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Baby names

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

Original poster

Matthew / Matthias / Maurice

37 replies

Siepie · 15/05/2020 17:34

These are our favourite names at the minute.

DP is Belgian so Matthias and Maurice are more known there than here. We live in England.

Would be grateful for any opinions.

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HelenaJustina · 16/05/2020 22:11

Matthias

SweetRuby · 16/05/2020 22:09

The only Maurice I knew died 6 years ago at the age of 82. I love Matthew but it needs to be pronounced properly. Where I live it would be matchew!!! Matthias is cool..

user1493494961 · 16/05/2020 22:04

Matthias or Matthew, definitely not Maurice. As pp said, it would more likely be pronounced Morris here. I know a 70 year old Maurice (Morris) and he's usually called Mo.

MikeUniformMike · 16/05/2020 20:52

I know a couple of Matthiases. One is Matt-ee-as and the other is Math-I-as. Matt-ee-as gets called both versions.

I think Morris is nice.

foxtiger · 16/05/2020 16:31

I don't really like Maurice, but I like the English pronunciation better than the French/American (for someone who isn't living in a french-speaking country) and I think the other way is in danger of being perceived as a bit fussy or camp over here.

I love Matthew (and Matt for short).

Matthias is interesting - I quite like it, but it's pronounced differently in different languages and you'd have to be sure you agreed on one!

bookmum08 · 16/05/2020 12:32

CanofCant yes Third Watch. I wish it would all be released on DVD. I have seasons 1 + 2 from America but the rest hasn't been released due to copyright issues over the music .

PuntoEBasta · 16/05/2020 11:01

Matthias is fabulous.

Maurice will be generally pronounced Morris in the UK.

Mucklowe · 16/05/2020 11:00

I love Maurice! Much nice than Matthew, which is such a wet name. "Matt" is an awful nickname.

Orphlids · 16/05/2020 10:32

Maurice is lovely, I think! I’d be excited to meet a baby Maurice. I find the other two names a little dull in comparison. It is old fashioned, but I don’t think of that as a negative.

CanofCant · 16/05/2020 09:12

bookmum08 Ahh, a fellow Third Watch fan!!

I like Maurice. It reminds me of that song, The Joker by Steve Miller Band.

Malysh · 16/05/2020 08:35

In France Maurice is old-fashioned too. But at least you wouldn't have ten of them in your son's school ! That said I prefer the German version Moritz, or the dutch Maurits.

People would get used to it quickly though, so if you love the name I don't think it being old-fashioned is a good enough reason to discard it !

Out of all your names I prefer Mathias as Matthew is very common and a bit boring.

Hamm87 · 16/05/2020 01:37

I have a matthew

grisen · 16/05/2020 01:28

I love Matthias and Matthew. Indifferent about Maurice but quite old fashioned.

Ellmau · 16/05/2020 01:15

Matthias is lovely. Matthew is OK. Maurice feels a bit dated.

I suspect pronunciation is going to be a bit different in Belgium for all of them.

CatSmize · 16/05/2020 00:26

Matthias is nice. Not a fan of Maurice at all, far too old-fashioned, and Matthew is very plain for my taste.

RaininSummer · 16/05/2020 00:18

I think it would be pronounced more often as. Morris in Britain. Like Mathias better but little Morrie is cute.

Greengrapes1357 · 15/05/2020 23:43

Matthias or Matthew are nice.

Original poster
Siepie · 15/05/2020 23:35

What is the correct way to pronounce Maurice?

In English I would pronounce it Mo-reece (o like hot).

In Flemish the first vowel sounds a bit like 'ow' but not quite, and it has a trilled r. I wouldn't expect English people to pronounce it the Flemish way.

OP posts:
ofwarren · 15/05/2020 23:06

What is the correct way to pronounce Maurice? I also think of Gaston 😂 I like the name though.

whatausername · 15/05/2020 23:02

My eyes rans over the title and my brain went "indifferent, lovely, oooft" 😂 sorry! I guess Matthew or Matthias then. Maurice is old-fashioned and not in a good way. It does not need to become current-fashion(ed). :-P

Original poster
Siepie · 15/05/2020 20:56

Maybe it sounds better in a Belgian accent.

I think it does sound better in a Belgian accent but as we're in England our child will probably mainly hear it in a British accent, so I'm prepared for Morris or Morreece pronunciations.

OP posts:
bookmum08 · 15/05/2020 20:31

On the cop show I mentioned above their characters mum used to shout at him - "Moooor-eeece" in a loud New York accent so that's always how I mentality read it. Maybe it sounds better in a Belgian accent.

MikeUniformMike · 15/05/2020 20:24

I'd go for Maurice.

apapuchi · 15/05/2020 20:11

I do always think of "Crazy Old Maurice" as said by Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, but I doubt that would be a wide point of reference 😂

apapuchi · 15/05/2020 20:10

Oh I love Maurice, I am also a huge fan of Marcel (or Marcelo if we were ever to use it as DH is from a Latin American country). If you both love it then I'd go for it, Matthew just isn't anywhere near as lovely in my view.

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