Here is the game we are playing:
We are going to pretend that we are naming a baby and that the name MUST start with a certain letter, and so we will need one name starting with that letter for a boy and one name starting with that letter for a girl, or else one name that would work for either, EVEN IF we don’t like any of the names that start with that letter enough to Actually In Real Life choose them. It is just a game where we place artificial restrictions on reality in order to create the kind of tension that makes games fun—like when you have to choose what foods you’d eat if you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life: the fun is in thinking it over AS IF it were a real forced decision, while KNOWING it is not. There is a baby! It MUST be given a name with a particular letter! That is the game.
After that basic concept, we can decide our own sub-rules, based on what makes the game fun and not stressful. Some examples:
• I’m not planning to play that the name has to fit with the names of my other children or with the surname, though this would be an option for anyone who would LIKE to play it that way; I think I will have more fun if I pretend it is a stand-alone baby and that the surname is not an issue, though I may change my mind as we go. (And if I narrow it down to a few options and can’t decide, I might use siblings/surname as a tie-breaker.)
• It is also fine to narrow it down to a few finalists without getting to The One Name.
• It is fine to wave aside issues such as a friend who already used that name, a famous person with the name, etc., if that makes it more fun and less stressful to choose. This is just pretend, so you can pretend that those things aren’t issues if you want to. (Or you can let the issues stand as they are in real life, if THAT is more fun.)
• We can also all make our own decisions about whether the names have to be ones we think we’d ACTUALLY USE in that hypothetical scenario, or just our FAVORITE names starting with that letter, regardless of whether we think the names are practical; I am not sure which way I will play it, and I likely won’t be consistent.
• If you already have a child with a name starting with the letter we’re working on, you get to pick again from all the names that remain; you don’t have to choose your child’s name as your favorite just because it WAS your favorite: this is a FRESH baby, and you wouldn’t give it the same name as your existing child. (If you would normally prefer not to repeat an initial within a sibling group, you can just pretend that’s NOT a preference for the sake of the game.)
• You can do as much or as little explanation as you like in your comment: you can just list the names you chose, or you can explain your process/preferences/reasoning/runners-up, or whatever is most fun.
Today’s letter is V. I had a lot of trouble narrowing it down. We considered the name Victoria for Elizabeth, but I only like the full name and not the nicknames, and that is one of my own personal deal-breakers for names: even if I make sure the child is called NOTHING BUT VICTORIA, at some point she will be able to decide for herself and then it isn’t up to me anymore. I like Veronica, likely in large part because of Veronica Mars; and I like that it’s less of a nickname issue than Victoria, and also feels friendlier to me. I like Vanessa, especially since I just re-read all my Maeve Binchy books and there are several good Nessas in those books. I love the sound and meaning and look of the name Verity but I can’t handle a lot of puns/jokes and Paul can’t leave such things alone AT ALL; see also: why we did not use the name Hope. I like Vivian.
When I try out the names (calling the child for dinner; asking the child did she do her homework), Vivian and Veronica are tied. I would probably choose Vivian. Or Veronica. Maybe Vivian. But Veronica! I was thinking it would be Vivian, but I’m finding it would likely actually be Veronica.
I had a harder time with boy names, as per pretty much always. I like Vaughn (I find it surprisingly approachable, considering its uncommonness: John with a V, basically), but I don’t like the way it seems to combine with surnames to make a VonSurname. Vernon is kind of nice; are the 1980s long enough ago that no one would say “Hey, Vern”? I like Victor, and I knew a really good guy named Victor, which helps; but it feels very nounish to me right now, and also see above about Paul and names that allow for wordplay. I like Vince, and I wouldn’t have expected to, so that was a nice little surprise; I don’t like Vincent as much, which is too bad because I generally prefer not to use names that are familiar nicknames for other names.
I was going to say that I guess I would choose Victor, but that my heart leans more toward Vince—and then I decided no, this is a game, I can pick what I want, and I choose Vince.
Now you! If you want to! Only if it’s fun and not stressful! Feel free to adjust the game-play to be fun and not stressful!
