Genieve

History & Origin

Genieve is a pared respelling of Genevieve, whose parts are usually read as Germanic 'kin' and 'woman' or a Celtic 'white wave.' It appears in United States records from around 1900 and peaks about 1915, when Genevieve was fashionable and simplified spellings reached the registry. The devotion to Saint Genevieve of Paris carried the parent name across generations. It was never common in this form, given to only a couple dozen girls a year.

With records lasting into the twenty-first century, Genieve spans several generations rather than one, though it never caught on beside the standard spelling. Parents drawn to its soft, saintly sound almost always choose Genevieve, with Gen, Jenny or Vivi as nicknames.