Using a deceased parents name

Whilst I really like the name Mary, and would love to see it used on a child/baby, I think it's safer/better/easier to use as a middle name. That way the child gets their 'own' name whilst still remembering the deceased.

Another option though could be to use Molly or Polly?

I would use it as a middle name :)

My eldest was given my deceased dads name as a middle name , it's a name that's generally hated on here and quite dated but I love it and my dad was awesome .

I'd use it as a middle name rather than a first name.

I think that if you choose to use it, it will become her name and other family members will quickly get used to that. I wouldn't choose a 'similar' name, because I don't see how that is honouring your mother, since it's not her name. Mary is a lovely, classic name and a sweet choice for a little girl.

But if you feel it would be too much of a reminder of your mum to bear, then a middle name is a good compromise.

I'd personally use it as a middle name. My db died unexpectedly before I was pregnant with ds2 so he has end 1st name as his middle name as a tribute but I wanted him to be his own person and not compared with db.

Lots of names have Mary in them, what about one of those?
Rosemary, Maryan/Marion, Maria, Miriam, Marina, Mariah, Maris

Or Marian names based on the Virgin Mary?
Soledad, Dolores, Regina, Rosario, Lourdes

It's a lovely idea, but if you're not keen you could use it as a middle name or you could use a different form of the name. I like Maria - it's pretty, shouldn't date, easy to spell and pronounce, works in other countries and so on.

It does sound like you would feel happier using it as a middle name.
However you choose, Mary is a beautiful name.😀

I think that Mary is a very underused name which fits well into a class of Milly, Molly, Poppy, Gracie, Daisy, Chloe etc. easy to spell, recognisable as a name. It has lots of positive attributes as a name.
The name will become your child's, rather than it always being a reminder of your Mum.

I wouldn't, because I do think it is nicer for the child to have their own name.

Also, Mary isn't too bad, but in my case my dad had a very Welsh name and I just don't like the sound of most Welsh names, and my mum's was one from the Shirley/Jean/Pauline era and I'm just not keen on it.

I am called after my mother and my aunt. My aunt died just a couple of days before I was born. So my middle name is not mine. That is not a huge problem. My first name is not mine because my father insisted I be called after my mother. i loved my mother deeply but I was left in no doubt that the name was not mine. Hence, I never say 'my name ...' I say I am ... when introducing myself, or if asked I will say I am called ... because it is not my name. I would use the name as a middle name rather than the given name, but I made a point not to call my children after anyone I knew.

How about using it as a middle name? That is more in keeping with tradition: lots of parents give their children middle names after family members, deceased or alive. Mine all have a deceased grandparent's name as their middle name.

DS1 is named after my father who passed away when I was a child. But he doesn't have his exact name, and we wouldn't have used his actual name (for reasons other than simply being reminded of him).

DS1 is named Sam, which was my dad's nickname. His real name was David long story short, there were 6 Davids in his kinder class so they all got given unrelated nicknames and his stuck. If we hadn't gone with Sam, we would've chosen Davis, as it's similar but not exactly the same.

But it's up to you whether or not you think you'll be bothered by using the same name. If you want to name her Mary, do. If you think it would be too hard, maybe consider something similar to what I did?