So tell me about Madeleine...

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I know there are threads on this already but I want up to date opinions please :)

So, being on the verge of throttling DH (who the hell decided it was a good idea to give men a say in what their children were called ffs? ), we are debating Madeleine.

We like the name a lot, it goes with middle and surname, neither of us think it has any bad associations. After all, you could rule out thousands of names if you took any notice of bad things that had happened to people.

But, I've mentioned it in passing to 3 or 4 people and every one of them has gone "ooh, not sure, reminds me of..."

They're mad aren't they? Most normal people won't think this, will they?

OP, you obviously love it. Use it and own it! I just think you will have to forgive anyone who initially makes the McCann link (unless they are twats who joke about losing her abroad, in which case, "sod off you insensitive twat" should be said outloud I think).

I doubt anyone will say this to you once your DD is born however as they will be too excited by your new arrival to mention anything else. Stop telling people in RL until then if the "ooh, like McCann" reaction is upsetting you! Then enjoy your Madeleine

I have no negative associations with the name. Our opposite neighbour called her DD Madeleine earlier this year.

I think it's pretty.

Yeah tbh it does bring that MM case to mind but so what? your Madeleine will simply become known to people as herself and the association will go away in time.

I've got an Olivia (Olivia Rose hahaha) but she's getting on for seven now, I named her before it became as popular as it did so people can eye roll about my lack of originality all they like. Names that become popular begin somewhere and you just cannot predict how popular and suddenly 'unoriginal' you might become. Same with this, please God no there isn't ever another case like this but there probably will be one day and that child will have a name that thousands of other's will share. It's inevitable.

....and on thinking about it, I think that while I might have a fleeting association with MM, if I was being introduced to a child called Madeleine the focus of my association would automatically become with that particular child iykwim? Here, right in front of me is a little girl called Madeliene, she IS Madeleine, it's her name and that would be that.

We have a Madeleine, she was born in April 2007, a few weeks before Madeleine McCann went missing.

The weeks before MM went missing the only comments on her name were how pretty and uncommon it was. Afterwards I had random people who would ask her name and then start going on about MM and asking my opinion on it as if I had some inside info as my dd had the same name!

Now no one comments on dd having the same name as MM, if anything it seems to have become slightly more popular, although our dd has been the only Madeleine in her nursery and school.

I still love the name, she gets Madeleine mostly, but also Maddie and Mads, she generally calls herself Madeleine.

You should definitely go with it, and if you do, read "The Swish of the Curtain" by Pamela Brown - an old children's book which is somewhat in the style of Mallory Towers about some kids who set up their own theatre. The Maddy who features in that is GREAT.

Mrbond, I actually used to teach an Adolphe!

I love the name, but my first thought was MM.

I think because the story hasn't been put to rest is why it is still in my mind. I think about that child frequently. I don't know why.

I would fleetingly think of MM if introduced to a baby Madeleine, but only fleetingly.

I would go so far as to say that the association would put me off ever choosing it for a potential DD, but that's as much because I don't love the name, whereas you do.

People have fleeting thoughts when introduced to any new baby for the first time, on learningntheir name, because names in general often carry such strong associations. You went to school with a beautiful Charlotte or worked with horrible Chloe or know a delightful little boy called George, etc, etc. So yes, any name might conjour up a fleeting thought of a more or less positive or negative nature, but it will only be fleeting in anyone who isn't a Madeleine McCann obsessive and your DD will come to 'own' the name. :)

Thank you all. It's a really interesting debate. It's highly likely that we'll use it, having considered all the pros and cons. Ultimately we both love it. And I think Slinky has it tbh. DH's niece is named the same as my best friend at school who was, in fact, utterly foul. When I heard her name I though ah Lord, no! But she's a year old now, guess what, my horrid friend never occurs to me.

