M. writes:
If we were to go with Lucille we are thinking about possibly going with “Lucie” instead of “Lucy”. It is funny that I think this because I always lean towards the traditional spelling of names. However, there is something about the spelling with the “ie” that just seems softer and more feminine. The “y” ending just seems a little bit harsher to me. However, I don’t want people to think that I came up with some funky spelling to be unique or different. I also don’t want to give her a name that she has to spell for people her whole life.
Until recently, I would have said that Lucy seemed like the basic spelling to me, and that Lucie seemed like it would cause more spelling hassles than I would want to deal with. But then recently we did a post on Tilly vs. Tillie, and there was quite a bit of interesting discussion in the comments section that made me wonder if we might be on a pendulum swing from -y endings to -ie endings.
Also, I think it’s different with a nickname than with a given name: I’m not surprised to encounter girls with the nicknames Maddy and Maddie and Madi. Since you’d have spelled the full version the traditional way, it’s less likely to seem like you were trying to get unique-y with the nickname. And as she gets older, more and more often people will assume SHE was the one who chose the spelling of the nickname. (And indeed, she may change to a different spelling.) With nicknames, I think of the spelling as being less official, more open to change and choice.
The poll of the Tilly/Tillie post might not be of any use to this situation, since the question there was a different one. So let’s start a new poll over to the right—and because it was hard to represent the entire topic in a poll, we can discuss in more detail in the comments section. [Poll closed; see results below.]
[Edit: Here’s a screenshot of what the first six votes did:
I thought that was funny/neat!]
Poll results:
If it was a given name I would strongly prefer Lucy. For a nn I could go either way and Swistle has a point that the spelling of a nn is more likely to change anyway. I was all set to spell my daughter’s nn Juney until she was old enough to have an opinion, but everyone else assumed it was spelled Junie and always spelled it that way. And then by the time she could write herself she decided she wanted to be called June all the time and not Juney/Junie anyway so it didn’t matter.
My 30yo sister is Lucie, short for Lucille. My Mum didn’t think a bank manager could be called Lucy, not that she ended up being a bank manager! I think for a nickname of Lucille, Lucie fits best.
As a nickname Lucie is ok though I wouldn’t personally use an unusual spelling even for a nickname but the actual name is Lucy and should be used as such.
PS The spell checker knows Lucy as a word but not Lucie.
Lucie is the traditional French spelling of the name. If you prefer that spelling, go for it! They are both lovely. It’s easy to correct people on the spelling when it just involves the ending “ie” vs “y”.
if it’s a full given name then only Lucy will do, but for a nickname I think I actually PREFER Lucie. it seems more nicknam-ey to me. but she’ll have to spell it constantly, which will be annoying: i wouldnt be surprised if in, say, fifth grade she decided to change the nickname spelling to Lucy.
Either way works. Lucie looks more French to me a la Julia/Julie, Sophia/Sophie, Amelia/Amelie, etc.
I prefer Lucy, it just looks right to me. I do agree the spelling is slightly less important for a nickname. But if a nickname has a standard spelling, that’s the one I would probably use. FWIW, I know a Mollie who hates the spelling of her name as she has constantly had to correct people.
I think Lucie would be fine for a nickname spelling. For a full name, I prefer Lucy. But Lucie for Lucille does make sense. It also reminds me of the character Lucie in Beatrix Potter’s book ‘The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle’. That would be a fun one to have, if you do go with Lucie. The book was published in 1905, so that validates the spelling for me.
I have a daughter Lucille, nn Lucy. We considered Lucie for a while, but went with the “standard” spelling instead. I love that we never have to spell Lucy’s name because everyone assumes it is Lucy. I think Lucie is cute, but you’ll be spelling it constantly.
I vastly prefer Lucie… for two reasons.
1) I generally don’t like ‘y’ names; to me they seem modern/cutesy (even if they’re not) and Lucie is just as valid and looks more classic to me.
2) For me Lucie reinforces the French pronunciation of the ‘u’ rather than the ‘oo’ sound in Lucy.
