Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Mary

91 replies

SmeleanorSmellstrop · 04/01/2021 18:13

What do you think of Mary? I love this name but i often see it described negatively. To me, Mary is in the same sort of category as Eliza, Nell, Edith - old but strong baby girl names. Do you like it? I really like Mary for a little girl but don't want to saddle her with a name that everyone will hate.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Luredbyapomegranate · 03/01/2022 22:10

It’s a classic

And you’ve got May, Maisie, Molly and Polly if you want a diminutive, so what’s not to like.

ElvenMoonwings · 03/01/2022 21:55

It's my name and I've always absolutely hated it, because it's the most commonplace female name ever, and, really, the default girls name, (I'm a reader, and whenever there's an example female to illustrate a point in a non fiction book, she's almost always a Mary ...) A name is a description, and, who wants to be described as any typical person someone might meet on the street - or, as a grain of sand on the beach? Which is what it feels like to me to be named Mary. I had psychological issues about that by the time I was in my teens. I honestly don't think it matters that there's been less Marys for a while, because it's been so overused - if you got a pound for every real or fictional Mary you could find within the books in a library, you could probably buy yourself a house! - and I think it still has that conformist, undistinguished, sheep image to it.

It's also a huge one with Catholics, and has got me a lot of negative attention from deeply religious Catholic males obsessedly looking for someone like the holy madonna and, especially, a virgin, (seriously!). If you're not a Catholic, I think you need to be aware of that - that Catholics idea of who Mary is and what Mary means might be something you're profoundly unaware of, and yet your daughter may be having that projected upon her by Catholic people, including romantically, when she grows up. It's heavy stuff.

I just wouldn't use it, honestly. Too many people hate it so your daughter has a good chance of hating it too.

CovidCarol · 06/01/2021 13:21

@Sheleg

A lot of people use "Mary" to mean vagina/vulva. This puts me off!
I've only ever heard of that on MN Grin
MercyBodle · 06/01/2021 03:47

I really like it. It would sound fresh on a little one now. I also put it in the same category as names like Edith, Nell and Eliza.

Sheleg · 05/01/2021 08:16

A lot of people use "Mary" to mean vagina/vulva. This puts me off!

FluffyPinkSocks · 04/01/2021 22:52

I have a Mary, she’s now 7. I personally think it’s a lovely name. When she was born there were 3 boys on the ward....they were all named John 😆 I got a lot of weird looks when people asked her name when she was a teeny baby but now everyone says she has a lovely name.

Evanna13 · 04/01/2021 22:47

Also I would not view it as the same style as Eliza, Nell etc. I think it's much more of a traditional and classic name but definitely not a strong fiesty name. I might put it in the same category as Anne, Margaret, Elizabeth.

goldenslumbers1 · 04/01/2021 22:42

I love the name Mary, but I could never convince my DH.

We called our daughter Maeve instead :)

Blessex · 04/01/2021 22:41

@daisypond I agree with you! It’s fresh and cool. Lead the way OP!

Blessex · 04/01/2021 22:40

My mum is called Mary so never would have considered it. But I absolutely would do now. I think it would be very cool to call your baby Mary. Very individual, confident and cool.

Evanna13 · 04/01/2021 22:40

I would assume a child called Mary is named after an older relative or maybe for religious reasons.

elldog6 · 04/01/2021 22:36

Nooooo it's awful. Don't do it to the poor girl.

EdgeOfACoin · 04/01/2021 22:18

the stories about any of the Marys never made them seem interesting or independent - except for the one who was a prostitute and I'm not sure that was really the point of her story.

The Bible doesn't even say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. It's a Catholic tradition.

AhNowTed · 04/01/2021 22:15

LOVE IT!

Chilldonaldchill · 04/01/2021 22:12

I'm not a fan.
I really like the other names you mentioned - Nell, Edith etc - but to me they feel strong and feisty.
Mary has always seemed a bit weak and wet to me. Maybe it's because I grew up in a very religious home and the stories about any of the Marys never made them seem interesting or independent - except for the one who was a prostitute and I'm not sure that was really the point of her story.
The only young ones I've come across in recent years have been part of the fairly large traveller community we have at work - there's one in every family of every generation there.

daisypond · 04/01/2021 22:01

I really love it. It’s fresh, not girly and flowery. It’s quite cool.

Evanna13 · 04/01/2021 21:58

I like it as a middle name. It's a nice name but I would not like it to be my name so I would not choose it as a first name for a baby. I think it was so common in the past maybe it needs another generation before it makes a comeback. It comes across to me as a very virtuous name.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 04/01/2021 21:49

How does polly come from Mary?

Mary to Molly to Polly (Mary was so popular for so long they had to invent loads of nn's for it, as there could be several women named Mary in a family).

EdgeOfACoin · 04/01/2021 21:13

It's a classic name like Jane or Elizabeth.

I quite like it - would consider it for a middle name - but am not sure it would go with our surname.

I agree with PP who said there was an overcorrection because it was SO popular in first half of 20th century. I have met older Marys (in their 70s now) but only ever two my age (30s). One was Irish.

LizzieAnt · 04/01/2021 20:57

Love it.

PrivateParty · 04/01/2021 20:54

Hmm I've never known anyone called Mary but I feel like it's an old lady name.
How does polly come from Mary?

Kanaloa · 04/01/2021 20:45

Lovely, feels quite fresh now. Because it’s been so popular it doesn’t feel tied to any particular person.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 04/01/2021 19:56

I don't hate it, in fact I want to LOVE it because there are so many awesome namesakes (I instantly think of Feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter the amazing writer Mary Shelley but I'm sure there are lots of others - Mary, Queen of Scots and Nurse Mary Seacole also come to mind).

Mary also has lovely nn options - May, Mamie, Molly and Polly are all pretty cool. But I just don't know that I'd want the name myself (so I don't know whether I could justify giving it to a daughter). I think it's the sound of Mary - it just feels a bit dull or "blah". But maybe if more people were using it again I wouldn't feel this way!

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 04/01/2021 19:22

I love it. Elegant, ‘creamy’ (I don’t know why it makes me think this but it does!).

Lovely on a child, wonderful on a teen, grown up on an adult. It would have been top of my list if I’d had children.

WouldstrokeTomHardy · 04/01/2021 19:21

It's one of my absolute favourites. Lovely classic name

Swipe left for the next trending thread