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Baby names

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

Thoughts on the name Marlowe?

56 replies

21redroses · 09/01/2024 14:44

I absolutely love the name Marlowe for a girl and just wondered what people’s thoughts were! My only concern is that people may spell it wrong, what do you think?

Also, are there any cute nicknames?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
JanglingJack · 09/01/2024 18:35

As long as you're not from Harlow.

olympicsrock · 09/01/2024 18:34

It’s a town or Surname and would always be spelt wrong. Sorry

FrostieBoabby · 09/01/2024 18:33

Not keen I'm afraid, knew a dog called Marlo years ago but don't think it suits a human and the spelling would casue a lifetime of 'it's Marlow with an E'.

Riapia · 09/01/2024 18:30

Marlboro
Malawi
Malodorous

Swearwolf · 09/01/2024 18:26

I really like it! It sounds elegant. You won't get a great response on MN, there are always a lot who don't like anything surname-y or American-sounding. I think it's a nice choice!

EmmaGrundyForPM · 09/01/2024 18:26

@Frederica145 I've got the full set and occasionally reread them! I'd have loved to use the name Rowan but it's too close to DH's name

Onelife2024 · 09/01/2024 18:15

How about Mali or Margot?

pinkdelight · 09/01/2024 18:15

I know a Marlo but that's a boy. Think there was also a male Marlo in The Wire. Don't like Marlowe for a girl sorry. Too much like calling her Ipswich or Nuneaton.

gerispringer · 09/01/2024 18:13

Marshmallow springs to mind,

Onelife2024 · 09/01/2024 18:13

It’s got quite a nice sound but I would be put off by the town / surname associations

Kwasi · 09/01/2024 17:59

It really doesn't sound good to me. Sorry. There's a girl in DS's class and she's absolutely lovely and very pretty but, for me, her name casts a shadow.

Surnames as girls names just don't work for me.

Dmsandfloatydress · 09/01/2024 17:47

Marley is a dog or Jacob. Back to the drawing board

Dmsandfloatydress · 09/01/2024 17:46

Lovely town in Buckinghamshire, not a name for a child. I mean, why not Basildon? Milton Keynes? Maidenhead?

AlbertaWildRose · 09/01/2024 17:40

I went to school with a female Marlowe in the '80s, and Marlo Thomas is the actress who played Rachel's mom on Friends. It's not totally unknown as a girl's name.

CrushingOnRubies · 09/01/2024 17:35

It's a great name for a floppy red setter ... not keen for a little girl

DavinaTheDonkey · 09/01/2024 17:20

Oh I'm not mad on it.

I just think of the town, but I live quite near it!

If I was in another country or in Sunderland or somewhere nowhere near Marlow, I probably wouldn't think of it. Marlow is a bland, middle class town fwiw. Nothing offensive or particularly glamorous about it, so it isn't off-putting necessarily, just seems a bit "why?" to me. Like naming her Lancaster or Bangor.

Marley would be the nickname I imagine she'd get, or maybe Lo?

PamelaParis · 09/01/2024 17:18

I would expect a Marlowe to be either a) American or b) a dog. How about Martha?

Dacadactyl · 09/01/2024 17:11

Ita a place and I don't like the name

LenaLamont · 09/01/2024 17:10

Marlow is a private eye, Marlowe is a playwright.

FestiveAuntFanny · 09/01/2024 17:08

Arlo is a brand of surveillance cameras! Marlow is a male detective.

Twoshoesnewshoes · 09/01/2024 17:07

Aww it’s lovely OP
we have a DC whose name ends in an O sound and we call him O!
marly is cute as a nickname, or Lowe

Frederica145 · 09/01/2024 17:04

EmmaGrundyForPM · 09/01/2024 15:03

I really like it.

When I was younger I used to read books set in a boarding school about a family called Marlow, so I've got very fond association with the name.

I still read them. Antonia Forest. She was a fabulous author who ought to be better known.
Marlowe sounds too much like a surname to me though

GoodVibesHere · 09/01/2024 17:02

I think people will hear it as the boy's name 'Marlon'.

KirstenBlest · 09/01/2024 16:53

Marlo is horrendous

riotlady · 09/01/2024 15:08

I like it but I think I prefer the spelling Marlo