So unless an even lovelier name that we both agree on fat chance pops up, Madeleine it probably is :)

Best of luck with it all. I think its only a problem if it has that association in YOUR head, not other peoples. I personally love the name but it just makes me think of what those poor people are still going through and I start imagining how they feel - the not knowing - and how they cope and what I would do if something happened to my baby.... so its a no for ME to use for my upcoming DD. But if it was just a case of worrying what other people think and it didn't bother me at all then I wouldn't give a fig. Hope that helps! ;-)

I love it. A beautiful name that I would have had for dd2 but DH disagreed.

However I have a dd called Claudia and if we have another she will be Cassandra. Clearly the connotation of names means nothing to me!

I think it is a beautiful name.

Although yes, I do hear the name and immediately have a fleeting feeling of sadness for the little girl who was lost. I suspect this is really just because it is a name which we hear so infrequently though. I don't know any Madeline's in real life, so I have only ever heard the name in relation to MM or through occasionally overhearing strangers speak to their child with the same name.

I don't think it should stop you choosing the name.

Oh, Cassandra was on my list as well but DH couldn't get past the Only Fools and Horses thing. I, however, love OFH so was quite happy with that :) Beautiful name.

However, I'm suspecting the connotations to which you refer are slightly more highbrow than David Jason :o

Haha! Cassaaaaaaandraaaa was certainly another consideration we had. I would have got round that by using Cassie

Personally, it's a name I feel pretty lukewarm about, but then that's why choosing names is hard - there are only a few you like enough to use. I'm always impressed by people on here who have a shortlist of 10 names - I've never had that many!!!!

I can't say it makes me think of MM to hear of another child called Madeleine or Maddy (I know one little girl who has the name, and it has never crossed my mind). When I saw the thread title, I thought it would just be a "do you like it", "does it go with my last name / other kids names" thing, I never thought MM would be an issue TBH.

If you have found a name you can agree on, and if you love it as much as you seem to, then use it.

I think Madeleine sounds beautiful in French (emphasis on the -LEINE), but in English it sounds horrid imo. I don't like the MAD part the beginning. Sorry.

But even worse is an American pronunciation of Made-LINE .

my dd is called Madeleine and she's 14. she likes her name but we live in france where is it very rare as a child's name - average age must be about 90. So even though she was aware of the MM tragedy she's more bothered about having a Granny's name although they are becoming slowly more popular.
I first clicked on this name after watching North and South in the eighties - the Lesley Anne Down character was called Madeline, had to wait until 1997 to use it!

Apologies for not being French....

And surely even the beautiful French pronounce the Mad?

Sorry, that was to Tammy not Brittany!

It's beautiful. Musical.
And noone has ever mentioned MM to me

You don't need to apologise . I'm just expressing my personal opinion. And yes, the French say the Mad- part but not only is it not emphasised, but mad doesn't mean anything in French (unlike in English).

But in answer to the OP, I wouldn't worry about the Madeleine McCann association. People will lose that association as soon as they meeta Madeleine in my experience.

Madeleine is on our list for a DD but I have to admit that MM is the first thing that sprang to mind when I read your thread title. I'm not at all mawkish but for some reason that case stood out (probably the intense media coverage) and I still think about it from time to time.

Someone said earlier in the thread about MM being associated with our generation. As your DD grows up, none of her friends are going to know about MM or think anything of their friend beign called Madeleine. It's their mums who will, but they will soon get used to thinking of your DD first instead of someone they never knew.

Fabulous name. Never crossed my mind to consider the McCann story. I do think you will get a bias on MN (and probably other similar sites) because the story resonates with parents of children a certain age.

Someone up thread said they mentioned the Rose West connection when a friend/sis named their baby Rose. What a thing to do!

Try not to get too hung up on names - if you like it them go for it. You certainly don't get a balanced set of opinions on these threads!

But even worse is an American pronunciation of Made-LINE

Do you mean pronouncing it like 'Caroline'? I wouldn't think of that as being American. I would think of Madeline, the heroine of the Keats poem The Eve of St Agnes. (Good story that, and a happy ending!)

Using this variation would distance it from the McC connotation, which seems to bother some people.