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Original poster

Do I tell them what their baby name means?

196 replies

imnotacelebrityleavemehere · 08/12/2023 14:00

Name changed as very outing.

A friend has just named her newborn Mari-Jane. Do I tell her that it's a very well-known slang name for marijuana especially with the spelling Mari? I realise the pronunciation is slightly different but there will be people who pronounce it as "Mary" and she will just be known as Mary-Jane. Am I the only one who thinks she needs a heads up before registering the baby's name? I realise that most names can have quite creative nicknames and there will be plenty of people who don't know that it means marijuana but I feel like this is just asking for mockery.

Thoughts?

OP posts:
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6
fussygalore77 · 08/12/2023 14:01

I had no clue it was slang for that. I can't imagine it's that common knowledge.. although I guess it depends on the company you keep 😂😂

Junemoon222 · 08/12/2023 14:01

This reply has been deleted

We're afraid we don't believe that the OP is genuine so we've removed their threads and posts.

Marmite27 · 08/12/2023 14:02

Mary-Jane to me is a type of shoe

SoftandQuiet · 08/12/2023 14:03

Didn’t know that.

EddieHoweBlackandWhiteArmy · 08/12/2023 14:04

Yeah I didn’t make connection to weed.
How is she pronouncing it if it’s not Mary? Marry? Maa-ri?

Outnumbered99 · 08/12/2023 14:04

I didn't know that but i thought it was a type of shoe

titchy · 08/12/2023 14:05

Do people these days really call it Mari-Jane (with that spelling as well)?

I doubt it'll be the first thing people think of tbh, and even if it is, so what. Unless she also has a dd called Molly and ds called Charlie?

Mariannas · 08/12/2023 14:07

I doubt many people would actually make that link. It might just be you.

15PiecesOfFlair · 08/12/2023 14:08

I feel it's quite old-fashioned slang. Might be like telling someone that Johnny means condom.

FairytaleOfKent · 08/12/2023 14:08

My first thought was MJ from Spiderman, then the shoes. I don't think it will be a problem but it's still worth letting her know.

JustTalkToThem · 08/12/2023 14:08

No young people call it Mary Jane... By the time kiddo grows up it'll probably be legal anyway and no one will remember that it used to be called that.

hydriotaphia · 08/12/2023 14:09

You know that the name came before the slang term for weed right? It's just because it has the letters m-j in it. I think this word be a weird thing to mention tbh. It would be like telling someone who has named their baby John that it's a slang term for a prostitute's client... it's true but not relevant because it's also just a name!

15PiecesOfFlair · 08/12/2023 14:09

I mean, it was a name first and the slang came later. Like Molly and Charlie, as pp said.

Grimmz · 08/12/2023 14:10

Maybe the association is deliberate?

Spaghettieis · 08/12/2023 14:11

fussygalore77 · 08/12/2023 14:01

I had no clue it was slang for that. I can't imagine it's that common knowledge.. although I guess it depends on the company you keep 😂😂

It’s very common knowledge even to non smokers like me. It’s literally what marijuana translates to! Snoop Dogg even did a song called merry Jane because of it. I can’t imagine they don’t already know OP, they probably just decided to use the name regardless.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 08/12/2023 14:12

It's also the name for a popular style of shoe.

It's also been a given name for at least 150 years - after all, when they were looking for the perfect name for the girl next door in Spiderman comics, they picked a typical girl next door name. Mary-Jane.

Mind you, using your reasoning, so was every Henry after VIII.

SutWytTi · 08/12/2023 14:12

You could ask if the association with marijuana is deliberate, I think you should mention if they haven't yet registered.

TheWetBandits · 08/12/2023 14:13

It is slang but I think it's mostly for the older generation. I know it as slang for weed but mostly from the Alanis morrisette song!

I don't think it's well known enough to impact her name and mostly used in America but a heads up is probably worth while

BrutusMcDogface · 08/12/2023 14:14

The spelling is shit but Mary Jane is a lovely name in my opinion. Like the shoes.

Original poster
imnotacelebrityleavemehere · 08/12/2023 14:14

Okay I don't think I'll tell her. I'm not one for confrontation and if she reacts badly then I don't want to ruin the friendship. As PP have mentioned, lots of names have other meanings or nicknames, I just think some are more obvious than others.

Unfortunately though her brother does have another slang name for a different drug!

OP posts:
DisforDarkChocolate · 08/12/2023 14:15

New to me too. Snoop dog has no influence on me. I've heard of Charlie and Molly but these names get used for children everyday and their lives aren't blighted.

Pillboxer · 08/12/2023 14:15

15PiecesOfFlair · 08/12/2023 14:08

I feel it's quite old-fashioned slang. Might be like telling someone that Johnny means condom.

Yes, that was my first response — run and tell the parents of Johnny, Charlie etc. it’s pretty passé as slang goes.

My sister, an addiction counsellor, tells me Cody, Molly, Emma and lots of other common names are slang for types of drug.

LunaandLily · 08/12/2023 14:15

Don’t think the kids really listen to Cypress Hill these days so she should be safe…

IvorTheEngineDriver · 08/12/2023 14:17

First I've heard of it.

DisforDarkChocolate · 08/12/2023 14:18

I like the name Mari especially. I think of the singer Mari Wilson first.