Name of the Week

 

If you want a name that has regal elegance, a soft lyrical sound, 
historic significance, and strong and influentual namesakes, 
then Genevieve makes a perfect choice.

 

Origin:

Genevieve, recorded in early medieval records as Genovefa or Genoveva, is almost certainly Gaulish — a now lost Continental Celtic language that dominated France, Belgium and Switzerland — but the etymology for the name is rather obscure. The first element is most likely the Common Celtic *geno- "born" or the related *genos- "race, kin, people, tribe, family". This element is found in other Gaulish names such as Matugenos, Litugenos and Vepogenos*. You are likely to find the meaning listed as "tribal woman," "woman of the people" or "mother of the race" in various different sources. This possibly came about from the assumption that because the name is feminine, the "woman" part is implied, while others have assumed that the second element (-vefa) is from a Gemanic word for "woman, wife."*** The main problem with this theory is that it assumes a Germanic route for the name, or sometimes mixing both a Celtic and Germanic element together. Firstly, there is no Germanic element that reliably gets us "Geno". The Proto-Indo-European route *ĝen- led to *geno in Common Celtic, but became kuni in Gothic and chunni in Old High German* (found reliably in Germanic names such as Kunigund and Kunibert). Secondly, the word for "woman" in old Germanic was *wīban*, which does not convincingly lead us to "vefa" unless it gets horribly mutated through different dialects. K.M.Sheard* proposes that the second element comes from the Common Celtic *wihu- “worthy, valuable,” a variant of *wesu- "excellent, noble." She notes the use of the name Genvissa / Genuissa (from *geno- and *wesu-) as a Latin form of St Wenna, and by Geoffrey of Monmonth for a British queen, which certainly gives precedence for the two elements used together. The element *wihu- still survives in the Irish fiú, Welsh gwiw, Cornish guiu and Breton uuiu, while *wesu- certainly became vesu- or vesv- in Gaulish*.

Usage:

As the name of the patron saint of Paris, with a popular medieval cult, Genevieve was well used in medieval France. The name was also used in occasionally Britain from the 12th to 14th century, particularly in the short form Geva. It is from this short form that the surnames Geeves and Jeeves derive. The name all but disappeared from that time in Britain, though it was used in the 17th century amoung French aristocracy and royalty (most notably in the form Anne Geneviève). Eventually, the name came back into use in Britain in the 18th century. It seems to have been mostly used by French families at first, until it became fashionable in the late 19th century.  On the 1841 UK census only six Genevieves were listed. There were 19  twenty-years later in 1861, 66 in 1881, 229 in 1901 and 329 by 1911. Over the the 20th century the name has increased in usage ever so slightly each year. 1934 saw 10 registrations of the name in England and Wales; in 1944 there were 13, and in 1954 there were 24. By 1996, 66 babies were registered, giving the name a rank of #448. Ten years later, in 2006, the name had inched up slightly to 79 births (rank #484). As of 2010, the name ranked #455 with 91 births, the same count as in 2009.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St Genevieve (b.c419) is the patron saint of Paris whose prayers were said to have saved the city from Attila the Hun. She is also said to have acted as an intermediary between Paris and when Childeric I conquered the city, convincing him to release his captives. * Genevieve of Brabant is character of medieval legend who was said to have spent several years exiled in a cave, with her young son, after being falsely accused of infidelity. Her husband eventually discovered her innocence and the couple were reunited. Jacques Offenbach used the legend for his opera Geneviève de Brabant (1859). * Dame Genevieve Ward (1837 — 1922) was a British soprano and actress. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1921. * Geneviève Tabouis (1892 — 1985) was a French historian and journalist.  Contemporary: * Geneviève Page (b. 1927) is a leading French actress.  * Geneviève Bujold (b. 1947) is an award winning Canadian actress. * Genevieve Gorder (b. 1974) is an American designer and television host.   * Genevieve Nnaji (b.1979) is an award winning Nigerian actress.  Other: * Genevieve (1953) is a British comedy film about a car named Genevieve.

Variants:

Genovefa (Gaulish), Geneviève, Ginette (French), Genoveva (Spanish, Portuguese), Genoveffa (Italian), Genowefa (Polish)

Pronunciation:

JEN-ə-veev (UK), zhe-nə-VYEV (France)  [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Eva, Eve, Evie, Gena, Genie, Geva, Gigi, Ginny, Neva, Neve, Viva, Vivi

Sibling Names:

Rosalie     Adeliza     Delphine     Melisande     Evangeline     Dahlia  Xavier     Frederick     Laurence     Sebastian     Maximilian     Jonas

Name Lists:

Vintage    Saintly and Stylish

 

If you like Genevieve you may also like:   Lucille, Clementine, Madeleine, Josephine, Magali, Vivienne, Marcheline, Seraphine, Eulalie, Valentine