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Baby names

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Original poster

Minnie May - is this a bad idea? And why do so many people dislike hyphenated names with Mae?

104 replies

caitlinrose · 14/11/2022 13:52

Yesterday I watched "Anne with an E" for the first time and there was a character called Minnie May who was really sweet. I thought it was hyphenated because she was called by both names but google let met know it's not.

I thought it was kind of cute. What are your thoughts on Minnie May, called by both names? I think it's more of an idea right now and I wouldn't actually use it but I'd use May or maybe just Minnie.

What are your thoughts on just Minnie or just May? And Mae?

General question: why do hyphenated names with May, Mae seem to be disliked so much here even though May, Mae is a classic name? Does this apply to Mae, May on its own too?

Does it matter whether there's a hyphen or not? Is Minnie-May less popular here than Minnie May (called by both)?

And why do people seem to like May and dislike Mae (noticed this in a past thread)? To me they are both classic (Mae West etc.). Do you prefer Mae or May?

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Headabovetheparakeet · 14/11/2022 15:03

LulooLemon · 14/11/2022 14:42

Curious to know where in the UK Minnie means vulva?

I've never heard of this before!

I've heard it in a few places.

TabithaTittlemouse · 14/11/2022 15:02

Minnie would be nice as a nickname.

May on it’s own is lovely. Not so keen on Mae, it’s a bit try hard to make a simple name more interesting but looking like you just can’t spell.

Hearing people yell ‘Lily May!’ At the top of their lungs in the park or supermarket has made me a bit judgmental of this type of name.

Hooverphobe · 14/11/2022 15:01

Amazing! Which series of Love Island do you think she’ll be on?

2bazookas · 14/11/2022 15:00

Minnie = mouse, and also my grand-dog.

I'd choose some other name to pair with Mae/May

Molly, Daisy, Jennifer,

JubileeTrifle · 14/11/2022 14:59

There were lots of these names in DDs primary.
3 Lily-Maes in her class alone.

One mum was furious if you didn’t call her by the full name. She’s now in secondary and has dropped the Mae herself.

MissHavishamsMouldyOldCake · 14/11/2022 14:59

My first thought was Minnie May Barry from Anne of Green Gables and her croup related near death experience. Mrs Barry certainly had to eat some humble pie after that. In yer face Mrs Barry, one drunken daughter and one all phlegmy.

That aside, you cannot call your kid Minnie May. It's a ridiculous name. May by itself is fine. Minnie isn't fine in any context.

MaryBeardsShoes · 14/11/2022 14:57

May is lovely. But Minnie? No way. What if she is big as an adult? Too harsh.

Paracetamol · 14/11/2022 14:56

Spookypig · 14/11/2022 14:49

Ummm is there a limit? I post like 30 threads a day 😂 baby names are fun and interesting to some people, especially when you’re pregnant! I love to hear other people’s thoughts even on names I’m not planning to use. Leave OP alone! She can post as much as she wants.

Show quote history

I'm literally just asking the OP a question. I can post what I want too.

RandomUsernameHere · 14/11/2022 14:54

I can't really imagine a grown woman being called Minnie May, sorry

Sparklingbrook · 14/11/2022 14:51

Minnie-May sounds a bit like 'Mini me'. I'm not mad keen on hyphenated names. Just choose a single name IMO.

StillWeRise · 14/11/2022 14:50

sounds like the miniature version of May

Spookypig · 14/11/2022 14:49

Paracetamol · 14/11/2022 14:25

You've posted over 30 threads in less than a month about baby names. I think you're over-thinking this massively. Do you not have an idea by now what kind of name you want to go for?

Ummm is there a limit? I post like 30 threads a day 😂 baby names are fun and interesting to some people, especially when you’re pregnant! I love to hear other people’s thoughts even on names I’m not planning to use. Leave OP alone! She can post as much as she wants.

Beamur · 14/11/2022 14:49

Please don't call your child Minnie Mae. It's way too cutesy and ridiculous.
I know quite a lot of teen girls with hypenated names - lots of May/Rose/Mae/Belle type middle names. Without fail they have all dropped the middle name and ask people not to use it. It's little girly and as soon as they get older many of these girls stop using them.

Labnehi · 14/11/2022 14:48

Adding May or worse Mae onto a name just makes it sickly and twee and irritating. Like you're naming a cat or a doll and not a human person.

Like Gracie-Mae or Lily-May or Minnie-Mae. They're human girls, not dolls.

Spookypig · 14/11/2022 14:47

Oh! Just read the other comments. When I was a kid Minnie did used to be slang for vagina now you mention it! I’d totally forgotten until I read this. But this was like, 1996. I’ve not heard it mentioned much since. Long enough that I’d totally forgotten! (I’m from SE England).

Spookypig · 14/11/2022 14:46

i actually love Minnie as I did my family tree and there were a lot of girls named Minnie a couple of hundred years ago! A weird amount of Minnie’s if anything 😂 But anything hyphenated with May becomes a bit… can I say chavvy? Because that’s what I mean but I want to find a nice way to say it. But I can’t. So… chavvy it is. May cheapens all names. It’s just a weird phenomenon of this era. I’m sure at some point in time, May will become usable again but at this moment in time, it’s not nice. I still love Minnie though. I’d not use it as I’m a coward, so please do!

NuffSaidSam · 14/11/2022 14:44

LulooLemon · 14/11/2022 14:42

Curious to know where in the UK Minnie means vulva?

I've never heard of this before!

I've heard it in London, it's certainly not a term everyone uses, but enough that it has that connotation.

LulooLemon · 14/11/2022 14:42

Curious to know where in the UK Minnie means vulva?

I've never heard of this before!

NCFT0922 · 14/11/2022 14:32

Minnie Mae/May is an awful name.

Johnnysgirl · 14/11/2022 14:32

Just don't. It doesn't even sound cute for a baby/toddler, tbh. It just sounds ridiculous. Like a character from the Beano.

TomTraubertsBlues · 14/11/2022 14:30

Cutesy names are not great for adults.

5 year old Minnie May might get ooh'd and aah'd over, but 30 year old Minne May the accountant doesn't get taken seriously at work.

Name your child for the long term. If it's not a name you'd want to introduce yourself with in a professional meeting, don't use it.

Squeakycatflapper · 14/11/2022 14:29

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3peassuit · 14/11/2022 14:25

Too close to Minnie Mouse for me. Sorry.

Paracetamol · 14/11/2022 14:25

You've posted over 30 threads in less than a month about baby names. I think you're over-thinking this massively. Do you not have an idea by now what kind of name you want to go for?

bodill · 14/11/2022 14:24

Minnie-May definitely brings to mind Minnie Mouse and it's not a name I would choose.

Mae isn't a classic name in my perception. Where I live, I'd expect a Mae to be either elderly or very young. It's not a name that was popular when I was born.

Hyphenated names like Daisy-Mae, Molly-Mae, Ellie-Mae etc are even less classic to me. I think the reason they are disliked is because they are a recent trend that probably won't age well. Similar to names like Kelly-Anne and Lesley-Anne in the past.

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