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Baby names

Our final five

37 replies

FreedomOfTheTess · 06/03/2013 12:58

Baby bump (due in July) is "almost certainly" a girl, so we've focused efforts on girl names right now, although we will have some boy names on hand just in case.

Anyhow this is the final five for #4 who will be a sister for Jack, Alexander and Sarah...

Mary - not popular now, but obviously was the "go to" name for generations, and as such is the most common female name in the world. Would she hate us? Is it tired sounding or would it sound fresh these days, among all the girls called Olivia and Ruby (to name but a few)?

Margaret - we love, love, love Maggie but would never use it as a given name. We also love Margaret, it's a family name on both sides, but when I mentioned it to my mum she said, "Thatcher". Yeah I get that, but by the time baby bump grows up, Maggie T isn't going to be around is she?!

Elisabeth - a family name on my side, was my great-grandmother's name (I knew her, she passed when I was 7), and is also my mum's middle name. The 's' spelling is how my g-gran and my mum's middle name is spelt. We would shorten to Bess or Elsie.

Rose - we both love the simplicity of it but could we use it when we've got a Jack? When I mentioned I liked it to a friend, she said, "but Rose and Jack - Titanic - you can't do it." Thoughts on that?

Frances - a family name on DH's side and also my grandmother's middle name. We would only call her Frances, not Frankie or Fran, we don't like either of those. NB: If anyone can come up with alternative nicknames, much appreciated, but it isn't vital. We'd be happy to just use Frances.

So what you do think? What is the best fit with the older sibling names? Which one is more "wearable" these days? Or should we scrap the list and start again?

NB: The middle name will be Helen, after my aunt.

OP posts:
FoofFighter · 06/03/2013 13:02

I think any of them would fit perfectly well and they are all lovely names :) my order of preference would be:

Mary
Elisabeth
Frances
Margaret
Rose

IHeartKingThistle · 06/03/2013 13:06

They are all lovely. I'd use Margaret like a shot.

ShowOfHands · 06/03/2013 13:09

Oh Mary. By a country mile.

LemonBreeland · 06/03/2013 13:13

I find Mary and Margaret old lady names, although I knew a family a few years ago who had both, and another DD with a distinctly modern name. So I've always remembered that.

I don't like Rose at all

Frances, if you don't like Fran or Frankie I would be tempted not to use it as it would seem inevitable that when she grows up that one of those will get used.

Elisabeth is a timeless classic, and has so many lovely nns so I would go with that.

littlermissstan · 06/03/2013 13:16

I have a lovely friend called Mary, she is in her late twenties and I've known her since we were students, so not old lady to me but rather my very outgoing friend. That gets my vote, and Elisabeth second because your nicknames are gorgeous. I also think the s spelling avoids being shortened to Liz which is an awful name imo...

seeker · 06/03/2013 13:18

They are all lovely. But you do know you only have any control at all over shortenings and nicknames for about 2 years don't you? And even then not much?

ELR · 06/03/2013 13:22

I'm not keen on Mary or margaret but like Maggie.
I like Frances and Elisabeth but not keen on Elsie but like ELISA
Rose is lovely and don't get why it matters about jack and rose its a film!!

I think Rose fits nicely with your other children

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 06/03/2013 13:32

Mary is underused imo, would make a lovely change.

Have you looked at MN Baby Name Finder? Lots of variations of Mary:

Maarya, Mair, Maire, Mairi, Mara, Maree, Mari, Maria, Mariah, Marie, Marwah, Marya, Maura, Meera, Meira, Mere, Merie, Meroe, Merry, Mhairi, Mir

and elsewhere Mariska gets a mention too.

Tricky calling a girl Frances and not finding everyone calls her Fran or Frankie.

I agree by the time your little girl reaches high school then adulthood Lady M Thatcher will be consigned to the history books, her generation won't bat an eyelid.

Rose is very popular, I wouldn't be put off by already having a Jack in the family simply because of a film released in 1997.

notso · 06/03/2013 13:35

Elisabeth sounds best with your other DC names, don't like Bess or Elsie though.

Rose is lovely, my second favourite.

I love Maggie, but don't like Margaret so much.

I find Mary a bit 'meh'.

Frances is my favourite and I will always regret not using it for DD. DH vetoed it Sad

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 06/03/2013 13:44

Left out Elizabeth, heaps of names for her to choose a shortened version later on. Bess is sweet, don't like Elsie personally sorry.

FreedomOfTheTess · 06/03/2013 13:48

Oh yeah, full aware that we only have control over shortenings for a short time.

DS2 is Alexander, and we call him Lex, but even at the age of 6, he has decided he prefers Alex. So I try to call him Alex now, if that's what he wants.

OP posts:
Maebe · 06/03/2013 14:03

Maggie! Slightly biased as I have a girl Alex, and hopefully any future girls will be a Maggie (though I'm with you on the longer name on the birth certificate).

FreedomOfTheTess · 06/03/2013 14:06

Oh and with regards to the Jack and Rose thing, my friend says people might think we used both names because of the film!

If we did use Rose and anyone commented, I'd simply point out it isn't the case, as I didn't even like the film!!

OP posts:
LittleAbruzzenBear · 06/03/2013 14:17

I like Mary. Can't imagine anyone with that name being horrid. Elisabeth would be my second choice.

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 06/03/2013 14:41

I've never seen that film all the way through, myself.

AThingInYourLife · 06/03/2013 14:48

Frances
Margaret

Elisabeth


Rose









Mary

Mary is the worst name in the world. I've known plenty of unpleasant Marys.
Awful name.

Frances and Margaret are great though.

SurreyWithAFringeOnTop · 06/03/2013 20:11

Mary is lovely, my favourite, closely followed by Elisabeth (love Betty and Elsie).

Margaret is a good solid name but I just think Thatcher, ruins it for me.

Rose is really dull.

I do like Frances but it is just ok, not great.

Catchingmockingbirds · 06/03/2013 20:12

Rose.

wiltingfast · 06/03/2013 22:53

I think Rose fits best with the other names in your family. Who cares about the titantic? The connection would not occur to me and you won't have only Jack and Rose so not v obvious imo.

After that like Margaret (love Maggie!), again I don't think people automatically think thatcher? She's gone a while!

Not sure about mary, quite like elisabeth (tho wld prefer a "z"!)

Not that keen on frances either really. Frannie is another nn for frances.

curiousgeorgie · 07/03/2013 09:11

Maggie is so lovely... Margaret not so much.

The others I don't think go as well.

MorphandChas · 07/03/2013 09:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pinkandyellowbutterfly · 07/03/2013 15:28

I've always liked the name Frances but do feel its an aquired taste. I find it hard to say and find that it doesn't really flow well. The s on the end can be combersome expecially when constantly referring to something that belongs to her: frances' etc.

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WormCanner · 07/03/2013 16:17

Haha, I see everybody's avoiding the traditional nn for Frances .... Fanny.

baskingseals · 07/03/2013 16:32

my favourites are Rose and Elisabeth.

i love the name Rose. elegant simple and not too common. plenty of girls have it as a second name but i don't know one Rose - big or small.

Elisabeth is also lovely, and i love the nickname Bess.

i would use Margaret, Mary and Frances as second names.
another alternative for Margaret could be Marguerite.

Frikadellen · 07/03/2013 17:10

I love Frances and love the meaning of it being tied to your family too

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