# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/61 "2013-03-18T23:28:16Z")
If you want to name her Siobhan, then do it. Shevaughn? Really, pretentiously badly spelled alternative. Chevonne makes me think of Chevette. What little girl wouldn’t want to be named after a car? I hate phonetic spellings of names. Unique spellings are equally irritating. I can’t help thinking when I see an unusual variation on a name, that the parents who did this were too stupid to spell their child’s name as it is traditionally spelled and just made something up. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/62 "2013-03-18T23:58:30Z")
Just call her “Joan” and then say “but we pronounce it the Irish way, which is pronounced (shove-ahn) and spelled Siobhán in Irish.” ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/63 "2013-03-19T00:18:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Just call her “Joan” and then say “but we pronounce it the Irish way, which is pronounced (shove-ahn) and spelled Siobhán in Irish.” Joan is a famly name which I wished to carry on when I named my daughter, but I could not bring myself to give such an old-biddy name to my lovely new little daughter. So I named her Siobhan. It actually worked out just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/64 "2013-03-19T00:55:58Z")
> [@huck](#): > > 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. “Sio”, pronounced “see-oh”, means “roasted” in Cantonese, and the word most commonly used after that is “Bak”, or “Bakh”, meaning meat. [Sio Bak](http://ieatishootipost.sg/2011/02/how-to-make-sio-bak-chinese-style.html). You’ve probably seen a slab of roasted pork belly hanging in Chinatown before, that’s what it is. Anyway. thanks for the comments all, and I especially appreciate that some of your daughters named Siobhan love their name! No Chevonnes or Shevaughns in this thread yet, I see… ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/65 "2013-03-19T01:38:01Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I like Chevonne > No one is going to like your kid’s name as much as you do, so do what ever you want. I want to name my new baby girl Celeste Louise, and people either love it or hate it, and I don’t care either way what people think about it, it’s my name to choose not theirs! Go with whatever spelling/name you want! That’s quite beautiful. Celeste Louise would suit anyone of any age, and is both a name you can take seriously and a rather sweet sounding name. I’m a fan 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/66 "2013-03-19T01:59:28Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/67 "2013-03-19T01:59:37Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > “Sio”, pronounced “see-oh”, means “roasted” in Cantonese, and the word most commonly used after that is “Bak”, or “Bakh”, meaning meat. [Sio Bak](http://ieatishootipost.sg/2011/02/how-to-make-sio-bak-chinese-style.html). You’ve probably seen a slab of roasted pork belly hanging in Chinatown before, that’s what it is. > > Anyway. thanks for the comments all, and I especially appreciate that some of your daughters named Siobhan love their name! No Chevonnes or Shevaughns in this thread yet, I see… My wife has alerted me to the fact that Sio Bak is Hokkien, not Cantonese. I have been duly chastised. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/68 "2013-03-19T03:03:14Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Chevonne looks trashy and stripper-y. Sorry, but it looks like a name someone less educated would pick. Siobhan is a beautiful name, if you want that name then _spell it correctly_! 100% this. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/69 "2013-03-19T03:10:26Z")
y’all are so judgmental :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/70 "2013-03-19T03:22:18Z")
I used to work with a woman called Chevoy. I thought it was a very pretty name. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/71 "2013-03-19T03:24:34Z")
Siobhan is a derivation of Jane or Joan. Most straightforward spelling is Shavonne. In Singapore I would avoid any versions with silent g’s. But I vote strongly for keeping it Siobhan. People will learn. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/72 "2013-03-19T04:22:54Z")
As I understand it, the “Siobhan” spelling would set the child up for teasing by other kids, which can sometimes be quite cruel. This seems to be overlooked by those of you who are rather stridently (and sanctimoniously, in my view) insisting on the traditional spelling. Why the hell it bothers you so much how someone else’s kid a half world away spells her name is beyond me. How about some consideration for the person who will be living with the name. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/73 "2013-03-19T04:41:02Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > My wife has alerted me to the fact that Sio Bak is Hokkien, not Cantonese. I have been duly chastised. yup, and in Cantonese it could conceivably sound like “roast plank”, or maybe “hot plate”. (Siu Ban) your daughter’s apparent race would matter here i think. if she has no Irish roots, giving her the name Siobhan would be seen as stubbornly pretentious since it is obvious that you’ll be saddling her with a name not many know the pronunciation or spelling of. if she is Irish, or maybe if she simply looks caucasian, you should definitely go with Siobhan. teasing would not be a problem, the name is easy to pronounce and it’s really a stretch to associate it with Hokkien or Cantonese roasts imho. if she has no Irish roots, giving her the name Chevonne would not be remarkable, though you’ll be saddling her with a non-standard name that needs to be clarified for spelling. the name would also fit in well i should think, strippers simply aren’t a thing in Singapore. western names are all adopted anyway, so making up new ones aren’t really remarkable unless you are trying to make up badly spelt variants of common names. will her Chinese name be a transcription or will she have her own? ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/74 "2013-03-19T04:51:34Z")
