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Original poster

Tell me your thoughts on Margaret

170 replies

Lauraloop1516 · 18/02/2021 16:22

So I am just off the phone with my grandma, who is in a care home and I obviously have been unable to see for a long time. Her dementia has really advanced and it was heartbreaking to have to natter away nonsense to fill the silence (she struggles to speak).

Anyway, I'm 13 weeks pregnant and we don't know the sex yet. I came off the phone and felt it would be perfect to call a girl 'Margaret' nn 'Maggie' after my granny. I'm not sure she'll get to meet them (we live a few hours away and obviously no one knows what restrictions will be like later in the year) and it would at least be a small way to remember her everyday.

So... what do you think? I had always thought it was an old lady name - EVERY old lady seems to be called Margaret - yet I'm suddenly overcome by this feeling. Do you know many little Margarets? Is it going to spike in popularity or do you think it will remain niche?

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SaffieSoph · 20/02/2021 06:50

Love it! I think it’ll due a come back anyway but Maggie is really lovely.

Lemonsyellow · 20/02/2021 06:46

Yes, Pearl and Daisy are both standard English nicknames for Margaret, and have been for centuries. Pearl comes from the Greek, I think, margarita, and Daisy from the French marguerite. It’s a great name -so many short versions you can pick.

Shineonyoucrazy · 20/02/2021 06:24

@feelingverylazytoday
Daisy is both a diminutive of Margaret and a name in its own right. I've know a Margeurite who calls herself Daisy and two Margarets who do. Just because you named you child Daisy not knowing this doesn't mean it's untrue.

alexdgr8 · 20/02/2021 05:39

it's a good name. a classic. means, pearl.
children have no idea what you think is an old lady's name; unless you put that idea into their head..
children are much more open and accepting generally.
Margaret is a good name.

Hydrate · 20/02/2021 04:52

I really like it. Daisy for nickname.

AnnLouiseB · 20/02/2021 04:26

I think it’s really beautiful

feelingverylazytoday · 20/02/2021 00:58

Daisy is a standard nickname for Margaret. Marguerite is French for Daisy
Well I'm talking about England,where Daisy is accepted as a name in it's own right. My daughter is called Daisy, not one single person has ever asked if her name is a nickname for Margaret.

Nell96 · 19/02/2021 23:45

I associate it with Thatcher and could therefore never use it. I do like Maggie as a nn though. Perhaps you could use as a middle name?

travailtotravel · 19/02/2021 23:38

Outing, but I'm a Margaret. Hate the full name with a passion. I found my nn in my early teens and completely own it. I'm a 40+ year old Mags.

BettysButtons · 19/02/2021 23:27

My favourites are Meggie or Maggie!

BettysButtons · 19/02/2021 23:26

Mae is used to shorten Mary or Margaret.

BettysButtons · 19/02/2021 23:18

I love Maggie, Meggie, Meg! Yes, call her Margaret but use a nn!

This is interesting!

Over the years, Maggie morphed into Meggie and Meg, likely because of accents changing the vowel sound. That continued to transform into the Peggy and Peg we know today, based simply on a trend of creating nicknames that rhyme. It's the same reason we have Bill from William.

ImFree2doasiwant · 19/02/2021 23:13

My nannan was Margaret, if I'd had a girl she would have been Margaret too.

Lollypop4 · 19/02/2021 23:12

My MIL.
its very old fashioned

littlemisslozza · 19/02/2021 23:11

I think it's lovely. Maggie too

ArchbishopOfBanterbury · 19/02/2021 23:10

While she's still alive, it feels premature to use her name, and her nickname too. Would you consider a different shortening (eg Greta perhaps) or using her middle name for babies first, or Margaret as baby's middle.

SwedishEdith · 19/02/2021 22:41

I think it's a horrible sounding name. Was also my granny as well. I don't understand the love for Maggie at all - harsh and ugly. Someone mentioned Princess Margaret - she's nothing to aspire to at all.

Lotsalotsagiggles · 19/02/2021 22:36

How about Margo?

HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee · 19/02/2021 22:21

Midge for Margaret

MaidEdithofAragon · 19/02/2021 22:07

Fantastic classic name. Lots of lovely NN esp Meg, Daisy etc

TigerDroveAgain · 19/02/2021 22:04

Flipping heck - that’s my MIL

it’s a proper old lady name without the charm. See also Ethel, Mabel and Hilda (which I believe may have been Mrs T’s middle name)

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 19/02/2021 22:00

DD's BFF is Maggie to her parents and Peggy to DD.

I think if you can disassociate it from Thatcher, Margaret is a beautiful name.

Lemonsyellow · 19/02/2021 22:00

@feelingverylazytoday

I think it's an awful name. Also 'Daisy' is a name in it's own right, not a nickname for Margaret.
Daisy is a standard nickname for Margaret. Marguerite is French for Daisy. Margaret is super.
MCim · 19/02/2021 21:54

My name is Margaret and I have pretty much exclusively been called by my full name at school and work (with the exception of some family that call me Maggie). I was never made fun of for my name, even as a kid. As I have gotten older, I have grown to appreciate being named Margaret even more because there isn’t a lot of other Margaret’s my age that I have met (I’m 27) so it feels a bit more unique. I was also named after my great aunt who was a really special person.

SirSamuelVimes · 19/02/2021 21:41

Exactly - the next generation of Granny names are the ones to watch over the next five years. My MIL is a Dorothy, which she hates, and which when I first met her fifteen years ago I thought was awful & old fashioned and dull. Now I am seeing little Dorothys popping up here and there and thinking it's a sweet name!

It's just changing fashions.