Mrs. Taylor writes:
I like more unusual names, but prefer if they can be read and pronounced correctly. So the name that I am debating over for a girl is Evie which I really like, but I want it to be said like “Stevie” and not “levee”. I’m worried that it would be pronounced wrong her whole life (which I have had to deal with and it gets old).
So I’m wondering what you think of the name and also if Evie is a stand alone first name or makes a better nickname. I like the idea of using it as a nickname, but I can’t find any names that I like as much that it could be a nickname for. I have thought of Evelyn, but then that lends itself more to Evie said like “levee”.
My other idea is a first name that starts with E. and middle name starts with V., then she could be “E.V.” and we could use Evie as nickname. But again I don’t really like any of them as much. This will be for our first child so no sibling names to worry about yet.
So what I am hoping to discuss.
- What do you/readers think of Evie and can it work as a first name, not a nickname?
- How do you most likely think that people would pronounce it the first time they see it?
- Any other names that it could be a nickname for, or an E. first name, V. middle name?
- Middle names for Evie Taylor.
Hope this isn’t too confusing!!!
Thanks so much for your help.
It SHOULD be clear-cut: Evie should be EE-vee, and Evvie should be EH-vee. But my eye does sometimes get confused: I think because I see the “Ev” first and say it as in Evelyn and Evan, and then I see the “ie” and tack it on. So even though I KNOW it’s EE-vee, I might stumble over it.
I did a little test just now: I wrote the name on a piece of paper and showed it to Paul, and I said, “How would you pronounce this?” He immediately said it the EE-vee way. Anyone who has someone nearby to run the test on, will you run it too? And let’s make a first poll for test results: Did they say it EH-vee (like Evan and Evelyn), or did they say it EE-vee (like Eve)? Let’s get an idea of how serious a situation we’re dealing with.
Now, to the other issues. I prefer Evie as a nickname, but I also think it works as a stand-alone name. What I would do is name her Eve and call her Evie: I love the name Eve and think the nickname Evie is an excellent way to use the name without calling the “Adam and Eve” thing QUITE so quickly to mind. You could also name her Eva and call her Evie, although that seems less natural to me. I realize the mind balks a bit at the idea of a nickname that’s longer than the given name, but banish the balk! It’s totally legit: John can be Johnny, Scott can be Scotty, Rose can be Rosie, Ann can be Annie, Lynn can be Lynnie, and Eve can be Evie.
I also like the way the Eve/Eva idea pushes the mind to the correct pronunciation of the nickname: if someone knows the child’s given name is Eve, they won’t be tempted to pronounce the nickname Evvie. So this is my top choice. Eve Taylor and Eva Taylor are both excellent choices, and I think the movie E.T. is old enough that her peers won’t have seen it or even heard of it.
I admit a fondness for your clever E.V. solution. I don’t usually lean toward initial names, but this one has sass. Most people find they are drawn again and again to names that start with certain letters, and one of my letters is E, so I find lots to love here. Plus, Verity and Victoria are both on my list of names I like but don’t want to use as first names. Erin Verity Taylor. Elena Victoria Taylor. Eliza Violet Taylor. Emily Victoria Taylor. Well, clearly this is my personal playground—but it’s still not what I’d do if I were you. If what you love is Evie, I think we should get you Evie.
If you want something longer than Eve/Eva, I think Evemarie is pretty. You could also go with Genevieve. Evemarie Taylor. Genevieve Taylor. Nice.
If you decide to go with straight Evie, let’s look at some middle names. I like to use the middle name to honor a relative, so if you’ve got anyone you want to honor, now’s the moment. It’s also a good place for names you like a lot but have ruled out as first names. I notice that there are a lot of middle initials that work with E and T to spell a common word or acronym: EAT, EDT, EMT, ENT, EST. None of them are a huge deal—more in the “good to take into account, but not necessarily dealbreakers” category.
Well, and the main thing here is to choose your ROUTE. Will you name her a shortish name such as Eve or Eva and call her Evie? Will you name her a longish name such as Evemarie or Genevieve and call her Evie? Will you give her the initials E.V. and call her Evie? Will you go with straight Evie?
And that’s what I think we should vote on here: the ROUTE. We’ll make that a second poll: the first poll is a survey to determine pronunciation issues, and the second is to vote on which direction you think the Taylors should go to get the name Evie. [Polls closed; see below.] If you want to be more specific and vote for a particular long/short/initial name, you can put that in the comment section. And if you’re feeling chatty, you can get into the middle name issue there as well.
