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Baby names

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

Original poster

Georgiana or Mariella?

53 replies

ruralmother · 26/12/2017 11:26

Hi,
Looking for a lovely long elegant girls name, prefer classic but lesser used. Would appreciate your opinions on these too or suggestions for others of the same ilk.

Thank you!

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beyondthesky · 31/12/2017 21:42

I prefer Mariella but my absolute favourite name is Camellia

daisypond · 31/12/2017 21:38

Georgiana (however you pronounce it) is more classic than Mariella, which seems a bit of a mish-mash of a name in English and somewhat frilly, though I do know one who is Italian, so perhaps it's more common on the Continent. I still rather like it, though, but I'd say Marianne was more classic if that's what you're after.

PinkAvocado · 31/12/2017 20:53

Georgiana is lovely and I only know one. It’s shortened to Georgie sometimes but never confused with Georgina as although similar visually, quite different sounding.

TatianaLarina · 31/12/2017 20:51

I was referring to the fact we have no survivors from the 18c to settle the matter either way, so there’s nowhere for the discussion to go...

OrlandaFuriosa · 31/12/2017 19:22

Um, I thought you were implying that pronunciation was initially limited to the Cavendishes, then the Whigs following their lead. Hence trying to suggest that actually it went broader than that.

Anyway, Happy New Year.

TatianaLarina · 31/12/2017 10:41

I’d have thought that went without saying.

OrlandaFuriosa · 30/12/2017 20:16

Sure, which is why I instanced my prob Tory lot, quite possibly following fashion. Just because you were a Tory didn’t mean you automatically ignored the Whig fashions, just because you were a Whig didn’t mean you followed it.

As we are not living then and I have yet to see convincing non- anecdotal evidence either side, perhaps we should leave it?

TatianaLarina · 30/12/2017 20:07

The Whigs following the drawl of the Cavendishes and the Devonshire House Circle...

OrlandaFuriosa · 30/12/2017 19:25

And I suspect some of my lot were Tories. It was certainly true that they were known to be bone headed, there was an in joke about it.

OrlandaFuriosa · 30/12/2017 19:24

Could be regional variation, I agree, but some of them were, middle/upper middle class and had been since pre Tudor times. That doesn’t nec mean anything, I agree given that regional accents continued in the HoL until quite late in the 19c.

Just saying.

Uhohmummy · 30/12/2017 17:53

Tatiana - “Jorjayna” was the Whig pronunciation, not just a quirk of the Cavendishes.

BaffledMummy · 30/12/2017 16:37

Love Georgiana

TatianaLarina · 30/12/2017 14:41

My sister is Soph eye a so I’m biased.

That could be a provincial variation tho. I’m still not convinced, I think people think it was more popular than it was because of Foreman’s book - but I accept I could be wrong.

OrlandaFuriosa · 30/12/2017 13:07

And yes, I prefer the Mar eye a and Soph eye a too.

OrlandaFuriosa · 30/12/2017 13:07

Tatiana, no, sorry, it wasn’t. Same pronunciation in my family, came from Hampshire and West Country. Wasn’t Georg ee anna or Georg eye ana either.

User45632874 · 29/12/2017 20:47

Georgiana is top of our list for dd3. I also like Mariella but one of my dd's has a similar name so we wouldn't be able to use it. Tough call, they are both lovely names in my opinion x

TatianaLarina · 29/12/2017 11:44

I’m aware of Mar eye a and Soph eye a, as I know a couple of each - and actually prefer them.

But Jorjayna was simply a quirk of the Cavendishes not a general pronounciation.

OrlandaFuriosa · 29/12/2017 09:56

Tatiana, by tradition in this country really until this century and the latter part of the last. There was @ famous Duchess of Devonshire in the 18c who was Jorjayna ( in pronunciation).

Just as both Maria and Sophia were pronounced Mar-I-a and Soph-I-a, not Mar-ee-a and Soph-ee-a. You were thought a bit fanciful and twee if you went for the latter.

user1496436814 · 28/12/2017 19:59

Georgiana is one of my all time favourite names... it's woefully underrated! I definitely prefer the pronunciation of George-ee-AH-na, but either way it's gorgeous!

number1wang · 28/12/2017 19:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Wishfulmakeupping · 28/12/2017 19:55

Love Georgiana I wanted to name dd it but Dh wasn't keen, beautiful classic unusual name

gingerclementine · 28/12/2017 19:53

I prefer Georgiana.

Mariella feels a bit like a cobbled together name.

TatianaLarina · 28/12/2017 19:47

Re Georgiana.

Since when was IA ever pronounced AY? As in Jorjayna.

Tiara pronounced tayra?

PhuntSox · 28/12/2017 13:04

Marina
Marcella

UsernameInvalid66 · 28/12/2017 12:45

I like both, but I think Mariella would be easier to live with in practice, because Georgiana will often get pronounced as Georgina or Georgianna. My favourite female version of George is actually Georgette, which is a bit less common, but probably impossible to get wrong!