Wow! I'm surprised to be the only one to vote for NEEV so far! ;)
I view Neve as an Anglicization of Niamh 100%, so that pronunciation seemed a given. I'd assume some might be thinking of Neve Campbell, but in her case it was her mother's maiden name, so that really shouldn't affect how most would pronounce the actual given name Neve. That'd be like insisting the fn Louise should be said loo-ee or loo-is, rather than loo-EEZ, simply because you know a family with that surname that said it that way, KWIM?
That's what I thought too, although I do kind of prefer the pronunciation Nev. Would you spell it Nev if you wanted to pronounce it that way or just spell it Neve?
Since you're not using the "Neve" spelling for any special reason (like Neve Campbell's), it might make sense for you to consider Nev. To be honest, I'd probably avoid Neve no matter which pronunciation I preferred -- Niamh (which I love ) or Nev -- since either of those makes more sense overall in my mind.
I also love Niamh, but I am scared to use it for fear that my child would spend her life telling people--probably the same people over and over--how to pronounce it if they saw it written down first, how to spell it if they heard it first, and that she would eventually grow to hate the name. I hope that I will raise a child that is more resilient and proud than that, but who knows?
The problem for me is probably solved by the fact that my best friend is planning to name her daughter Niv, and although we live far from each other these days, I wouldn't want our daughters to have such similar names.
I pronounce it Neve because I associate it with the Spanish name Neva (means snow) and the French word for snow (neige) which are pronounced more like Nev than Neev.
Wow! I'm surprised to be the only one to vote for NEEV so far! ;)
I view Neve as an Anglicization of Niamh 100%, so that pronunciation seemed a given. I'd assume some might be thinking of Neve Campbell, but in her case it was her mother's maiden name, so that really shouldn't affect how most would pronounce the actual given name Neve. That'd be like insisting the fn Louise should be said loo-ee or loo-is, rather than loo-EEZ, simply because you know a family with that surname that said it that way, KWIM?
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Since you're not using the "Neve" spelling for any special reason (like Neve Campbell's), it might make sense for you to consider Nev. To be honest, I'd probably avoid Neve no matter which pronunciation I preferred -- Niamh (which I love ) or Nev -- since either of those makes more sense overall in my mind.
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I also love Niamh, but I am scared to use it for fear that my child would spend her life telling people--probably the same people over and over--how to pronounce it if they saw it written down first, how to spell it if they heard it first, and that she would eventually grow to hate the name. I hope that I will raise a child that is more resilient and proud than that, but who knows?
The problem for me is probably solved by the fact that my best friend is planning to name her daughter Niv, and although we live far from each other these days, I wouldn't want our daughters to have such similar names.
I pronounce it Neve because I associate it with the Spanish name Neva (means snow) and the French word for snow (neige) which are pronounced more like Nev than Neev.