Vincent and Veronica! There aren’t close runners up on the boy side. For girls I like Violet in theory but find it to similar to “violent” in practice, I have a ridiculous but long-standing aversion to Vanessa because it’s the human name of Ursula in The Little Mermaid (that move was a BIG DEAL to me as a kid), I like Vivian…but on other people’s children.
VERONICA though. I am ENCHANTED by Veronica. Would have named an actual honest to goodness my own human child Veronica. I love the way V names sound with my last name with a little bit of internal alliteration. I am INTO it.
I have a hard time for girls – Viviana, Vivienne and Violet are all among my favorites. I think I’d go with Vivienne right now but Violet is a close second. Vincent for a boy.
My V~ choices are exactly the same as yours for Girls. Vivienne, Violet & Vivianna. I also love Viveka, Vega & Vada
I’m not very fond of boys V~ names, I only really like Vance & Vale. Viggo is ok.
Vera. My grandmother’s name. She hated it so much that she made every grandchild promise never to name a child after her, and it would feel so disrespectful to me to name a real child that because of her insistence. But I think it’s lovely.
And Vale for a boy.
My grandpa’s name and dad’s middle name is Vicente. My only regret of not having kids is not been able to honor them. So for a boy I would’ve used the Vicente’s English version, Vincent or Vince. For a girl I really like Vivienne.
V names don’t really do much for me. I think I’d go with Violet. Vanessa and Vivian are both nice names, and I used to know a sweet baby Veronica that made me like the name, but none of them jump out to me.
For boys, Vincent/Vinnie are nice enough. I like the idea of Vaughn, but the area where I live people have very nasally accents when it comes to short vowels, so I can just imagine how nasally it would sound like VAAAAAHHN and it’s just horrible. So no. 😁
I *love* the name Vada (My Girl was a very important movie in my childhood memories) and I can’t think of any natural nicknames to come from it, which I like. I also love Vivienne and even like Vivi as a nickname.
For a boy, I can’t really think of any that I would like. Victor was the first one I thought of, but giving a white male a name so obviously meaning VICTORY just annoys me at this point. So. I’d probably lean into being super Italian with Vincenzo.
I love all the V names mentioned in this post and the comments. In real life, I would probably go with Veronica and Virgil. (Although would Virgil get a lot of teasing?) But in my fantasy naming style life, I would go with Vesper and Vaughn.
Vivienne was a frontrunner for an actual child, but I swoon for Veronica and Vivica. Also one of my daughters has the middle name Verity.
Vivienne, though.
Boys… enh. Victor, I guess.
My dog, my first baby, is named Violet. If she hadn’t made it into my life, Violet was my first choice daughter name.
My second choice girl V name is Vanesa.
Boys: Vance
For boys it’s a close call between Victor and Vince. I can’t decide is the Laurie Berkner song Victor Vito goes on the pro or con list. For our second child, Verity was our girl name and I still love it, but I’m also coming around on Vera.
I was going through these specifically to see if anyone said Verity! I love it SO MUCH. <3
Vera is my first choice for a girl. I do like Vanna but can’t disassociate it with Vanna White.
I have always like the name Vladimir but that seems a little too Russian and I don’t like Putin. I also like Vincent but hate Vinnie.
I think I would go with Virgil.
We’ve been leaning towards Victoria as a middle name for my little girl due next month. But, if it was her first I think I’d use Veronica, I just love the song by Elvis Costello so much. I
If I don’t have to worry about origins of names (names from a culture that is not my own) I would chose Vashti for a girl. If I need to stick to my lane, I would choose Violet.
For a boy, I like Vaughn but it sounds like Von so… not sure. I kind of like Varden. I think that is what I would go with.
Vashti & Varden
If it helps I have a Vaughn and it is Not pronounced like Von, more like rhymes with fawn. Von is a completely different name.
My two grandmothers were Virgie (not short for anything) and Violet! Of the two, I prefer Virgie, despite the possibility of teasing (virgin). If I had to choose a V name, though, I’d likely go with Valerie. More modern, youthful. For a boy it’d have to be Vince (but agree with another commenter, not Vinnie).