[Poll results:
First poll (pronunciation):
EE-vee (like Eve): 135 votes, roughly 89%
EH-vee (like Evan): 17 votes, roughly 11%
Second poll (route):
Shortish name (like Eve or Eva): 83 votes, roughly 50%
Longish name (like Evemarie or Genevieve): 37 votes, roughly 22%
Initials (E.V.): 12 votes, roughly 7%
Just go with Evie: 33 votes, roughly 20%]
I was surprised to see that the pronunciation of “Evie” even came into question. I thought it was a reasonably well-known name that is always pronounced like Stevie. I hope, anyway. I’m curious to see the results of the poll.
I agree with Jess.
Also, I think Mrs. Taylor should use Evie as a given name, but I like the idea of using the name Genevieve and calling her Evie. I never would have thought of that, Swistle. Very clever!
I love Eve/Eva. With the last name Taylor, she’ll sound like an old Hollywood movie star. Very glamorous and elegant. With a cute nickname to boot!
I also would never pronounce Evie as “EH-vee” first. I only see it as “EE-vee”.
I love Eve or Eva (EE-vah). And I think both lend to the Evie nickname very well, and then if she wants a more “Professional” first name she can use “Eve/Eva” later on in that respect.
Sometimes if we go “cutesy”, we have to remember that the children will grow into adults, and they need to have suitable “Adult” names as well.
Another though, I see Evie Taylor on the birth certificate, and “Eve” becoming a nickname for “Evie”.
So I think that maybe the “Eve”, “Evie” thing is going to be a given, no matter which one is the actual given first name.
For middle names: I agree with Swistle, run down the list of female relatives or close friends whom you’d maybe like to honour. With names like Evie and Taylor, there are PLENTY of names that would sound good as middle names. Taylor is a strong enough last name that almost any name can flow with it, I’d say.
Best of luck! :-)
(Oh, Swistle — loved your Genevieve suggestion too! That’s fabulous… the pronounciation of Genevieve totally leads to “EE-vie”! However, I worry if she takes this route that later on the child might start going by the longer name… so that’s why I chose she sticks to Eve/Eva).
I pronounced it Stevie when I saw it and I just asked my husband and he agreed. In fact we both like it a lot. If we have a baby girl in the near future I might have to steal it : ) We would go with Eve and call her Evie. And we have a similar sounding last name as Taylor. Cute cute cute! And I think that most two syllable middle names would sound great with Eve Taylor. I would go with Diane because it is my middle name and my mother’s.
I love this name! I actually like the idea of Evelyn pronounced like Eve and Lynn but that is not what we are discussing.
I also think if you name her Eve or Eva, the middle name should not begin with V. Eva Victoria sounds like a lot of V sounds to me. I do like Eva Taylor a lot and think it sounds glam.
Eliza Violet!
Genevieve!
Swistle, you are just too darn good. I would have never thought of these options.
And I love them both. Desperately. Now I want a baby girl to call “Evie”. So cute!
I think Eve Taylor is lovely and sophisticated, and Eve is less common than Eva (and less likely to be confused with the trendier Ava).
Middle names after a one-syllable first name are hard for me. I agree with Swistle about looking to the family tree. Otherwise, a few that popped into my mind are
Eve Lauren
Eve Audrey (oh, but then it’s EAT!)
Eve Danielle
Eve Catherine
I too am suprised that people might mispronounce it.
Shoeaddict- Me too! I’ve wondered about actually doing it Eve Lynn.
I didn’t vote b/c I love Eve and Genevieve and couldn’t choose b/w them.
Evie read as Stevie to me – before the later discussion started.
I liked the E.V. idea until Swistle came up w/ Eve and Genevieve. Those are great and natural. I don’t love Evie as a legal name for the reasons already mentioned. The Honorable (or Doctor or Senator) Evie Taylor is a little juvenile. On the other hand, she’ll certainly be part of a generation with juvenile legal names, so it will probably be normal by then. And it IS a great name! (And my mother, at 51 years old, still goes by Kimmy rather than Kimberly)
I wish I had a last name like Taylor!
I love the name Eve and I love that if she ever felt as she was older that Evie was too cutesy and she’s “grown out of it” (as I know lots of Jenny’s, Johnny’s, Bobby’s etc do) then she has a more sophisticated “Eve” to fall back on easily.
