Margarita or Caroline?

I'm not convinced. It just means 'graceful one'. Mia Farrow is a Maria.
I like Margaret, Maragrita and Caroline. I don't like Carol as much or Carole. I like Greta.

I really like Clio :) Mia is also a short form of Maria, I believe... (?)

I like Margarita. Marguerite, Margherita, Greta etc are also lovely :)

Caroline is fine but not as nice (imo)...

I prefer Margarita. I just find Caroline a it dull.

@GetAwayFromHer Yes, very forgetful of me!

@MikeUniformMike

latinlexicon.org/definition.php?p1=2035997 and

books.google.co.uk/books?id=z70fAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA287&lpg=PA287&dq=chariton+mia&source=bl&ots=-iQcfeVlHK&sig=F8k-wLFXAz1-HO6sSjnFZO_nVxw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjG29L54NrcAhViB8AKHas_AD0Q6AEwBXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=chariton%20mia&f=false

I think I looked it up years ago when there were little Mias everywhere, to see if it was a 'proper name'. I wouldn't have used it myself because a dad at playgroup told me it was a naughty child name!

How did we get here from Margarita v Caroline? :)

I don't think Mia was one of the muses.

Agustarella

Blimey, it's pedants' corner here . I am shocked you aren't carrying your Greek Disctionary in Tesco. Maybe variant was the wrong word. Maybe I meant 'alternative spelling of a name that sounds like 'Cleo'

Whatever - Clio = car

Clio was one of the Muses, not a variant of Cleo. (I think, I'm at Tesco and don't have a Greek dictionary on my person!!)

I don't know off the top of my head what Clio means.

Mia was also one of the Muses, though I think not one of the Three.

I was pulled up on a thread for not knowing Clio was a variant of Cleo

Yeah, great for Greek scholars, but Clio is a car to me.

One name I love that is ruined for me is Armani

How many people would associate Nova with a car?

Like I said, I bet there are plenty of people who don't know though, especially with more unusual names like Mercedes, Lenor or maybe Stella.

You have a nice day, now!

I'm laughing at the haughty person who thinks people aren't aware that Margarita is a name in its own right. We know, we just think the association with food and drink is a negative. It's not a difficult concept to grasp.

Sometimes the timing is just a bit wrong for a name that is associated with products. I wouldn't call a DD "Alexa" right now, for example, but it's quite possible that the Amazon voice technology will be replaced by something else that isn't so closely associated with the name, so in a few years it's a useable name again

There are worse associations than cocktails/pizza - I was at uni with a girl named Isis. Plenty of posters have said they still like the name, so not everyone is put off, it's just worth considering. I think when it's an extremely common product (or two) plus an unusual/foreign name the link is stronger. It really depends on the brand - the shop and the beer wouldn't put me off Zara or Stella, for example.

Derailing thread:

I brought my new boyfriend to meet my friends for the first time in a bar.
My friend said, “Hi, would you like a margarita?” (Meaning cocktail)
He said, “No thanks I’ve already eaten.” (Meaning pizza)

It went downhill from there.

I like Caroline Marguerite

I just think it's quite sad that people can abandon using a nice name, just because some manufacturer has also chosen to use it for their product. Lenor is another one. People could think of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, not the fabric conditioner!

I think I once read that in France two sets of parents with the surname 'Renault' (which I think is maybe quite a common French surname) were going to sue Renault because they had daughters named Zoe, and they thought the new Zoe cars that were coming out would affect their daughters negatively.

OK maybe 'thick' was a bit OTT - sorry for that! (I bet there are some people who don't know it was a name first though ).

you do realise it's the original form of the name Margaret, used in Greek, Spanish, Russian, etc

Why are you assuming people are 'thick' and don't realise that Margarita/Margherita weren't names first? That doesn't negate the associations.

Lots of brandnames are also given names, some named after a specific person, like Mercedes (Benz). That doesn't mean that most British people's first thought on hearing 'Mercedes' won't be the car. Names like Zara or Zoe are more common in the UK so perhaps the brand/product association is weaker.

@Pemba well thank you for the very helpful lesson. We do know, but associations change. Clio is a gorgeous Greek mythological name, but for most people - even the ones aware of the history - your first thought is of a car. Similarly with lots of other names that are 'real' but now linked with products or people.
Most people have heard of the pizza and the drink but may not have met a person called Margarita. Doesn't mean we're all thick

Umm, all the posters saying 'it's a drink/pizza', and particularly the one who said It's on a par with Chardonnay , you do realise it's the original form of the name Margaret, used in Greek, Spanish, Russian, etc.? So not like Chardonnay at all really, which always was a wine.

You might as well say 'you can't use Zoe, it's a car' or 'you can't use Stella, it's a beer'. Well actually posters do say that about Stella, especially if they're a bit thick. The product was named after the existing personal name, OK? Not vice versa.

However, Caroline is gorgeous, and overdue a revival. I'd go for that.

I have a friend who is Margherita - whjch is Italian for Lily the flower. The is a Maggie or a Margie as a nn

Caroline is lovely. I also love Marguerite (though I've only heard the name in the Bulgakov novel). Not a fan of Margarita for the food and drink reasons already mentioned. Margot is also very nice :)

Love Caroline and the nn Caro.

mark my words - rita is due a revival :)

Caroline 😍. Tends to become Caz at school though

Margarita = pizza, definitely.
I don't love Caroline but it's a lot better. What about Marita?