Fun game!
Wow! My grandmother’s name was also Virgie and I have never heard of another. My parents gave me her middle name as my first name–they pretty much had to as it is also my other grandmother’s first name! (Kathryn, but respelled for alliteration resaons.)
Ugh, typo. REASONS.
And to play the game: Veronica and Vincent.
Girl: Veronica
Boy: hmm, Vance or Vaughn, not thrilled with either tbh.
So many fun V names. I loved Vianne when I read it in Chocolat. But it would likely get misheard as the more common Vivian. Also like Veruca, Veda, Vesper, Verona, Viola. But I’d use my great grandmother Vera’s name. My husband vetoed because it’s the name of a burger shack. A close second is Vienna.
Viggo, Vaughn, Valentine would awesome on boys, but I think I’d choose Vance.
Girl: Violeta
Boy: Valentin
Vincent and Veronica!
Veda and Vaibhav
Victor and Vivienne
I’m not head over heels with Victoria, but if we would have had a third girl I would have used it as a middle and it would have given her my husband’s initials with his grandmother’s name in the middle (the first two girls have honor names from my side, no worries :) ) I dislike Vic, Vicki, and Tori though.
If I was picking from scratch I would pick Valentine. My duaghter’s teacher’s name is Venus and it is amazing.
For a boy I would do Visile or Vito, both with family ties.
We had a surprising number of V names on our list. Our son was almost Valentine but at the last min my husband threw his support behind a different name. Other strong contenders Vincent, Victor, Veronica, Victoria, Virginia, Valentina and Vesper.
Now I’d pick Valentine or Vesper
Violet and Vincent! I love them both so so much!
For girls, I’d probably go with Vibeka or Vera.
For boys, I like Victor and Vaughn and Viggo.
But truly I’d lean toward the, I believe, unisex Valentine.
If my second boy had been a girl, we would probably have named her Vivien (not that into Vivian for a boy, even though I love Vyvyan from The Young Ones) SO, I’d probably choose it for an imaginary girl. I also like Vela and Viridiana in theory (maybe not as much as Vivien though)
For boys, I love Vincent and Virgil.
Victor and Verity!
I went back and forth on naming my daughter Veronica. I love the name and I love that the meaning of the name is still work-out-able through existing English words.
I have a silly annoyance with the name though that I should be able to just brush over because it isn’t important and that is that lots of people in my church (and on baby naming boards) think it is a biblical name BUT IT ISN’T!! It brings out the worst pedantic feeling because it isn’t important at all. The church allocates the name to two different women in the bible but neither of them are actually named (because patriarchy) and it annoys me that they don’t even get remembered for their own names but ones allocated to them centuries later, which would be fine (people should have names) if those same people did them the courtesy of remembering that these weren’t really their names but descriptions of their attributes. All this is ridiculous but anyway, I didn’t use it. A testament to pregnancy hormones and sleep deprivation I think.
Veronica
Victor
Vada or Vivian for a girl. For a boy, I suppose Van or Vaughn.
I love the name Vada and would probably choose that for a girl, it is 100 percent my style name.
I like the name Victor and it work for me, but the name Vito which is nearly 100% not my style is calling. It is such a fun name. In real life I would literally never use it but for this game, yes
Vada, Vito
Although could a boy take the name Vada. I think he could so I am revising: Vada for either sex.
For a girl IRL, I would consider Valancy or Violaine in the middle spot. If I had to choose a “v” name for a first for a girl, though, I would pick either Vada, Viviana, or Viridiana after meeting her.
For a fantasy boy, I would be tempted to go really Russian and choose something like Vyacheslav or Vladimir (pronounced properly with the stress on the second syllable, not the first syllable, and nicknamed Valodya), but Putin really is spoiling it. Maybe the related Scandinavian Valdemar instead. IRL, Viggo and Vance were on the list for my son. His last name is his father’s (I got almost full control over his first and two middles in exchange for giving up the last name – totally worth it since I hate my own last name), and it begins with “v.” I thought the “v” alliteration was so great that I almost went for Vance just to get it, but in the end, it wasn’t my favorite name, and it just wasn’t his name. But if there were another boy who had to have a “v” name, then it would probably be Viggo or Vance after meeting him.
