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Baby names

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

Original poster

Muriel and Clio/Cleo

31 replies

Beachballfamily · 19/12/2013 07:31

Muriel - is this nice, underused and classic, or just terribly dull and frumpy? We have a lovely friend (who admittedly is in her 60s) called Muriel so I've always liked it.

Clio/Cleo - I love this, but are the car/cat associations just too strong?

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florascotia · 27/12/2013 18:43

I once knew a very nice French student teacher called Muriel.
She was serious, caring, good fun and effortlessly stylish. Her name sounded very pretty with a French accent: Mur-eee-elle.
The 'Mur' as in French for wall or Scottish for moorland: 'muir'. Not 'Meur' to rhyme with 'bluergh'.

brokenhearted55a · 20/12/2013 19:42

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lottiegarbanzo · 20/12/2013 14:22

though I think Muriel was a not very clever goat in Animal Farm.

lottiegarbanzo · 20/12/2013 14:21

I love Cleo, it sounds wonderful.

I like Muriel, yes. I think of Muriel Spark and Muriel Gray - clever, cool Scottish woman who was on C4 a lot in the early days in the 80s (blond hair, dark eyebrows).

squoosh · 20/12/2013 14:21
LillianaMarie · 20/12/2013 14:18

I really like muriel and have never heard of this your terrible muriel thing Confused i like older names some of these newer names i wonder how theyll last in time

Claire983 · 20/12/2013 14:13

Muriel - Terribly dull and frumpy
Clio - Car
Cleo - Great name.

Original poster
Beachballfamily · 20/12/2013 07:00

Hmmm, I think I really like Meriel. Thanks!

OP posts:
sashh · 20/12/2013 06:25

I know a Meriel which I think is nicer but similar. It meas sea sprite

TreaterAnita · 19/12/2013 23:30

sqoosh Muriel was not! She was my very lovely great grandmother who would do anything for anyone and never twitched a curtain in her life thankyouverymuch. Wink

I genuinely like the name actually, not something that anyone of my generation would have been called, but don't really understand why it's not in the new 'rehabilitated' names that have become so popular. I guess the film.

Clio is a car. Cleo, I think of Cleo Lane (good) but also Cleo Rocos (not bad necessarily but she was on Celebrity Big Brother...)

jazzyjenbo · 19/12/2013 22:38

A friend has just had a girl and named her cleo.. Shes the cutest little thing and i didnt even think 'car' when she told me her name.

Muriel's Wedding (enough said) Confused

Sunnysummer · 19/12/2013 22:23

Thank you badtime! Muppets - like Mercedes, Clio was a name before it was a car, in fact a couple of thousand years before... Though I see that my husband was right about how most people think of it now Hmm

YoniMitchell · 19/12/2013 20:28

Muriel just makes me think of how Hilda Ogden spoke of the mural on her kitchen wall.

Clio too car, Cleo too cat, IMO.

Sorry!

MortifiedAnyFuckerAdams · 19/12/2013 20:25

Cleo is the flirty goldfish from.Pinnocchio

Muriel is draaaab.

squoosh · 19/12/2013 20:22

Muriel is just awful, twin set wearing, net curtain twitching busybody who thinks shes a cut above because her husband Colin drives a Rover.

Cleo is gorgeous. Snappy and sassy.

badtime · 19/12/2013 19:26

Clio is the name of the Muse of History. It is perfectly okay to dislike Clio, but it is a different name from Cleo, not an 'awful' version of it.

Frontdoorstep · 19/12/2013 18:35

Muriel is a bit old fashioned but ok. Think if I knew a baby Muriel it would grow on me really quickly.

WaitingForPeterWimsey · 19/12/2013 18:14

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MrsDavidBowie · 19/12/2013 18:11

I know a Muriel who is called Moo.....

What about Meriel?
Or Meryl?

TheMuppetsSingChristmas · 19/12/2013 18:04

Muriel is awful. Cleo is nice, Clio is also awful. And out of interest the Mercedes car was named after the designer's daughter.

BlackberryandNettle · 19/12/2013 17:04

I really like Cleo, had it on my list, to me it is classic. The car thing is a real shame, both DH and BIL said 'Renault Clio' so have had to rule it out :-(

Not keen on Muriel. Would you consider Ariel?

sparklesandfizz · 19/12/2013 13:15

Clea is better - pretty and no car repercussions

GwendolineMaryLacey · 19/12/2013 10:01
GwendolineMaryLacey · 19/12/2013 10:00

However nice Muriel might sound it doesn't, I always hear You're terrible Muriel in my head when I hear it. For that reason I would also have to discount Mariel! :o

Cleo is nice, Clio is the car although I'm aware that elsewhere that is the correct spelling.

Mattissy · 19/12/2013 09:56

Sorry but Muriel is awful and that's coming from someone who adored the Muriel in her life, Muriel Kathleen was my gran.

Cleo, it's a car.

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