Mercedes yay or nay?

It is a shame. But it's also potentially a reality for kids given those names, so worth considering.

It is a shame.

Though you see it all the time where people don't know the origins and how it was a name first, and the brand or item named after the person. Thinking of recent-ish examples:
Octavia
Clementine
Augusta ('people will think you were born in August')

etc etc

Yes, it's a shame when people feel that they have to pander to the lowest common denominator.

I love it and do not think it sounds 'chavvy' at all.
Only uneducated people would think that.
It means 'Mercies' in Spanish as I am sure you know.

I think Mercedes is a gorgeous name.

It will be up to the child to decide which she prefers.

Unless the OP wants to use the name she's posted about rather than Mercy or Merry.

As previously pointed out, there are some perfectly nice shortened versions of Mercedes which would avoid the whole issue of potential teasing in the UK.

I'd worry because as pp said its an unusual name in the UK and so the DD will spend a lifetime of interacting with 'ignorant' people who have only heard of the car brand (I don't think our educational system covers traditional Spanish names and wouldn't dismiss everyone without this knowledge as ignorant ). If OP comes back to UK whilst DD is still in school its a bit unfair to expect the average schoolkid to know that Mercedes is a nice Spanish name rather than a car. She'll also encounter people who make jokes like the Skoda one above because its 'hilarious'.

Being realistic about teasing potential and unpleasant comments doesn't mean a post is nasty, and I'd actually say that just because a person isn't aware of a name's origins it doesn't make them 'ignorant' or 'nasty' either - Mercedes has a strong brand association in the UK, Just like the recent Octavia thread - again fine if you don't mind your kid having Skoda as a nn. Its a name with teasing potential, the association in the UK is primarily with a car rather than a nice Spanish name and to pretend otherwise is a bit naive. She may be teased, she may not, but I don't think its nasty to point out the reasons for that possibility.

I knew a man who was registered as E-type on his bc. Sorry...not helpful.

Go for it. Don't let the ignorance of other people put you off.

It is a name used in Germany too -- the car was named after a girl named Mercedes Jellinek whose father was instrumental in its development.

In general it is a name from Catholic cultures.

just reminds me of hollyoaks

I think the Latin American pronunciation is different from the Spanish anyway.

I think it's a lovely name, but I wonder if people in the UK would automatically pronounce it like the car (Mer-SAY-dees) so to speak, rather than like the Spanish name (MARE-thed-es), and if that would get rather annoying rather quickly?

Not clued up about Spanish names, sure.

They could be very clued up about plenty of other things.

I don't have Spanish connections and know absolutely nothing about cars.

But, somehow, it has seeped into my consciousness that Mercedes is a much loved girls name in Spain.

I'm definitely nothing special in the intellect stakes so I think its safe to assume that people who would automatically associate it with a car are frankly just not very clued up at all.

Given your south american connections o think its totally fine, and very pretty.

I think a lot of people will automatically think of the car when they hear Mercedes.

I wouldn't assume that even a well educated person would realise that Mercedes was a classic Spanish girl's name before a brand of car unless the person either has Spanish connections or is very into cars.

Love Mercy for short. Know a 40 odd year old Mercedes she's a lovely, very successful woman. Go for it I say.

Perfectly sound name. Go for it.

Or, to put it another way, exactly what Bothendsburning said .

I knew of a 'lady of the night' who used it as her prozzie name. I actually like the name but it has been forever tainted by that.

Sunshine - but (to go with the terminology being used on this thread) only the chavviest of people would think Mercedes is chavvy? Everyone else with the merest hint of an education or awareness of the world around them would know that it is a classic Spanish name and nothing to do with Chardonnay or whatever.

So why worry about what an ignorant person would think of the name?

Do all these people who allegedly see it as "chavvy" actually know many people called Mercedes? Or are they just making an ignorant assumption? If the latter, I would say their opinions can be safely disregarded.

It was on our short list for dd...
I like the name, but I am not that keen on the cars!