# Siobhan? Shevaughn? Chevonne? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237 "2013-03-18T08:41:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/41 "2013-03-18T15:29:49Z")
I think “Chevonne” sounds like you were too dumb to know how to spell Siobhán. Are you Chinese by heritage? I mean, if you are going to be living there for the rest of your lives, then you might be more concerned about having an Irish name that means something else in Chinese; but if you are not Chinese and will be leaving at some point, then it might not be so important that a baby is, for a relatively short while, named something slightly “strange” to your current neighbors and friends. If if were me, I would spell it correctly or pick something else. “Mairéad” is another nice Irish name, if that’s what you’re going for and really think being teased as “roast meet” will be too hard on the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/42 "2013-03-18T15:30:45Z")
She-Vaughn, He-Man’s pre-op cousin? ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/43 "2013-03-18T15:31:48Z")
Contrast: [http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=siobhan](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=siobhan) [http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=chevonne](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=chevonne) [http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=shevaughn](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=shevaughn) ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/44 "2013-03-18T15:36:49Z")
So, I didn’t know until the last few years that it Siobhan = Shevonne/Shavonne. I’d only seen the latter two spellings, so they look normal to me. I have to think a moment when I see Siobhan about how to pronounce it. I think Chevonne looks stripperish, but I have no issue with Shevonne or Shavonne. I don’t particularly like Shevaughn either, but that’s because I don’t like the “vaughn” portion of it (it goes back to a kid in elementary school). Ultimately, it’s your kid and you get to name her. Our opinions are just that, and worth exactly what you’re paying for them. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/45 "2013-03-18T15:52:54Z")
Why doesn’t Modern English use the “wyth” and “thorne” characters? I always liked "ye olde…whatever! ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/46 "2013-03-18T16:04:17Z")
To me, Siobhan is the ugliest name possible. That might be because it’s a chav name, or because it’s repulsive both visually and aurally. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/47 "2013-03-18T16:08:10Z")
> [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > To me, Siobhan is the ugliest name possible. That might be because it’s a chav name, or because it’s repulsive both visually and aurally. What do you mean by “chav name”? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/48 "2013-03-18T16:13:37Z")
I kind of like Shavonne. Chevonne, with the French allusion and -vonne, sounds not trashy or uneducated, but rather African American. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/49 "2013-03-18T16:45:11Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What do you mean by “chav name”? [Chav](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav) ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/50 "2013-03-18T17:31:30Z")
Shevawn. Of course, people STILL won’t get it right - but you’ve got a better chance than with the original spelling… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/51 "2013-03-18T17:34:45Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What do you mean by “chav name”? I think it’s the British equivalent of someone who is uneducated, low class, with bad taste, but can afford expensive clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/52 "2013-03-18T17:36:54Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Reading is hard. That’s kind of obnoxious. It seemed to me he was worried that his daughter would be embarrassed by the family cat’s having an unusual name. Hence my query. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/53 "2013-03-18T18:54:24Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > The Siobahns I have met seemed impressed that I knew how to pronounce/spell it. You don’t know how to spell it. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/54 "2013-03-18T20:12:08Z")
Chiffon…? …when you know your cat won’t be named ‘[butter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9q6QkUaXx_A#t=21s)’. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/55 "2013-03-18T20:17:48Z")
> [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > To me, Siobhan is the ugliest name possible. That might be because it’s a chav name, or because it’s repulsive both visually and aurally. Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/56 "2013-03-18T20:55:07Z")
It’s a beautiful name that in the US I’d skip over completely for most of the reasons mentioned here. Few can pronounce Siobhan, few can spell it when it’s said, and the alternative spellings don’t pass the Senator or Stripper test. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/57 "2013-03-18T21:12:38Z")
There is a staff member on TMZ named Shevonne. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/58 "2013-03-18T21:26:15Z")
Spell it right or don’t do it at all. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/59 "2013-03-18T21:33:08Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Not wanting to subject my poor daughter to that, my wife and I are thinking of alternatives. What’s your favourite alternate spelling of Siobhan? We’re thinking of going with Chevonne for now. 🙂 In the words of that great philosopher, Darth Vader: Nooooooooooo! Go with the tougher spelling and pronunciation - she’ll have to find smarter friends as she grows up. ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/60 "2013-03-18T22:39:56Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > It’s time to play “name the TabbyKitten”! 😃 > > I really, really like the name Siobhan (so it’s a girl, you knew that), but unfortunately nobody here (Singapore) is familiar with the original spelling, and there are some unfortunate “[false friends](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend)” meaning “roast meat” or similar in Cantonese. > > Not wanting to subject my poor daughter to that, my wife and I are thinking of alternatives. What’s your favourite alternate spelling of Siobhan? We’re thinking of going with Chevonne for now. 🙂 I’d love to know the Cantonese word you refer to, so I can share it with my daughter, Siobhan, now 25 years old. She likes her name, by the way, but has said that it would have been easier if we spelled it phonetically. When we tried to figure out how to do that, she agreed that all the possibilities made one think of gas stations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237.md?page=4)