I say use the original spelling. If you must phoneticize it: Shavonne. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/75 "2013-03-19T06:42:16Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If I had a kitten I’d name it something domestic and ordinary, like Dave or Roger. > > If you want Irish, I suggest Shona. Just named our new cat Five. And I hate ‘alternate spellings’ unless it is a real one, not some stupid revisioning. Siobhan or something different. ---
**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 19, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/76 "2013-03-19T09:03:17Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > As I understand it, the “Siobhan” spelling would set the child up for teasing by other kids, which can sometimes be quite cruel. This seems to be overlooked by those of you who are rather stridently (and sanctimoniously, in my view) insisting on the traditional spelling. Why the hell it bothers you so much how someone else’s kid a half world away spells her name is beyond me. How about some consideration for the person who will be living with the name. Sure, if you call someone Cretinia Stupida or something you set them up for teasing, but I think it is a bit exaggerated to say that any name that isn’t 100% absolutely common and idiot proof will make the kid a walking target. From what I get from the OP’s explanation, it is even a bit of stretch to get to the “funny” interpretation. If she is going to teased for that, she would have been teased for something else if her name was spelled phonetically. Honestly, I don’t buy that naming a kid Siobhan is going to somehow going to traumatise her for life. ---
**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 19, 2013, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/77 "2013-03-19T09:04:38Z")
Also, since Chinese doesn’t use western letters, how is spelling it phonetically going to change anything? ---
**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 19, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/78 "2013-03-19T11:51:03Z")
So at what point can we Anglicize a difficult to pronounce foreign name? I’d assume you guys aren’t running around naming your kids Guinhyfhar, here. Without Anglicization, we wouldn’t have 90% of the names we use today, and it has to start somewhere. > [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Also, since Chinese doesn’t use western letters, how is spelling it phonetically going to change anything? While characters are used for most applications, people learn Western characters in elementary school alongside with characters, and they are used in certain situations (signage, for example, if often romanized.) Everyone knows and recognizes them. Names can be a little complex. There is no real way to “translate” a Western name into characters. There are some somewhat standard transcriptions of very common Western names, and sometimes people cobble together sets of characters that kind of sound like the Western name. But this isn’t very satisfying, as each character has it’s own independent meaning, and it’s tough to find something that sounds right and isn’t just a string of random meaningless (or even worse, negative) words. Anyway, the only way around this is to pick a completely separate Chinese name, or to just keep using your Western name as it is written. Lots of people do the former. ---
**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 19, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/79 "2013-03-19T12:05:54Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > So at what point can we Anglicize a difficult to pronounce foreign name? I’d assume you guys aren’t running around naming your kids Guinhyfhar, here. Without Anglicization, we wouldn’t have 90% of the names we use today, and it has to start somewhere. Anglicise away, but Chevonne, Shevanne, etc. will have a different set of cultural notions attached to them than Siobhán has. It might not matter, maybe just the sound suffices. Ultimately call your kid anything you want short of Fuckface or Shittyknickers and I’m sure they’ll be fine, but if you like a name so much you want to name your kid it, why the hell would you change it? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237/80 "2013-03-19T13:09:56Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Maybe have it as a middle name in its original spelling. A friend of mine has that, it’s a nice way to note the Irish roots without causing too much trouble. That said, her sister’s called Niamh, so I don’t think her parents were that bothered about people having to learn to pronounce it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siobhan-shevaughn-chevonne/653237.md?page=5)