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.

Do you prefer Maria or Ines?

33 replies

Olivida98 · 11/05/2023 16:32

And any reason why?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Luredbyapomegranate · 12/05/2023 02:01

Ines - it’s lovely, strong but soft.

Maria is fine, but the Virgin Mary association a but much

Dungaree · 11/05/2023 23:34

Also Ines sounds similar to Anus

Dungaree · 11/05/2023 23:31

Maria is beautiful!

Ines is not imo.

SemperIdem · 11/05/2023 23:04

I prefer Maria. Mostly because I don’t like how Ines sounds when said by English speakers, of which I am one.

fairycupcakes · 11/05/2023 22:42

Inés/Inês is gorgeous - I prefer the look of it with either of these accents on the e (first one Spanish, second one Portuguese) Generally in England it is without the accent but spelt with a z I believe so Inez, which I suppose differentiates it from the male name Innes :)

PickledScrump · 11/05/2023 20:30

Maria definitely. Ines is too close to Innes so seems more masculine in uk

KirstenBlest · 11/05/2023 20:29

Maybe Ennis is from Cornish not gaelic.

Nothing to do with Ines

KirstenBlest · 11/05/2023 20:25

Ennis is a girl's name, and I think that like Innes, is from the Gaeilge/Gaelic for island.
cf. Ynys (UNN-is) in Welsh, which isn't a first name. Enys in Cornish

XBealtaine · 11/05/2023 20:10

There's an island off west coast IRL and it's Inis pronounced INNIsh but that"s only used, infrequently, for girls. So I can see Innis on a girl or a boy.

I like inés but Maria sounds a bit down trodden. Possibly because the maid in American movies is often Maria! I think I prefer Mary. Usually I prefer the Latin version, Julia over Julie, Louisa over louise but very definitely Mary over Maria.

WhisperingAutistic · 11/05/2023 19:59

Maria
It's sounds much prettier than Ines to me.

Arxx · 11/05/2023 19:31

I really like Ines, Maria I associate with an old lady and it’s not yet old enough to come back round, it’s a kind of Karen type almost in my mind 🙈

RettyPriddle · 11/05/2023 19:17

Love both!

DucksNewburyport · 11/05/2023 19:11

Maria. No particular reason, I just like it!

BananaPalm · 11/05/2023 19:08

Usually, if someone is of Spanish/Latino descent, it would actually be both: Maria Ines.

Otherwise, in the UK, I guess Maria would be better as the pronunciation of Ines might be incorrect (and you wouldn't need to worry about the accent sign on "e" in Ines).

salamithumbs · 11/05/2023 18:41

Maria! Lovely name and well known but not common, especially for babies. Ines sounds slightly nasal to my ears. Also, calling her Maria will mean you can sing 'Maria' from West Side Story and Sound of Music at her 😁

Bananalanacake · 11/05/2023 18:20

Yes, Could be Ines, I've heard people call her it, (sounds bit like Inners) but haven't seen it written down.

KirstenBlest · 11/05/2023 18:06

@Bananalanacake , did you mean Ines?
Innes is a scottish name.

Bananalanacake · 11/05/2023 17:57

Maria is lovely. I know a German lady called Innes, is it usually a German name.

Natsku · 11/05/2023 17:34

Maria, it's timeless, known in so many countries around the world, simple to spell.
I am biased as I have a Maria though.

RoamingToaster · 11/05/2023 17:26

In this country, Maria is so nice and not popular like in some other countries. It's a classic that everyone knows but isn't tied to a generation.

ourflagmeansdeath · 11/05/2023 17:25

Maria because it's just a beautiful name and not that common nowadays. Ines is nice too but it'd get mispronounced a lot tbh

ferntwist · 11/05/2023 17:17

Maria. Beautiful!

GOW56 · 11/05/2023 17:16

Eye-ns in the UK (as will Innes) by some.
No. I know an Ines and her name is pronounced In-es. It is easy to pronounce and no one has ever pronounced it
eye-ns. Occasionally people pronounce it inis, but once they hear the proper pronunciation there is no issue.

Sandysandwich · 11/05/2023 17:09

Maria, because it sounds lovely and works for lots of people, its romantic but also traditional, works in lots of countries and is easy to spell, pronounce and is feminine without being overly girlie or frilly.

Ines, is not personally a name I like. I'm not sure how to pronounce it and it I don't like the way it looks._

CastleTower · 11/05/2023 16:50

Maria is one of my favourite names.

Swipe left for the next trending thread