I’ve always loved Vanessa and Vince
I love Vienna too but the sausage ruins it a bit 😂
I have been excited for the V’s because I love the name Verity and would use it for an actual child. But also dreading it because I don’t care for many V names for boys. However, because this is an imaginary name for an imaginary child in an imaginary world, I’m going to pretend that I would ever dare this in real life and go with Valentine for a boy.
I named my daughter is Vivian. It’s a great name.
For a girl I’d go with my mom’s name, Vanessa. For a boy, Valerian I think.
Oh, I forgot Valerian — love it! Also Valeria for a girl.
For a girl, Vera. For Vera Lynn who sang We’ll Meet Again and for Vera-Ellen in White Christmas. I guess it wouldn’t really be for those two, but both make me like the name.
For a boy, I’m more conflicted. Maybe Victor because I think Vic is a cute nickname.
I’m the opposite of Swistle. I love Vincent (maybe because of Van Gogh?) but can’t pick it because I dislike Vince so much.
I struggle with V girls names because they all feel too frilly.
I think I would go with Vera and Vaughn. Although I’m pretty tempted by Vianne with Annie as a nickname!
Viola, quite happily. For a boy…I really don’t love anything. I like Vaughn in and of itself, but not with our last names. Vincent I almost like and then somehow don’t. Casting further afield, I really enjoy saying the name of the French town of Vézelay, which I visited once in high school and found very beautiful. I sort of wish I could make it make sense as a name, but it doesn’t quite work somehow, and I wouldn’t like naming a child after a religious site from a religion that isn’t mine. I think I’d go with Viridian. Actually I quite like that now that I’ve thought of that. Viola and Viridian.
I’d go with Vienna and Vaughn.
Vivienne nn Vivi (VeeVee), and Victor.
Victoria, nicknamed Vika; Vincent, after my father-in-law’s most beloved uncle, and my quiet FIL would be over the moon with joy, especially because we declined to make his only male-line grandson a III and he would know this is a tribute just for him.
We considered both of these for actual babies but just never got the right gender at the right time. Love them both.
Verose or Valerie for a girl. Vander for a boy, but I don’t love it.
For a girl, Virginia is a clear winner for me. An underused vintage classic that is so charming! I also like Vivian, Violet, and Viola, but not enough to use them in real life.
For a boy, I’m stumped. I guess I choose Vincent if I have to, but I’m not head over heels with it.
My dad’s parents were named Vincent and Virginia! They’re nice names but for me too tied to family, especially because I also have an uncle and aunt named after them.
I would choose Veronica for a girl. Runner up is Viola.
For a boy I’m not a big fan of any of the V names, but I guess I’ll go with Venn.
If I had named my daughter alone, her name would probably be Violet. I love this name so much.
I don’t think any V names for boys give me quite the same rush as Violet, but if pressed I think I would pick Valerian.
I thought V would be easy, but I’m struggling a bit!
For girls, there are some classics I really love.
Vivian – has gotten popular
Valerie – name of an Aunt I wouldn’t honor
Vanessa – feels dated to me still
Veronica – love sans nickname, but I’ve known two who both go by Ronnie which I don’t care for.
In looking at lists, a few jumped out at me, some I’d never heard of, some I’d never consider but suddenly struck me as fresh and I noted two.
Vanora – new to me! Beautiful.
Virginia – little Ginny? Swoon.
For boys, I have a lot of strong personal associations I had to pretend don’t exist to play. Names I like free if associations:
Vaughn
Vincent
Victor
End of the day, I think I’d go Virginia and Vaughn.
Varinia for a girl
Vaughn for a boy
Varinia! Why aren’t people using this name? I’ve loved it since reading Spartacus in high school.
