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Baby names

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Can Vanny be a boy's nickname?

57 replies

Luckymummy123 · 27/11/2020 10:06

Or does it sound too feminine?

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Luckymummy123 · 28/11/2020 22:50

Thanks for your honest opinions. I won't be using Vanny then Smile
To pp - that you tube clip is hilarious!

OP posts:
Brighterthansunflowers · 27/11/2020 22:04

I agree it’s much too close to Fanny

D and M are hard sounds that don’t sound anything like F so Danny is a silly comparison

V is a soft sound that’s extremely close to F, plus v is for vagina so sounds like a merging of fanny and vagina (it’s not like a merging of two random words since in British English one is slang for the other)

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 27/11/2020 21:13

No, the F and V sounds are too similar in some UK accents I'm afraid (unlike say Danny and Manny), Vanny (Fanny) might cause teasing. I like Ivo if you need a nn for Ivan.

Pudding01 · 27/11/2020 19:23

If you want people to think fanny, then go for it.

But no, I don't think Danny or Manny sound like fanny, for the obvious reason 😂

Do like the original name though OP. Dont ruin it with Vanny!

MamaNell · 27/11/2020 19:17

I've know lots of Vani's but only ever short for Giovanni.
Ivan is short enough to be a name if it's own

AdelaideK · 27/11/2020 17:03

I thought Fanny too Grin f and v sound very similar.

Ivan is a nice name.

Tinacollada · 27/11/2020 16:59

What now 😅

ILikeStrongTea · 27/11/2020 16:59

Why does Ivan need a nickname?

PoodleMoth · 27/11/2020 15:42

Sounds like Fanny to me too-sorry! It's the soft v

YoungScrappyHungry · 27/11/2020 15:24

How have you compared D sound with a V sound?

Sorry OP but I did burst out laughing when I saw the title.

1940s · 27/11/2020 14:48

@Luckymummy123

By "short", I actually meant a pet name, not necessarily short as in "with fewer letters".

Let's say Vanny sounds like fanny, do Danny and Manny (from Daniel and Damien) sound like it, too? Hmm

F and V are similar sounding so this comparison isn't relevant. You could easily hear 'Fanny' from the word 'Vanny'
SlippersForFlippers · 27/11/2020 14:37

I definitely wouldn't use Vanny!

Ivo or Van if it was to relate to the name Ivan.

I didn't think nicknames were pre planned so maybe wait for one to come about from friends or see what name he goes with.

CodenameVillanelle · 27/11/2020 14:26

@Luckymummy123

By "short", I actually meant a pet name, not necessarily short as in "with fewer letters".

Let's say Vanny sounds like fanny, do Danny and Manny (from Daniel and Damien) sound like it, too? Hmm

No because D and M aren't similar to F whereas V is You don't need a nickname for Ivan. It's a nice name by itself.
Scarby9 · 27/11/2020 14:24

Anything can be a nickname. Ones that work just 'stick' so you can try it and see if it takes or not.

He may give himself a nickname or a sibling might, or he might do something or look like something that leads to his nickname.

The only Ivan I know, now aged 8, appears to be growing out of the nickname Jennie which he has mostly been called since birth. From Ivan - Ivor the Engine - pronounced Engenny by his toddler older brother and shortened to Gennie (but sounds like Jennie) before poor Ivan had any say in the matter!

JemimaTiggywinkle · 27/11/2020 14:15

Vanny is a lot closer to Fanny than Danny is.

It could very easily be misheard. Danny is a recognised name, whereas no-one will be expecting to here Vanny, so mishearing is a lot more likely and people will automatically hear the closest word they know (Fanny).

Lochroy · 27/11/2020 13:29

Fanny here too.

The soft v and f sounds are too similar. The d in Danny is completely different. Clutching at straws if you're trying to justify it that way, and not fair on the child.

Whenwillow · 27/11/2020 13:23

I like Ivan. I'm quite intrigued by the idea of 'planned' nicknames.
In my experience they tend to evolve.

AuntieStella · 27/11/2020 13:21

I agree with pp - Vanya is nicer

Dances · 27/11/2020 13:05

Just leaving this here....

m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKlVojfMD4

tofuschnitzel · 27/11/2020 12:29

Vanya is the Russian diminutive for Ivan. Ivan is a very popular name in Eastern Europe.

PoorMansPaulaRadcliffe · 27/11/2020 12:18

@Luckymummy123

By "short", I actually meant a pet name, not necessarily short as in "with fewer letters".

Let's say Vanny sounds like fanny, do Danny and Manny (from Daniel and Damien) sound like it, too? Hmm

You're not even remotely comparing like with like, sorry. For a start, I've never thought of or come across 'Manny' as a derivative of Damien. Manuel or Emmanuel, certainly. Are you American? Bit more common there. And slightly less of a 'Fanny' issue. 'Danny' is so common as to not be an issue. Throw a stick down a High St and you'll hit half a dozen people called Danny; you'll never hit a 'Manny'. And definitely never a 'Vanny'. And 'Danny' is a very hard sound; 'Vanny' is softer and in speech, virtually indistinguishable from 'Fanny'. Add the fact that it really does sound like a portmanteau of vagina and fanny - bit like 'twunt' - and you're on a hiding to nothing.
justanotherneighinparadise · 27/11/2020 11:52

I would stick to Ivan and not try for a preconceived NN. You’ll find these things appear on their own and in both my children’s cases the NNs bare no relevance to their birth names.

Luckymummy123 · 27/11/2020 11:51

By "short", I actually meant a pet name, not necessarily short as in "with fewer letters".

Let's say Vanny sounds like fanny, do Danny and Manny (from Daniel and Damien) sound like it, too? Hmm

OP posts:
PoorMansPaulaRadcliffe · 27/11/2020 11:13

Although I get what you're saying.

PoorMansPaulaRadcliffe · 27/11/2020 11:12

Nicknames aren't always diminutive, though, are they?