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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Maia, Nina or Mabel

54 replies

Kathleen123 · 11/07/2010 14:05

Had decided on Marianne (shortened to Mari). I now think I prefer the shorter names, and have a new shortlist. Although not ruled out Marianne.

Could you kindly rate the following:

Maia
Nina
Mabel

Our surname is similar to Gresham.

Thanks all,

Kate

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teameric · 20/07/2010 20:20

I love Mabel too.

Meglet · 20/07/2010 19:18

Mabel is ace . Cute for a child but nicely old fashioned for an adult.

Umnitsa · 20/07/2010 19:14

Love Nina and the name's elegant simplicity. Oh, and contrary to what someone has mentioned, in Russian it is not a diminutive for Anne but a totally independent name. It's a Royal name in Georgia.

Aeldred · 20/07/2010 15:13

Nina is lovely, have you considered Lara?

zenoushka · 20/07/2010 14:13

Marianne is beautiful.

Summerhols · 20/07/2010 14:02

I love Amabel so disagree with all the negative comments made

Original poster
Kathleen123 · 19/07/2010 10:17

Hey all,

Just to thank you for your assistance. A girls name finally fell into place this weekend for us:

Clarissa

If its a boy, it is:

William (DH grandfathers name)

Totally different to previously mentioned names, but we love it, and gos with our surname.

I can hopefully work better, now that I'm not daydreaming of girls names.

Kate

OP posts:
ninedragons · 16/07/2010 08:37

Nina is lovely.

There are thousands of Maias in my area, and oddly, the mothers are, to a woman, humourless bitches. But obviously this is a region-specific quirk!

posieparker · 16/07/2010 08:36

Mabel is a delightful name, my dd is nearly four and I can't remember the last day I didn't receive a compliment about her name! It does help that she is beautiful and looks like a Lucy Mabel Attwell painting!!

Perhaps I'm the wrong generation to like your new names because they were the older girls names when I started school.

Diamondlover · 16/07/2010 08:29

Mabel really is the most awful musty old granny name. Can't really for the life of me understand why anyone could ever like it. Marianne is utterly beautiful for any age- timeless!!

Original poster
Kathleen123 · 16/07/2010 06:48

A new name to the list:

Elissa

I liked it when first found out I was expecting, but had slipped off the radar.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kathleen123 · 16/07/2010 05:42

Thanks for all the comments. Although we easily agreed on boys names, girls list constantly changing.

It is now:

Marianne (Mari)
Laura
Marie

I know, completely different. I have a cousin called Laura, which initially put me off, but now decided what the heck, it can go on.

  • Kate
OP posts:
Jenbot · 15/07/2010 14:20

I like Mabel but not with Gresham, like Lorna, Nina and Mari, and Christina.
Don't like Amabel or Kristen as much, but they could grow on me. I don't hate them!
Maia is very popular where we are and I'd avoid it for that reason.

flopsy1974 · 15/07/2010 09:33

Much prefer Marianne to the rest of the names.

seeker · 15/07/2010 08:58

Nina is lovely.

How about Laura?

Whelk · 15/07/2010 08:53

We have a Nina and I absolutely love it! Interestingly Maia and Lorna were strong contenders too so we must have similar tastes.

Yesterday I met another Nina who had been christened Georgina but had always been called Nina, so thats another one to consider.

CapitalText · 15/07/2010 00:51

I like Christina and Marianne best from your most recent shortlist

Christina Marianne (Gresham) would be a very nice name.

loobylu3 · 14/07/2010 13:02

From your revised list, I like Marianne the best by far.

How about Valentina nn Nina?

Avocadoes · 13/07/2010 14:46

Nina is the Russian diminuitive of Anne. It's also a traditional diminuitve of Antonia. So those cld be considered too.

Original poster
Kathleen123 · 13/07/2010 14:38

Ooh, Swanandduck glad you liked Lorna, this is DH's fave.

Nina, I love. My hubbie would rather use the name Christina and shortening it to Nina. DH will not let me use Nina in its own right.

Loobylu, your right my names are all different in style. The girls list is constantly changing, at the moment it is:

Marianne (Mari)
Christina (Nina)
Kristen
Lorna

Thanks all,

Kate

OP posts:
swanandduck · 13/07/2010 14:29

Maia - Lovely
Nina - Don't like
Amabel - Sounds made up
Marianne - Beautiful
Lorna - Really like

birdofthenorth · 13/07/2010 13:25

Nina -lovely

chainedtothedesk · 13/07/2010 11:48

Haven't heard of Amabel before, nice but will people not think she's called Annabel, could get annoying if she constantly has to correct people.

I do like Mabel.

Second choice would be Nina

loobylu3 · 13/07/2010 11:43

I like all of your names but they do seem to be quite different in style.

Marianne to be is an underused classic. It reminds me of Jane Austen and seems v English! I love it!

Mabel- lovely, vintage name, v cute, perhaps a bit 'cool'/ on trend.

Maia-sweet, pretty and exotic, v multicultural so will fit in anywhere. I love the Classical connections too.

Nina- pretty but my least favourite. I am probably v irrational but it reminds me of an ambulance siren
ni-nah, ni nah...!

I also like Marin, Maris, Mirabelle, Margot, Marguerite, Meera, Maeve if you like 'M' names.

Hedwig3 · 13/07/2010 10:30

Nina
Mabel

Both really lovely.