Neve

[Choccyhobnob]

Do you think this now a name in its own right? Or would you just think Neve's parentscouldn't spell Niamh? DH says he wouldn't use Niamh as we're not Irish but I'm a stickler for spelling and grammar and don't know if I could use the name Neve if people were inwardly rolling their eyes... like I do when I see the name Khloe

Also Niamh I would pronounce Nee-uhv and Neve just Neeve.

Thoughts? Entirely hypothetical btw, i'm not pg, just love baby names and thinking of them for possible future DC's

And being such a stickler for grammar I hate that I made a few errors in that!

i have 2 friends using the name.

One uses Niamh and the other uses Neeve as a middle name.

I think neve is an accepted spelling - think neve Campbell. Plus people know how to pronounce it which isn't always the case with Niamh.

I'd think you couldn't spell Niamh.

I much prefer Niambh. Maybe Americans write Neve, I don't know, but to me changing the spelling of words to spell them phonetically is text speak- ok in some situations but embarrassing in others.

Dunno where the extra b came from! Predictive text here on my phone.

I think if it's used as a name these days well then it's a name!

Also I agree with you re. pronunciation, most UK Niamhs don't pronounce their name correctly whereas if she's Neve (pr. neev) well then that doesn't irritate me.

(yes it's all about me )

It doesn't even make the same sound. It makes nev, like some auld fella called neville. You'd need 2 e's in the middle to even try for the same sound.
Just spell it properly of pick another name.

and you know neve campbell says it as nev, yes?

Niamh is much nicer, I would go for that. Even if you spell it differently you are still using a variant of irish name.

I would say ne-ve (Italian for snow). I think Niamh is one of those Irish names that's familiar enough for English speakers to handle (cf Siobhan, Ciara) so you don't have to muck about with the spelling.

Id think the parents couldnt spell or hadnt bothered to research it tbh...

It is one of the most well known Irish names around and considering as all Irish children are taught the legend of Niamh and Oisin in school and all books of Irish mythology tend to have it mentioned.... its a big mistake to make.

Neve means snow in Italian as well and is pronounced very differently there as well...more Nay/nev vay the Nee ave

It's like Sheila versus Síle or Moira versus Máire. Sheila and Moira are perfectly acceptable spellings in English and have become names in their own right. I think Neve is less known because even Niamh isn't that popular a name so people aren't used to either spelling yet.

Personally I don't have a problem with Anglicized spellings of Irish names. I would just think that a 'Neve''s parents liked the name but were trying to give their daughter an easy life!

And I say that as someone with an Irish name, spelt correctly with a fada and everything!

I wouldn't pronounce it as Niamh if I saw it. I'd say Nev, I'd only need told once , but it wouldn't occur to me to automatically say Niamh at first glance.

Personally, I dislike the use of forr-un names unless you have some connection with the place, however tenuous. Otherwise it feels contrived and pretentious (and awkward as,where I live, very few people would know how to pronounce Niamh).

I have been flamed for saying that!

So I love "neve" and would think "lovely name, non pretentious parents"

If you used Niamh and aren't Irish I'd think it odd, I prefer Neve and would pronounce it Neev. It'd make life a bit easier for her because she would probably have to correct a few people on how to pronounce it if it was spelled Niamh.

Not being Irish I'd used Neve. I do love this name.

It isn't though, just like Sheila for Síle. They make the same sound. niamh and neve don't make the same sound. Its more like someone I met who wrote her name as Ciara and said it was pronounced Sierra (See-air-ah). ER, no, its not, the letters just don't make that sound. You might as well say your name is Susan but its pronounced Bob.

How is Neve pronounced Nev? Genuine question, I'm crap at grammar. I always thought an E on the end of a word made the vowel long, hence Neev.

In English, words don't end with the letters v or u, so a silent e is added.

have is pronounced hav not hAve

I think Neve looks an ugly name - harsh. Niamh, however, is lovely.

Thank you dedado

I think it looks like the parents spelt it wrong / were trying to call their child "Snow". I would use Niamh or not at all (but perhaps I am biased!)

I Neve pronounced Nev is a Hebrew name. I thought it was primarily a boys name.

(I may of course be completely wrong here)