I’ve a lovely dear friend with that name & that’s who she’s named after!
Girl: Valkyrie. I’ve carried a torch for this noun name ever since I first played Gauntlet down at the arcade. In real life it doesn’t really work but this isn’t real life, is it? VALKYRIE.
Boy: Viggo.
Runners up: Valentine, Valeria, Venus, Vega, Valor, Velah
Girl: Vera (but I only like Vehr-uh pronunciation, not the Veer-uh one – and in real life I wasn’t willing to deal with that.)
Boy: Valerian (because…why not?)
Verity and Valor
Though Violet was a strong contender. My Grampa was Vern (short for LaVerne) and I always thought it was a hard name to like. We used his middle, Forrest, as a middle for our firstborn.
Vesper. I think I’d actually consider it IRL for a girl. There’s something about the fragrant, prayerful evenings of long ago that make me love this name. Bond movie almost ruined it – but not quite.
Victor for a boy.
Vittoria for a girl
Vincenzo for a boy
Well, I used Vesper on an actual child, so discounting that for the purposes of this game, Verity was on our lists for both our girls but never made it into the top spot. I also have always loved Vivianne, like in the YaYa Sisterhood.
For a boy, I’d go Valor, I think. Can Virgil come back yet or does it still sound like a toothless hillbilly axe murderer? Bc classically, I think it’d be a good choice.
Violet and Virgil
So fun!
Viviana and Vennor
Violet and Vincent for me. I love them both!
Verity -girl and Valtteri -boy
Victor for a boy.
A girl? Almost impossible to choose. There’s so many pretty V girls names! Veronica! Victoria! Vivienne! Violetta! Vanessa! Vesper! Valentina! Verity! Probably some more I’m forgetting… I could name a half-dozen daughters with V names and be perfectly happy, but if I had to choose just one, then…Veronica.
I think I would go…
Vasiliki for a girl (a colleague of mine is named this, nickname Vassy, pronounced Vashy)
and Vanya for a boy (swoon…love the soft Russian boy nicknames)
Ooh, this is hard for me! Victor, Vincent and Victoria aren’t options for various reasons.
Vita for a girl, I think, despite the unfortunate Vita-bix association. Or perhaps that connection is too much. Vivienne, then.
And…Valentin, for a boy? Maybe? Or maybe not. Vladimir! Or Valdemar. OH NO, that’s too much like Voldemort! Yikes. Argh. And Vernon is definitely too Harry Potter villainish too!
Okay. Vito for a boy and Vivienne for a girl.
Violet was the girl name we picked out for out last child that ended up being a boy. I also like Vera a lot.
My daughter has a Victor in her daycare class and he is so sweet. They call him Victory as a nickname – so cute.
Vernon is one letter off from my maiden name and it was my nickname while my mom was pregnant with me.
I like the sound of Vincent (but not really Vince). I’m very surprised with my fondness of Vayden because the Aiden/Kayden/etc. trend wasn’t for me.
Final answers – Violet and Victor
Vassily for a boy (nn Vassia), Valentina for a girl.
Vera for a girl. Runner ups, Violet and Valeria.
Valentine or Valerian for a boy.
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Willa and Walter
X: Xenia and Xavier
Y: Yvaine and Yves
Z: Zinnia and Zachary
I love Verity for a girl; such a great virtue name, and it sounds like a strong, practical heroine in a Regency romance novel. And Vaughn is my favorite for a boy — I picture someone very charming and debonair!
But neither of these names really fits with my Real Life naming style. I’d probably actually pick Veronica for a girl — I love both “Veronica Mars” and the Elvis Costello song, although I hate the nickname Ronnie. And for a boy IRL, I’d probably go with Vincent, nn Vin.
Verity and Van
VIolet and Valentine
girl name: Vivian after my grandmother. It is a very old fashioned name that has grown on me. My grandpa called her Viv! and yes he said it with the exclamation point, in my memories.
boy name: Victor is a family name which I like but no… it is my wishes and I pick Viggo. sigh
I like Valentina, Vada, or Vera for a girl. In real life, I think I’d choose Vada (also discovered that name from My Girl). For boys… nothing ??? I like Vincent, if pronounced the french way, like… I am trying to write out phonetics for this pronunciation and am at a loss (vahn-??).
