says it. He says Jenny with so much love, it's adorable. It seems elegant. I think my great-grandmother did a great job naming her kids.
I, for one, see Genevieve and Geneviève as being two completely different names. Like other comments have already stated, BTN lists Genevieve as being a name of English origin. I also have come across numerous sources that imply Genevieve is a variant/English alternative to the Welsh, Guinevere... I can't be sure if that's a correct statement or not, but given the fact that Genevieve and Geneviève clearly have different connotations and stances within history, Genevieve should be recognised as being a name in her own accord.
I wish I had the chance of naming my little daughter this! I really do not like nicknames, for any name, and Genevieve is especially best if left as is. Very beautiful. No Gen, Genna, Jen, Jenna, Genny, Jenny, Ginny, Vivi, etc.
I really like the name Genevieve (Jena-VEEV). I am actually named Genevieve after my father's great grandmother. I like how the name isn't very popular, so it makes it a kind of unusual name. Although most people mispronounce it the first time, I love the name Genevieve.
I first commented on here when my daughter Genevieve (JENNA-veev) was five weeks old. She just turned two and I still absolutely love her name. It always get a surprised (because it's uncommon here) and positive reaction when new people meet her for the first time.99% of the time we (and everyone else) use her full name- never EVER "Gen/Genny/Jenny." Once in a great while I'll call her Vivi (VI-vee) for short.
English pronunciation is zhe-nə-VYEV.
Distorted from the original French name.
Beautiful name! I adore it. I prefer the French pronunciation rather than the Americanized (jenna-veev). This name is like poetry to me. Right as it rolls off the tongue it almost oozes femininity and sex appeal.
Attn: Every person commenting about the English "mispronunciation" of Genevieve. Did you not read the information listed for the name? Behind the Name lists Genevieve's usage as *ENGLISH* and states that it is the *ENGLISH* form of the *FRENCH* name GENEVIÈVE.BTN is not trying to say Genevieve and Geneviève are the same name. BTN quite clearly points out that Genevieve, pronounced "Jenna veev" (or along those lines) is NOT the same as Geneviève. So yes, "Jenna veev" *IS* the correct pronunciation of the name if you are an English speaker. If you want to insist that it should be pronounced the French way, make your comments on the GENEVIÈVE page. Thank you!
I love this name. Except for one problem.
- I do not like the idea of this outstanding name being shortened to the boring nicknames, Genny, Gen, and Genna.That's probably why I personally won't use it. Still beautiful and elegant.
To the person talking about the "white wave" meaning - yeah, I've noticed that too, in several name books. I think it's formal meaning is "fair and white" or something. A very medieval-queen sounding name. Little bit of trivia - the name Jennifer is derived from Genevieve - can you tell? ;-)
This very site notes the origin of the name as GAULISH, aka Gallic, which is a Celtic language. The name is not specifically French in origin, therefore it is not "meant" to be pronounced a particular way. (As stated by another user above, the reason for its popularity in France is the custom of naming children after Saints, and Genevieve happens to be the patron of Paris.) People, names are pronounced differently across the globe. Someone in England pronouncing Paula as "PAW-la" is not worse or better than someone in Spain pronouncing it "POW-la". Categorizing everything as "right" and "wrong" is very limiting. Let's end the snobby comments about this name!
It's such a pretty name. It's really ethnic, unique, and beautiful, but I personally wouldn't name a child this simply because I don't like the nicknames 'Genna', 'Vieve' or 'Gene'.
I met a woman at work that named her little girl this. She pronounces it the American way, "Jena-veev." She even has a cute nickname for her little girl, which is Genevie, pronounced "Jena-vee." I think the nickname is so adorable!
When I was a child I thought this name was "Jennabean"!
I've always pronounced it JEN-na-veev.
My 5-week-old daughter is Genevieve (JENNA-veev). I am biased, of course, but I *adore* her name. In my opinion it's unusual (at least here in NY) yet classic, feminine yet strong. Most naming sites & books list the meaning as "white wave." Anyone know what the heck THAT means?
I think this name is so pretty and rare (In the US at least). I like the English pronunciation (Jenna-VEEV) much better than the French pronunciation. If I have a daughter I will name her this. It sounds so gentle and sweet, and It makes me think of the little dog in the "Madeline" series.

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