I do also love the E.V. idea… I just love things like that. The only ideas that come to mind for that are maybe Emery, Eliana, Elena/Elaina or Eden. And I love the name Vivienne or Victoria for a middle name. Also recently heard Vianna/Veanna which I think is adorable. Emery Victoria? Elaina Vianna?
I think my favorite is just plain Eve and call her Evie.
I would never have thought that anyone would pronounce Evie as EH-vee. The EE-vee pronunciation is a no-brainer around here. I think you’re save with that, unless it’s a short formed of Evelyn. Then you’re in trouble.
I like Evie a lot, but I would use it as a nickname only. I agree with Steph the Wonder Worrier that good “adult” names are important. I like all three of the nichname routes. I have a friend named Eva, and it’s lovely. But it’s maybe a bit too close to the popular Ava for comfort. Eve is classy and probably my favorite. I also love Genevieve and even its modification, Geneva. The E.V. initial option is cool, especially with such great middle name potential. I LOVE Verity. I’m seriously considering using it as a first name someday.
See, now, just to throw a wrench into things, I would pronounce Eva as Eh-va. Quite likely I’m weird in that respect though (maybe I should take a poll…). So for me, Eve would be safer than Eva. As for the original dilemma though, I would definitely say “Ee-vie”.
I’ll chime in with the others and said that Genevieve is a fabulous choice for a longish name and it’s not one that I would have thought of. Swistle, you’re so clever!
I like Eve, close second being Genevieve.
Count me in as another who would automatically say EE-vee, and unlike some other posters, I’d use that pronunciation even if it was a nickname for Evelyn. The very slight shift in vowel sound doesn’t throw me at all. I think it would be odder, actually, to say Eh-vie, since I would spell it Evvie, and that seems harder to get out of Evelyn for me… But I digress.
I love Evie, but I wouldn’t use it as first name on it’s own. Eve or Eva Taylor does have a certain glamour to it (especially Eva, to me). I also love the longer names that have been suggested, and because I love V names, I like the E.V. option as well. I’d only go that route, though, if you loved the longer or extended names, and wouldn’t mind the possibility of your child going by another nickname down the road. Otherwise, I’d stick with Eve or Eva.
I would have never thought to name a child Genevieve and call her Evie, but that is beautiful. Plus, it DOES give her the opportunity to go by many things as an adult and as she feels is appropriate, which I think is a good thing, although I realize there are other schools of thought who believe one should be named what one is going to be called. She could keep Evie, or go to a longer name if she wants to. So many possibilities.
I pronounce it “EE-vie.” But my grandmother was Evelyn, and her neices and nephews called her “Aunt EH-vie,” so I always pause when I see the name.
My vote went for Eve, a current favorite of my own. The Genevieve suggestion is clever, but Evie is not a natural nickname so would involve more explanation than Eve. I don’t like the E.V. idea much at all; it looks contrived. Or maybe just too much like E.T.
I agree with the commentor that said Eve Taylor sounds like an old-fashioned movie star.
For middle names for Eve:
Caroline
Linnea
Adeline (Hm, that’s EAT again)
Marie
I think the name Evie is very cute, and there seems to be almost no question that it should be pronounced EE-vie.
I also love the name Evelyn, pronounced like EE-vuh-lyn, like the writer Evelyn Waugh. (Fun fact: his wife’s name was also Evelyn, and friends referred to them as “He-Evelyn” and “She-Evelyn,” with long-E sounds in both cases.) People would apparently bungle this one, though, as Mrs T. and most commenters here seem to pronounce the name EH-vuh-lyn.
That being said, I think Evie works as a stand-alone name just fine.
I think that about 95% of the population says Evie EE-vee. In fact, my grandmother was Evelyn, nn Evie (EH-vee), but I still see Evie and automatically think EE-vee :)
I also love:
Eveline, nn Evie
Geneva, nn Evie
However, Eve Taylor is stunning!
Good luck,
Brooke
I’m having trouble picking just one. I like Genevieve a whole lot, but now that I’ve read the comments I like Geneva as well, and just plain Eve works too.
I don’t like the E.V. idea as well, just because what if she wants to be called Emily when she gets to school and then you’re crushed at not getting to use your Evie name?