Vada and Vincent
My given name started with V. My chosen middle name also does, because I wanted to keep a V initial somewhere. I almost wish I could pass on my given name, because it is a nice name, it just makes me way too comfortable. Even for an imaginary child.
I also like the name Vishal, but I’m not Indian so I wouldn’t use it.
So I’ll go with Vanessa and Vaughn.
that should say “way too uncomfortable”
For girls my favorites are: Vera, Viola, Vianney, Verity, and Vesper.
My pick: Vianney
For boys there are several honor names I could use. Villis for my great grandpa. Vincent for several men on my spouse’s side. Valentine as the masculine form of my name. Despite this fact, my favorite hands down is Viggo.
Viggo and Vianney
I love the “V” sound! I’d choose Vivienne for a girl and Valor for a boy. I also really like Verity
Vivendel for a girl (though love Vita, Vera, Veronica…)
Bit stumped for a boy but I quite like Valerian.
So many great V names!
For girls: Violet, Vera
For boys: Vaughn, Valor
For a boy, probably Vincent, although someone mentioned Vale and that sounds lovely also. For a girl, I love Vivienne, Vesper, Vera, and Violet. I think my favorite is Vivienne.
Vincent or Viviana
V is hard! I’m not a big fan of any V names. For girls I’m torn between Virginia and Valerie. I prefer the sound of Virginia but I am playing this as though I have to name my actual fourth baby and I already have a daughter whose name ends in A and it would be nice not to repeat a name ending. Plus we live very near Virginia so that’s a little weird. So I think Valerie wins.
For boys I don’t really like any V names, but if I absolutely had to choose one I’d go with Vincent because it at least fits in well with my sibling set. But I don’t like Vince much and think it would be an inevitable nickname.
Vivian and Vincent
I also like Violet, Viola, and Valerie but they do not sound good with our hard-to-work-with surname. I want to like Victor because of positive associations with a family friend but I just don’t.
I’m a teacher and there is a Vera on my classlist and it makes a nice impression!
It’s always hard to find uniquely Swiss names for my heritage but Verena (pronounces veREHNa) is such a name . I love it, but apparently it reads as a dairy cow name? Like maybe Daisy would for Americans? I love it though.
For boys I’d do Varek.
My mom’s name is Vivian, and she is alive (thank goodness!) so I’m going to go with Venetia (from Georgette Heyer’s novel).
I’ve had bad experiences with Vincents (and Vinces) and Victors. So perhaps Vernon or Valor.
Vivian for a girl and Vance for a boy.
Vanessa and Valor!
Valentine for a girl.
I like Vincenzo for a boy.
This is hard, I was surprised by how few v names I liked!
Naming an actual real life baby who had to have a v name, I’d go with Vaughan and Vaila or Venice. Venice is a family name (the name of my grandmothers sister who sadly died shortly after her marriage). Not really my style but I think it would mean a lot to my gran. Vaila is the name of a Scottish island but even though it fits our criteria perfectly (Scottish, unusual but easy to pronounce, nature connection a bonus) I just don’t love it. Don’t love Vaughan either.
The boy name that really makes my heart sing but I wouldn’t be brave enough in real life is Vivian – I actually know a Vyvyan in his early 30s and it works so well once you get over the initial surprise. But I can’t deal with all those Ys and Vivian ultimately reads too feminine. I also love the sound of Veridian, maybe if I lived in a fantasy kingdom!
For a fantasy girl I love Vale or Vetiver.
So Vaughan and Vaila in real life
Vivian (b) and Vetiver (g) in fantasy
Violet for girl, both because we had potted violets for the flowers at our commitment ceremony (the one we had decades before we were allowed to get legally married) and also for Violet in Series of Unfortunate Events, which is an important part of our family culture.
