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Baby names

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

Original poster

help! my unnamed baby girl is 4 weeks old!!

161 replies

muminmuddle · 07/04/2009 11:31

I need help! my baby girl is 4 weeks old and we still can't decide on her name. in a real dilemma between Martha and Josie. Any thoughts on either name? which shall we go for?

OP posts:
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kalo12 · 14/04/2009 12:16

soz, but if you can't decide maybe neither are right. What is your third choice?

LastOrders · 14/04/2009 12:04

kalo12 -lets not add anymore confusion!

I love Josie, also love Jodie.

Martha is become evermore popular and we know of 3. Don't know any Josies.

I'd go for Josie.

Original poster
muminmuddle · 14/04/2009 12:00

oh ha-di-haaa......... ok, i realise how foolish my dilemma might sound and apologise for going through the painful details, but thank the stars it's not you that's suffering with it!

OP posts:
Swedes · 14/04/2009 11:56

What have you been calling her for the past 4 weeks? Not Bay-Beee?

kalo12 · 14/04/2009 11:55

masha
marsha
Josette
Marcia
Myriam
Josefina
Jodie
Marnie

Original poster
muminmuddle · 14/04/2009 11:51

if only she could!!

OP posts:
LastOrders · 14/04/2009 11:50

4 weeks....!

She'll be choosing her own name at that rate...

Original poster
muminmuddle · 14/04/2009 11:43

thank you for all these messages, it's all been a great help, very supportive.

it's good to know that i'm not the only one to have got in a muddle about names after their baby has been born. it's not an ideal situation but there we are, this is where we've landed up.

it's become a bit of a head-and-heart decision.... we're leaning towards Martha at the moment, at least that's what my head is telling me. that's the name that I feel happier introducing her as, even though I often call her Josie on my own. what does that mean?

the thing about Josie that is proving problemmatic is the pronounciation issue. I prefer it pronounced 'Jo-zee' but people always ask how it's pronounced (most assume it's Jo-see I think) which could get a little tiring for her, also people always ask what it's short for even though it wouldn't be short for anything etc etc... Martha is just more straightforward on that front.

anyway, i'm going to book an appointment to register her name soon so all will have to be resolved soon!

OP posts:
nappyaddict · 12/04/2009 10:50

Josie definitely. Are you going to use Josephine or Josephina as a full name?

nooka · 12/04/2009 04:43

Martha is likely to be more popular because it fits in the demographic of "granny" names, and Dr Who will also have increased it's circulation. It was around about 90 for the last couple of years. Josephine/Josie was more of a 30'ds-40's sort of name, and is therefore out of cycle and will be much less likely to be popular - it's around about the 250 mark, so not unusual either. I have a cousin Josephine, sometimes known as Josie, I think Josephine is a much better given name, but I'm a formal kind of girl.

ItsMargotBeaurEGGarde · 11/04/2009 15:42

That is practically normal in NI and Scotland Walkingprimrose. ALL my Dad's family did this. It's still normal enough even nowadays. I know of an Iain Peter called Peter because his parents didnt want to call him Peter Iain and his initials would be PIG! So he's I.Peter *Garvey...

walkingprimrose · 10/04/2009 22:58

Hi Concordia,

Well, its kind of sorted out (he's nearly 18 months now)...what happened was this...we had him baptised at 5 months and when the priest read out the name order we'd chosen (xy) and kept refering to him as x I suddenly realised it wasn't right and he should be called y. I didn't have the courage to stop the ceremony so when we got back to our house for the 'do' I just told everyone to call him y instead of x afterall. Thankfully it was only immediate family and closest friends and they all knew I'd been having this huge name dilemma since he was born, so they weren't really that shocked at my behaviour! So, anyway he's registered and baptised as xy but we call him y.
x

Concordia · 10/04/2009 21:49

I know two Marthas who are under 3. But not little Josies.
I think i prefer Josie, but like boht names.
I agree go for the name you really want and feels right, not what others tell you or what makes most sense.

hijack time - Walking Primrose - did you get your name dilemna sorted in the end? And are you finally happy with your choice now?

Heated · 10/04/2009 21:45

Martha Jocelyn/Josie is adorable.

ItsMargotBeaurEGGarde · 10/04/2009 21:37

I prefer Martha. I quite like Josie though. That's a lot of help I bet

walkingprimrose · 10/04/2009 20:31

I really empathise with your dilemma - I had the same problem when I had my DS. We didn't register him until the very last minute, and even sitting in the Register Office I still didn't know which name was going to be his first name and which was going to be his middle name.

I think both names are really lovely - both names were on my fave names list for girls, although Josie would have been short for Josephine.

Is your heart telling you Josie deep down??
Don't think about other people's opinions - it's only yours that matters. No one else cares what you call your child really, and it's not something that anyone else will dwell on. But you've got to live with it. Take your time I say. Good luck - I'm feeling for you! XXX

suwoo · 09/04/2009 21:09

Ooh good idea Bettymum, Marcie is nice.

Bettymum · 09/04/2009 10:07

How about combining the two - Marcie?

mears · 09/04/2009 08:28

muminamuddle - perhaps you should choose something completely different and use those as middle names. If you were certain of either of them you would have made a decision.

mears · 09/04/2009 08:26

Good job you don't live in Scotland - baby would have had to be names a week ago!

Both names are nice.

sickbubby · 09/04/2009 08:13

I too would opt for Martha, Josie just doesn't do it for me, but that is probably because I knew of a smelly girl at school called Josie. You could always choose both, I likde both Ella and Rose for my daughter, so she is Ella-Rose.....problem solved. I also like Grace if the next one is a girl (after my grandma)

Madmentalbint · 09/04/2009 07:56

My friend recently called her DD Martha. I love it and she's the only Martha I know

specialmagiclady · 08/04/2009 21:32

No but people have wierd reactions to all sorts of things.

(My vote is for Martha - my headmistress at secondary school was called Martha and she was an amazing, elegant woman who was swimming in the sea off North East Scotland into her 70s. Proper woman she is.)

I think the "is it Jozee or Josee" conversation is offputting. It means she might have to explain her pronunciation for ever...

Original poster
muminmuddle · 08/04/2009 21:23

Now becoming more than a little embarrassed to say that we still haven't settled on the name..... very much appreciating all your thoughts and views though.

I'm really struck by how many Josie-supporters there are on here. When we mention the name Josie to anyone in person - friends, family, random well-wishers in the street - we've had the strangest reactions. Most people seem to react negatively and I honestly don't know why - is there something I am missing about the name Josie?

(no offence to anyone who is called Josie...obviously I love the name, but it just seems that the people I speak to don't... and I want to understand why....)

OP posts:
dottyaboutstripes · 08/04/2009 15:41

Thanks KC11 but maybe I should confess here that I already have 3 girls They are just that bit older and none of them is a Martha!