I agree–middle names with one syllable names are difficult. I’d vote for something with two syllables but with the emphasis on the second syllable. A lot of French names fit the bill e.g. Eve Celine Taylor. A 3+ syllable name could work, too i.e. Eve Alexandra Taylor. Oops, there goes the EAT thing again.
I automatically say Ee-vie. However, I asked my mother, and she disagrees. She says it’s Eh-vie. *sigh*
I like Eva Marie for a name rather than Evemarie, which just doesn’t flow well to me. Also, Eva Marie sounds more prominent and Marie is a great nickname.
My cat’s name is Eve and we call her Evie; it’s a natural. And if you go for a short name, I’d go for that over Eva, as that’s one I think a lot of people are likely to pronounce as “Ava.” I also really like the suggestion of Geneva; very pretty!
I’m surprised at the current poll results showing “Evie” as the given name doesn’t have many votes! I say go for what you want, in this case. I LOVE “Evie,” and hope they pick just that. :)
other thoughts:
I just remembered that I know of a little girl named Yvette, nn Yve – Yvie might work too.
Combos:
Geneva Blythe Taylor – GBT
Genevieve Celeste Taylor – GCT
Eve Rebecca Taylor – ERT
Eve Olivia Taylor – ERT
Eve Felicity Taylor – EFT
Eva Pearl Taylor – EPT…might be too much because of pregnancy test brand…
Eva Jane Taylor – EJT – these initials are cute! The occasional nn Evie Jane might be fun :)
Eliza Valentina Taylor – EVT
Yvette Teresa Taylor – YTT
Happy naming!
I liked Eve, but I also knew a family who had a Geneveive called Evie. I don’t think the pronounciation this is a big issue. I knew it when I saw it
I’d hate to guess on a middle name–I do better if I have some choices.
Eva or Eve would make a great adult names one day if she wanted to go that way later in life.
(I didn’t read all the comments, so if this has already been said 10 times, sorry!!)
I like the idea of doing genevieve and calling her evie. Good luck!
To elee, who wondered why “Evie” as the given name wasn’t chosen more in the poll: I think it’s because “Eve” or “Eva” can grow up when “Evie” always sounds cute. Well, that was my logic, anyway.
I really like Eve. It’s simple, well-known, and pretty impossible to misspell. I agree with whoever said Eve Taylor sounds sophisticated. Eva would be a second choice for me.
I also was very surprised about the questioning of the Evie pronounciation.
Both my sister and my dad said it to rhym with Stevie straight away.
Wouldn’t it otherwise be spelled Effie?
I actually just ran across your post in a google search.
My second daughter’s name is Evelyn Jane and we call her “Ev-ee” and spell it Evie. Evie was actually her great-great grandmother’s name and she pronounced it “Ev-ee” as well. (Her name was actually Evie Taylor!! How odd is that??!)
Anyway, the reason I was googling it in the first place is that 50% of the time if they don’t know her and just see me write E-V-I-E they say “EE-vie”. I think that “EE-vie” is an adorable name, but since her name is a nickname for Evelyn, to me it doesn’t work. I was thinking that maybe we should change the spelling, but Evvie looks odd to me and if we changed it to Evy I think we would still have the same problems. Plus, the reason I loved the name in the first place was because of the original Evie :) I have a great -aunt Evelyn who was naming inspiration as well and her friends called her “Ev-ee” growing up and SHE spelled it Evie too.
All of this to say that I think it depends on who is reading it, and what your reference point is. For as many people that say “EE-vie” there are just as many who get it “right”. Since it is technically just a nickname it doesn’t bother me TOO much, but if it would bother you, you may want to rethink it.
Today we were visiting a new church and they put a name tag on her and half of the women called her “EE-vie” so that did get to me. She is only two so she just doesn’t know who they are talking about if they refer to her as “EE-vie”. Of course she refers to herself as “Ebb-ie” so maybe I chose the wrong nickname. :)
I hope some of this ramble helped!
I just happen to have a Great Aunt with the given name Evelyn who goes by EH-vie – like Evan (unsure of the nick name’s spelling).
Nevertheless, when I saw Evie, I automatically thought EE-vie.
Serah- Oh how fun! And VERY helpful! Lots of people are expressing astonishment that the pronunciation is even coming up as an issue, but I agree with you: it just depends on what your points of reference are—and as the poll is showing, and as your example shows, it DOES get pronounced both ways.
