my baby is due october...

am i the only person that thinks of bricks when reading the name Mason?

zebedee is on my shortlist

agree with Masons thing though

the freemasons do offend an awful lot of people - i would not call my child Osama Adolf nor Mason

then you could nickname him 'zeb'.

that's cool, yeah?

I just can't decide between Mason and Zebedee
I'm not sure makingdo is taking this at all seriously.

it's about sectarianism - economic, cultural, religious, etc. it's about the dynamics between East and West, etc.

it goes a bit deeper than that, sky.

it's hard to explain, but it goes deeper than that.

OK, butting in here but I must be missing something because I never heard this before...

The whole of the west of Scotland would pass comment on the name because they don't like Freemasons? Is that the gist? Blimey, there mustn't be much else going on there then. I never heard of half a country taking against an organisation like that. Strange...

Not keen on the name personally but nothing to do with poxy Freemasons. Isla is beautiful though, however you spell it.

Oooh I like Muireann, very pretty.

masonry is frowned upon because it's a very real and utterly revolting 'jobs for the boys' system, it's not make-believe.

look, you clearly like the name (as it happens i'm with expat on the artisanal names thing) so go right ahead. but you are kidding yourself if you think that he won't hear a lot about it during his life, especially if you have relatives in scotland (by the way, i think they are being disingenuous with you). as i say, though, perhaps he'll enjoy the attention? but it will cause offence to some people.

I thought that was how it was pronounced. It's hard when you get to the third one though, you don't want to give them a "rejected" name for your other two.

DD1 got our girls name and it really does suit her

DD2 got a very unusual name and she's well very unusual

DD3 surprisingly we have both agreed on a name for her unless she pops out and doesn't look like it at all.

If we had of had a boy DP really wanted one name I wanted another, there would have been bloodshed.

Mirren.

Don't have any boy's names because we're not really finding one we both like.

I'm pretty sure it's a girl, though.

DD1 had no name for days. We had a name chosen for her, but she didn't look like the name.

She was an angel baby and the staff liked to visit her and would even take her off to feed her - I was in hospital for a bit due to forceps delivery and then infection.

Finally one of the midwives was holding her and said, 'If you ask me, she looks a wee . . . '

And she so did.

That was her name there and then.

DD2 well suits her name, which was DH's nana's name. She's apparently just as cheeky and mischevious as her namesake.

expat - how do you pronounce Muireann (SK is s shocking example of a Scot )? I wanted the same name your DD1 has for DD3 but it's too close to my DD1's name.

Now what if you have a boy (not that you want one all the best people have 3 girls )

I agree with most people on here Ayla will get pronounced A-la I really like Isla though

Not so keen on Mason (maybe thats the wrsy coaster in me as well)

Jason at least is a real name.

Ok Makingdo, i've had a wee google on your behalf and come up with this lot to try to help you understand the connotations/undercurrent of the name Mason.
However i like the name Mason used in the context of an occupation like you mentioned.
When it says 'facts' I would read with a pinch of salt as it was on a website named 'Freemasons, the silent destroyers' so hardly an unbiased viewpoint.
But might explain why some might take offence to the name.

Freemasons
A widespread occult order, of Free and Accepted Masons, swearing oaths to secrecy and mutual aid. Claims to have been founded in London in 1717. Development of medieval Craft Masons, retaining secret signs and passwords by which itinerant workers in the guild recognised each other.

FREEMASONRY FACTS
Doors of the Masonic Temple at Covent Garden in London

1 You don't have to be a Christian to be a Freemason. However, Masons do believe in a "supreme being". Masonic rituals refer to the creator of the world as the "divine architect".

2 The fraternity of Freemasonry uses the metaphor of a stonemason's tools and crafts to describe an esoteric system of morality.

3 The square and compass is the key symbol of Freemasonry. Some believe it is a metaphor for the need for moral responsibility balanced by reason.

4 There are three degrees of Freemasonry, each of which is accompanied by ritual around which there is great secrecy. Freemasons begin as Apprentice, and progress to Master then Grand Master.

5 Freemasons are sworn to secrecy when they become a member of a lodge, but identify themselves to each other using special handshakes, signs and code words.

6 Freemasons and the Catholic Church have never had an easy relationship. The current Pope, above, issued a decree saying the craft was "irreconcilable with the doctrine of the church".

7 The secrecy and oaths of loyalty of Freemasonry have brought it under suspicion from conspiracy theorists. In an episode of The Simpsons, Mr Burns hallucinates and sees talking flies saying: "Freemasons rule the world."

8 Around 200,000 Freemasons were exterminated in Nazi Germany.

9 John the Baptist, left, is the patron saint of Freemasons. His Saint's Day falls on 24 June - the summer solstice.

10 Scotland has the earliest recorded Freemason lodge in the world and also the lodge with the earliest written records. Robert Burns was a dedicated mason and made useful contacts at lodges in Edinburgh.

I like Isla and Ayla but nnot Mason. Just the Jason of the naughties, but I prefer Jason even though it's nms..

yes, by undercurrent I meant the freemasons. I hear 'Mason' I immediately think of them.

but then, stella mccartney called her daughter Bailey, and my sister Liza had a lovely yellow lab called Bailey.

Sawyer i'd definitely call a white pet rat that.

I love Mason...but Ayla, spelled like that, personally I then would pronounce Ey-la....Isla I would pronounce Eyela....if you know what I mean!

i'd probably call a dog Mason. a golden retriever, say.

you posted it yourself:
'Fri 18-Apr-08 15:25:27
Heres how i can consider it:

meaning: The boy's and girl's name Mason \m(a)-son\ is pronounced MAY-sun. It is of English origin, and its meaning is "one who works with stone". Occupational name. Used as given name since the mid 19th century. See also Mace. Actor James Mason.

Nothing to do with the freemasonary a good occupational strong male name, and in fact his uncle is a stone mason, frankly i dont care if it does have connections to them or not! Only halfwits would think that would mean my son is in league with the freemasons or that his name has any bearing on him as a person, and hopefully he will be brought up knowing people like that are completely ignorant. '

boy's and girl's name.

got to be a yank site.

god, Mason, Jackson, Sawyer all done to death in America.