In your case I also prefer Lucie, just because all letters are in Lucille!
Good luck deciding!
If I have a daughter I plan on naming her Lucy. But for a nn for Lucille I like Lucie better. So for a given name Lucy but for a nickname I could go either way but with Lucille I like Lucie spelling better.
I think Lucie is perfectly appropriate for Lucille, although as others have said, I would prefer Lucy for a whole name. My second daughter’s middle name is Lucy. I just don’t feel like it’s as big a deal to spell a nickname. I have a friend whose nickname is DEK (deek), EVERYONE calls him that, but his name is David E____ K____. You could never guess that, ha! Best of luck!
Lucy is a full name, Lucille is an elaboration on that name. If you were naming a baby Marilla, then Mary, Marie, and Maria would all be equally good nicknames. Personally, I prefer Lucy and Mary as the full (name on birth certificate) names.
I was vote #4 so I contributed to that pattern. Just for the record…
I can’t imagine she’ll HAVE to spell “Lucie” for people unless she goes by it exclusively. She’ll be Lucille on professional documents and in introductory situations. The only time I ever have to spell my full name (and it’s an easy one to spell, leading me to believe that everyone has to spell their name at SOME point no matter what the spelling) is at the doctor’s, the DMV etc. I think that she’ll be in a position to write her own nickname most of the time. Teachers calling role will say “Lucille?” and she can reply “I go by Lucie, L-U-C-I-E” and she’ll never have to bring it up again that year. I just like the look of Lucie for a nickname much better (i.e.-endings imply nickname more than y endings to me) and the letters are already in Lucille as someone mentioned. Go for Lucie!
I think both Lucie and Lucy are both quite pretty: Lucie looks especially nice as a nickname for Lucille, and Lucy is cute and spunky. Go with whichever spelling feels best to you.
As for spelling something your whole life, I know some names are more prone to this than others, but I don’t think any name is immune. Even as a Jennifer (my username is my middle name), I’m shocked at how often my name is misspelled. Lucy may be a more common default (in the US) than Lucie, but both spellings are historically valid and I don’t think it would be enormously difficult to deal with the Lucie spelling.
Best of luck!
I feel like I should comment since my name is Lucy. :) However, I don’t know much help I can be because my full name is not Lucille (though recently I’ve thought it would be fun to have a longer name like Lucille or Luciana). I have always been extremely partial to Lucy being the better spelling, and until I read your dilemma I would have thought I still believed that. However, as a nickname I really do think Lucie is cute and even appropriate, but that as a non-nickname Lucy is the better option. You really could go either way- they are both great! Beautiful name! I have absolutely loved having it! :)
Having spent a lot of my high school and college years in French classes, I’m attracted to Lucie. I think it’s valid as a name on its own, but understand that here in America, folks are likely to assume it’s Lucy. Seems like, as others have mentioned, it being a nickname gets you around that a bit.
I think you can take your pick!
I much prefer Lucy….but for a nickname for your daughter, I don’t feel like I have an opinion, as far as nicknames go. Nicknames can be anything!
I love reading people’s comments as we all have such different opinions. For example, someone above said they vastly prefer Lucie, and they prefer ‘ie’ to ‘y’ endings in general because ‘y’ seems cutesy/modern and ‘ie’ feels classic. Yet I read her comment and totally feel the opposite way! I prefer ‘y’ endings in general (not always) because ‘ie’ seems too cutesy and little girl…the opposite of classic. I just found it funny how we have such contrasting opinions – and I don’t mean in a bad way….just that we’re all different! :-)
I’ve always associated Lucie with Lucie Manette, a main character in Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”; she is French, thus that spelling of her name. Like Julie and Sophie, Lucie is a given name in France, not a nickname. But of course, Lucie — or Lucy — is also used as a nickname for Lucille, which actually developed after the name Lucie/Lucy.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of First Names (UK): “Lucy is from the Old French ‘Lucie’.” “Lucilla is the Latin derivative of ‘Lucia’ with the diminutive feminine suffix ‘-illa’. This name was borne by various minor early saints…” And “Lucille is the French form of ‘Lucilla’.”