I almost said Vincent or Van for a boy, because I like Vincent Van Gogh, and then I thought about his life and thought it seemed like bad luck. Maybe Vaughn or Vance?
Vaughn and Veronica
Vaughn or Vivien (Vivi). ❤️
Valerie (Val) or Viveka (Viv) for a girl
Maybe just Val for a boy.
For a girl I love Vanessa, Valerie, and Violet. When I was little I desperately wished my name was Violet after the character in “The Boxcar Children”! I also love Virginia but I have a negative association with the name that has somewhat spoiled it for me.
For a boy … hmm. I’m meditating on the name Virgil and … I think I like it! But my husband is Russian so the names Vladimir and Vasily have become appealing to me as I’ve gotten more familiar with the culture (although for our actual babies he has forbidden names that are “too Russian”!).
My son’s name is Victor 🥰 – we call him V as a nickname a lot. I love how upbeat and strong it sounds, and how international it is, with so much history!
For a girl, Valerie or Vanetta. Both women I know and adore!
Vivienne and Van. I’m still not 100% convinced I would ever use Van – I like the sound but it’s very short. I’m not usually drawn to 1 syllable names.
Vernon for a boy. It’s my son’s middle name, after my husband’s grandpa who was 96 at the time and was tickled to have a namesake. In fact, we call him “Vern”, “Vernon” and “Verny” so much we both wished we had just named him Vernon. I was originally rooting for Vernon, nn Van (like Vans shoes or Van Halen)
Violet would be my top choice for a girl: it’s my niece’s name and has a fun nn (Vi Vi). But since we can’t have two Violets, maybe Virginia.
So happy to read all the love for Verity! Not sure it’s right for a ‘real world’ first name, but I was reminded how much I love it when I started watching Poldark.
Boys, even though it’s a pet name, Vanya. I don’t much like Ivan, but adore Vanya.
V is tough. This is making me realise how few letters of the alphabet I even like – though A for a girl and J for a boy will have lots.
I guess Van for a boy and Violet for a girl but they would both be reluctant picks!
Vera & Vincent
Viridian & Vale
Was surprised to see I had four girls V names on my longer list – Vivi, Viva, Violet and Viola. I also really like Verity and Virginie from these comments. Viola is my favourite by a long stretch, though – I think it boths looks and sounds so beautiful. I’m skipping the boys name as none of them are speaking to me!
I’ve just looked at my “chewing over” list, which is where I put names I hear and like the sound of to see if they grow into something I will put on my actual long list and I was surprised to find three more – Veta, Vita and Violetta. I’ve got some variations but that’s eight overall including the new addition of Verity, which I just added after this discussion. I had no idea that V was a letter I was so drawn to for girls!
Girl: I looooove the name Verity. It was on my list for our second child, and I only crossed it off regretfully because our older daughter is Kivrin and I didn’t want it to seem like I couldn’t think of a name beyond Connie Willis characters.
Also, Vesper (swoon).
Boy: hmm. Val(entine)? Vanya? Valour? Not really sold on those but can’t think of others I like more.
I was just coming here to say I was surprised I hadn’t seen Van for a boy (like Van Jones) but then it turned up in the last few comments. I also saw some concern over the name Vladimir because of its association with Putin- I have the same association. Then I realized that I know a Vlad in real life and his full name is probably Vladimir and I had never made that connection.
For me I would probably choose Violet for a girl (although Vienna and Vivian are close contenders) and Van for a boy.
Vera (Veronica is a real contender, but the song would be stuck in my head for the rest of my life) and Vernon (a family name)
Victoria after Our Lady of Victory! Victor as a nod to Jesus’ victory over death! I love the regal sound and how easy they are to spell. My favorite Victoria nickname is Tori, but I think I’d like using the full name Victoria.
If I were naming twins with the letter V, I would go for Veronica and Victor.
V: Victoria and Victor
W: Winifred and William
X: Xandra and Xavier
Y: Yvette and Yakob
Z: Zelie and Zechariah
I can’t believe I missed one!
Girl: Vienna
Boy: Vincent