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I pronounce it viv ee EN.
I pronounce Vivian more like VIV ee ann.

Exactly like Vivian in English. Which is my problem with it - I can't see the point of using a French spelling and an English pronunciation. Of course, if you live in a Francophone area, the problem would solve itself ... or maybe not.

If you're going to spell it Vivienne, you don't have to put an emphasis on the last syllable, which is unnatural in English, but you have to at least pronounce it VIV-ee-enn, with the last syllable having a distinct E sound, as in Isabelle. It's an abuse of the English language to do otherwise. Would we pronounce Juliette jul-ee-uht, Isabelle iz-a-buhl? A cousin of mine's name is Rachelle, pronounced like Rachel. I find pronouncing Vivienne as Vivian just as annoying as that.

I pronounce it like Vivian when I'm speaking English. I just don't see why this should be pronounced the French way in English. Nicole and Sophie aren't pronounced the French way in English speaking countries and apart from that most Americans butcher the French pronunciation and make it sound funny kind of like they do with Esmee even though Vivienne would be easier to say for most. I don't think pronouncing it like Vivian is wrong, it's simply the English pronunciation of the name, just as there are English pronunciations of Sophie and Nicole. When I'm speaking French I pronounce it the French way.

I pronounce it viv-YENN...without a long 'ee'. but it's quite hard to show the pronounciation, I think I didn't succeed...^^

This message was edited 4/23/2013, 2:05 PM

vihv-ee-ENN, VIHV-ee-enn, or possibly VIHV-ee-en (although that last one is less likely because it's the same way I pronounce Vivien and Vivian).

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Note: When I say "en" I mean a schwa, and when I say "enn" I mean the e rhymes with the e in Ben.

I'd say it like Vivian, but with emphasis on the last syllable instead of the first. "vivi-EN"

Personally, Vivienne is Viv-ee-ENNE, and Vivien is VIV-ee-en

I pronounce it the same as Vivian. I know it's not technically correct but even here in Canada I think I'd sound pretentious pronouncing it the French way seeing as I'm not French. So VIV-ee-an.

As a fn, exactly like Vivien ("VIV-ee-en"). Occasionally I'll use the French pronunciation ("viv-ee-EN"), but that's when Vivienne is used as a mn and the flow is better the French way. I'm an opportunist when it comes to Vivienne.

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I do the same thing with Madeleine ("MAD-uh-lin" v. "mad-uh-LEN") and Adrienne ("AY-dree-en" v. "ah-dree-EN").

This message was edited 4/23/2013, 10:29 AM

Differently than Vivian/Vivien. With Vivienne, I put the emphasis on the -enne rather than the Viv-.