Because Lucille is French, I prefer Lucie as the nn. But as a given name, I think it depends on the child’s surname and if the parents prefer the English or French spelling – Lucy or Lucie.
I guess you can’t go wrong with either…
And about the ‘classic’ discussion, I find it difficult to consider Lucy as classic because in Latin the ‘y’ was used for Greek copied words (therefore also often called i-grec).
To me Lucie looks much more ‘classic’ and Latin.
But I guess Lucy is more American classic!
I like both spellings, and Lucy/Lucie is one of my very favorite names. I see that someone above mentioned Lucie Manette, in Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. When I read that book in 9th-grade English class and loved it passionately, I decided that if I ever had a daughter, I’d name her Lucie. Never had a daughter, and not sure if I’d have gotten my husband onboard for the name, but I still love it. I am very traditional in my naming preferences but see no problem with this less-common spelling.
OMG, @anonymous just cleared up a question I’ve had for ages re: the Spanish “word” for the letter Y. Thank you :)
I love the spelling with the -ie ending, but if she’s going to use it regularly in writing, she’s going to have to spell it ALL.THE.TIME. I have a very unusual name, so I have to correct spelling/pronunciation constantly and after 30+ years it gets old :D
Our older daughter has an unusual name with an easy pronunciation, and we still have to correct spelling (but that’s our fault because the misspelling is a real word).
If you think that sort of thing will annoy you, *and* she’ll go by the -ie name in writing, then go with the ‘y’ ending instead.
But for the record, I love the -ie ending. :)
If it’s a nick name, I would spell it how I want and ignore the way others do. Lucille will be on all things official. For instance, at the Dr’s office, Lucille will be on the records, insurance card, so forth. I don’t think I’d concern myself with how the nurse spells Lucie at check in.
This happens with my doughter’s name- Lily. Many folks assume it’s Lilly- which to me seems like it would be short for Lillian. Lily is a given name on it’s own. I just ignored every Lilly I see on cards and coloring pictures at church and kept using Lily myself. Now I see Lilly far less often.
Ha! Daughter’s
If you want to be really classic, just name her Lucy. The name Lucille doesn’t have the classic quality or long history that Lucy does. I think of Lucy like Emily and Amy — a short, end-in-y name that didn’t start out as a nn for anything. I far prefer simple, classic Lucy to Lucille.
I don’t see anything wrong with the spelling Lucie, especially for a nickname. My sister choose to give my niece the first name Luci, which to me is far worse than Lucie could ever be. Luci looks incomplete, if it were just a nickname for Lucille or Lucinda I could get on board but alas it is not.
I think it’s not a huge deal either way for a nickname. I would go with Lucy, myself, but I think it’s perfectly nice as Lucie. Okay, I went to type Lucie and typed ‘lucite’ twice. Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about that.
I think that Lucille is a super sweet name, and I love Lucy or Lucie as a nickname. We have a son named James, and we call him Jamey. We liked this spelling because we felt it was more masculine than Jamie or other varied spellings. He certainly gets Jamie sometimes, but a quick correction is just fine.
I’m a Katherine that goes by Kate, spelled Kayt, so I think I can solidly say I don’t mind variant spellings on nicknames at all! I don’t care for creative spellings on given names at all, but nicknames? Go nuts!
I say go for Lucie!
She will end up having to spell her name for people no matter what. I have one of the most common names EVER – Elizabeth – and I still have to spell it for people all the time because of the “Elisabeth” alternative. Nowadays, with the huge amount of spelling options for names, I think pretty much every name will have its spelling questioned from time to time.
My parents made the exact same choice you did – they named me Kimberly, but chose Kimmie rather than Kimmy as a nickname. Personally, I love the ‘ie’ – I think it seems softer and prettier, and I like the repeating ‘i’ and ‘m’ together. I go by Kimberly now, but when I went by Kimmie, it was very simple to tell people who needed to spell my name that it was “Kimmie with an -ie”. No one had any difficulties with this, and I didn’t mind clarifying. If you like the “ie,” I say go for it!