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Baby names

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

Torn on this name

72 replies

BruceAndMarley · 23/06/2020 08:06

My husband and I are having a girl due in about 8 weeks time. It’s our first child.
It’s been a very rough pregnancy , things are getting better but I’m high risk and it’s just been hard. She is perfect but my mental health has been very bad (I won’t bore you with that though).

We love the name Grace. I know some people may say it’s very bland , or boring or common, but we love it-The thing we are torn with is her middle name and whether to either double barrel or to even name her Gracie rather than grace ?
So here’s what we have:
Gracie May
Gracie Mae
Gracie-Mae
Obviously Grace Mae doesn’t really go as it’s two one syllable names and doesn’t sound right to us, but what would you do? Or would you drop that all together and have another middle name ? We initially thought Grace Elizabeth Mary as those are two family names but it’s too long and too much of a mouthful !
Any advise ?
Thanks :)

OP posts:
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BookishZen · 18/09/2020 17:25

Could you call her Grace Elizabeth May and then just use Gracie May as a nn.

twirlywooly · 18/09/2020 15:53

Congratulations OP. Beautiful name and a beautiful little chubby foot!

MercyBodle · 18/09/2020 14:39

Congratulations! Such good news. And I love her name Grace Elizabeth Mary - really beautiful. And I love that her initials spell GEM. Best wishes.

whatausername · 17/09/2020 23:44

@BruceAndMarley what an elegant name. Congratulations! Flowers

tornadoalley · 17/09/2020 21:53

She will thank you when she goes for her first interview as a junior solicitor and is introduced as Gracie Mae. 😂

BruceAndMarley · 17/09/2020 21:50

Thanks so much everyone , I wish I could share w photo with you! She has a head full of dark brown hair which explains my endless heartburn !!

OP posts:
BruceAndMarley · 17/09/2020 21:49

@whattodo2019 not sure if you’ve seen my update , but she’s arrived safe and well and we called her Grace With middle names of Elizabeth and Mary. We skipped the hyphen and Mae etc :)

OP posts:
Kettlingur · 17/09/2020 21:36

Congratulations! And welcome to the world, Grace Elizabeth Mary, you have a beautiful name (and beautiful toes!)

CabernetSoWhat · 17/09/2020 21:16

What gorgeous tiny toes! Congratulations, OP! Flowers Wonderful choice of name, classy, timeless, and suits a baby or a grown woman.

I wish you a lifetime of happiness, little Gracie.

whattodo2019 · 17/09/2020 21:02

Hideous! Sorry. Grace is ok but Gracie is awful and as for Mae or - Mae it's even worse...

Gremlinpoop · 17/09/2020 20:45

Grace Elizabeth Mary.......... you cant go wrong.

Save Gracie for a nickname and skip May in any form as sooo common ( as in popular).

TuesdayBluesday · 17/09/2020 20:21

A baby name update - hurray! Congratulations, her name is just gorgeous. So glad she is here and thriving!

janeyloves · 17/09/2020 20:16

Congratulations! And what a beautiful name!

DoTheMaccaroni · 17/09/2020 20:06

Congratulations OP Grin

Pet8 · 17/09/2020 18:34

Congratulations. Love the name Thanks

Whatsyourflava · 17/09/2020 17:32

Wow congratulations and thank you so much for the update !!

DontBelongHere · 17/09/2020 17:19

Aw congratulations! You definitely chose the right combination of names, it's lovely. Really classy and pretty.

FunorFitness · 17/09/2020 17:15

Grace Elisabeth is beautiful. I'm not fond of the Mae trend that is going around.

JaJaDingDong · 17/09/2020 17:13

Grace is lovely.

Gracie + anything, particularly May/Mae, is just awful.

ImaSababa · 17/09/2020 17:10

Congrats on the birth of Grace! Gorgeous name.

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 17/09/2020 16:54

Hi @BruceandMarley! Many, many congratulations to you on the birth of Grace Elizabeth Mary! She looks absolutely gorgeous. What a fine weight she is. I hope you are taking it nice and easy and resting as best you can. Thanks so much for the update, it's fantastic news! All the best and enjoy the cuddles X

BruceAndMarley · 17/09/2020 16:35

Hey everyone , just an update really ! @IsFuzzyBeagMise I know you said to update when she’s here .
Grace Elizabeth Mary arrived via emergency c-section after 3 days of labour , on 26th August. She’s now 3weeks +1 day old and is absolutely wonderful. Minus the reflux but we are managing that.
She weighed 8lb 1oz and is now 9lb 4 so she’s packing on the ounces :) I’d love to share a photo but you never know who might see it! So here are her little chubby feet x

Torn on this name
OP posts:
Edenember · 25/06/2020 09:42

@BruceAndMarley My little girl actually has a Gracie- hyphenated name but not Mae/May. There is a Gracie-May in her school though and I do agree with others that this combination and indeed -May as a hyphenation in general is very ubiquitous. I obviously am biased but I love the name Gracie, I think it’s a gorgeous, vintage, country style name, brings to mind Gracie Fields or a southern belle. I only hyphenated because I wanted her middle name to be ‘seen’ rather than a middle no one knew about, but I never expected to hear the full thing, she hardly ever gets called the whole name but her headteacher insists on it which is nice to hear. She’s often just known as Gracie, I often call her the other name in the hyphenation but that’s just me. Far too many people shorten further to Grace which drives me round the bend because while it’s a lovely name, if I’d wanted to call her Grace I would’ve and I didn’t anticipate 2 syllables would be too taxing for people. However I imagine conversely a little Grace would probably be lengthened to Gracie a lot at least in childhood which is fine as long as you’re happy with either. I do agree that hyphenations have acquired quite a ‘common’ vibe and there was a definite trend which is very of its time. I still love my daughters name, however I’d concur with others in avoiding the particular combination Gracie-May and Grace Elizabeth Mary or Gracie Elizabeth Mary are both lovely ☺️

cheapskatemum · 24/06/2020 18:53

I love Grace Elizabeth Mary & the initials GEM. Lovely

Stripeytopgirl · 24/06/2020 14:50

I echo what almost every other poster has said & my eldest has the middle name May. only grateful for the fact I didn’t spell it Mae I really regret it, Though May is beautiful it’s so popular It’s lost it’s spark.

Whole heartedly agree that Grace Elizabeth Mary is by far the most lovely & sophisticated. You won’t regret it!

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