Why not name her Evie and she can use Eve as a nickname for when she’s older? No rule against that!
never would have occured to me to say “evvie”.. ran it by my boss/coworker and she agrees.
i LOVE the name! i voted for “shorter” just so that if she ever feels like she needs to be Taken Seriously and not have a “nicknamey” name later in life, she could officially be “eve” or whatever. i was really torn between voting that or for just naming her evie straight out, though. seriously, LOVE the name. beautiful!
I am in the minority here, but pronounce it Eh-vie. My friend recently named her daughter Everest, with Evie (pronounced Eh-vie) as her nickname.
My daughers name is Eve and we call her Evie. Pronounced Ee-vee, I have always loved Evie as a nickname. I have received many compliments on her name. Even though it’s not an unusual name it is not very common.
I found this via google because my youngest daughter is Evelyn and we call her Evie (EEvie). If people know her name is Evelyn, they call her Evvie. If they don’t know, they usually say Eevie. I’ve thought about changing the pronunciation of her first name to EEvelyn but it sounds a bit uppity.
If you go with Eve as a first name, you shouldn’t have much trouble with the EEvie pronunciation as an obvious nickname. Another formal name suggestion might be Evangeline. I also love the Genevieve idea!!! I too picked the name Evie first and then chose her formal name.
Perhaps you’ve already had your baby??? If so, congratulations! I’m sure she’s lovely regardless of which name you chose.
I just came across this in a google search. Let me just say that my name is Evie (EE VEE) and it is short for Yvonne. However, I have always been called Evie, I almost wish it were my legal name! I suppose I prefer it to Yvonne because that is what I am used to being called. To answer your questions:
1)Yes, I think it can be used as a first name and not a nickname. I am a professional, and my business cards even have Evie on them. However, I use my legal name when I have to sign for things. Most people don’t even know that my real name is Yvonne.
2)Speaking from my personal experience, people pronounce it wrong ALL THE TIME. The most common is EVVIE. I also get Ivy, Eve, Eva, EE DEE, EE BEE. People almost never get it right. They will say every possible wrong name even after being corrected several times. Whenever I am introduced, I usually have to repeat my name at least once. It gets very old, but I generally do like the name.
3) Yvonne, Eve, Evangaline…
4)My middle name is Marie. I think it flows nice.
Good luck!
I know this article is a bit old, but I found it and just had to read. I myself have been turning the name Evie over in my head for a while now. I myself have a strange name, and so does her father. Eerielle is mine, her father’s name is Vladimere. Its sort of a tradition in his family to name their children with V names. So, as a mix of the two names, we decided on Evie, but spelled more like mine. Eevie. That, I believe, eliminates the trouble with pronounciation.
I had a little girl on Nov. 19th, and named her Evie, pronounced like E.V. I was worried that everyone would think the name would be said Eh-V, so I’m glad I came across this post.
Her middle name is Riviere, said riv-ee-air(French), and I think they go together beautifully with her French last name.
Just found this through google. Fun reading. I have a little baby named Evia Erianna, but we call her Evie (pronounced Eh-vee)-and that is exactly who she is Evie!!!!
My other girls are Eden and Elle (twins)
Guess we like ‘E’ names!
I know this is extremely old but I was just googling.
I named my baby girl Evie (EE vie) and didn’t ever think it would be mispronounced. I really wanted to give her a name that she’d never have problems with. No one could pronounce my maiden name and I hated correcting people. I didn’t ever want that with her first name, and I thought Evie was a no brainer.
I started googling after a pediatrician appointment where everyone was asking how it was pronounced.
We toyed with how we wanted to spell it – Evie, Yvie (my husband loved this but I thought it’d be difficult). We even considered spelling it Ev.
We also considered Evie Violet. So she would have the same name and initials.
In the end we went with Evie Tesla. She’s 11 weeks and this is the first trouble we’ve had with pronunciation. Hopefully we don’t get much more…
We names our daughter Evelyn and couldn’t decide on a nickname! Others call her Evie, pronounced Evvie or Ev. I liked Liv…loosely related tthough!
My name is Evie and whenever I have a supply teacher at my school, they always pronounce it right.
I absolutely adore the name Evie, even as full.
I’ve never had trouble with bullying because of my name or anything like that and have never been taken as a joke because of my name. I would always say that Evie is a brilliant name for a little girl, even in full.
If she feels like she is unhappy with the name when older, she can always ask people to call her by a different, elongated version of the name.
So, What name and pronunciation did they go with?!