Sylvie Kantorovitz: Hello. My name is Sylvie Kantorovitz. I grew up in France and my name there is pronounced Sylvie Kan-tour-oh-veetz. When I came to the United States, I americanized the pronunciation to Sil-vee Can-tor-uh-vitz. Sylvie is a very common first name in France. Growing up, there would usually be another Sylvie in class, or two or three.

It is not the nickname for Sylvia. It is a regular French name. Kantorovitz looks long and hard to say. The trick is to avoid rushing through it. Can-tor-uh-vitz Kantorovitz. Growing up, I didn't like my last name. I wanted to fit in with the other French kids, and my name is definitely not French. Living here in the US where people and their names come from everywhere, I've come to really love my name.