How frumpy is Margaret?

[javotte]

My father is English so all our children have an English middle name. I am thinking of Margaret for DD2 but I am afraid it is too old-ladyish. It ticks all the right boxes (DS is William, DD1 is Eleanor, so I wanted to keep the "royal" theme, and it is loosely related to a gemstone), but I don't love it. Please give me your honest opinions!

I love it

I love Margaret

It's nice as a middle name, but don't like it enough to be a first name. So yes.

I love it, its top of my list (but not DP's ) for any future DD. But I'd go for Maggie as the every day name.

I like Margaret and all it's derivatives :
My nana was Greta
My friend is Maggie
My aunt is Marge

DD has Margaret as a middle name. So obviously I love it!

It's my mother's name and IMO of its 'time.' My mum hates it and would much rather be a Margot or a Marguerite! There are much nicer royal names. (I would list some if DT1 wasn't being so wriggly!)

I like it, and the nicknames you can use - Peggy, Maggie, Margo - mean you can be really indecisive.

I like it.

You could also use Peg/Peggy as a nn.

It's fairly middle-aged and old fashioned. It's a nice name but I associate it with older generations at the moment. I don't like Maggie as it sounds harsh.

How about Margaretta or Margeurite?

IceCubes what royal names do you have in mind? Elizabeth and Katherine are too close to the French spelling (I want a name that "looks" English, IYSWIM), and I am not calling her Cynethryth or Eadgifu .

It's my mums name also, and she hates it. I don't love it... But I think it is probably (almost) due a revival, so depends if you want to set trends or not!

I'm in my 30s & its my name & i hate it.
I do not like any of the other names, mags, maggie, pegs, peggy etc.
To me its such an old womans name, i wish i had a nicer, prettier name.
However everyone to their own, if you like it then use it.

That's the problem serendipity, I'm not sure I really like it, but at the same time I tell myself that it's "only" a middle name. If you know prettier "royal" names that are not spelt the same way in French, please tell me!

William and Eleanor are lovely names. Don't mind Margaret, but other English Royal names that I think would go beautifully with your DCs are;
Kitty (could have Catherine on BC!)
Alice (one of Princess Anne's middle names!)
Beatrice

Thanks ham69, but Catherine, Alice and Beatrice have exactly the same spelling in French, so wouldn't stand out as "English" names to French people.

Just read OP again. Sorry, didn't realise you meant for a middle name. Go for it!

Camilla??

Margaret is my middle name and I loathe it. It's after my grandmother, but she was always Peg or Peggy anyway, so there's no real association. In a way, I think it's better as a first name, because you can always choose a cute nn. I quite like Meg - and Daisy is also a nn (from marguerite daisies). I'm called Daisy irl but it's a nn, nothing to do with my real first name.

So no, not a fan of Margaret itself, I think it's awful (and has associations with M Thatcher). I also think there's a tendency for other children to take the piss at school over middle names more than first names.

Loathe it. My (toxic) mothers name. Am a bit biased because of that.

If its a middle name that is never going to be used it would be ok, I reckon. Pretty sure my Dcs friends have no idea what their middle names are.

More recent royal names: Beatrice, Eugenie, Sophie, Louise, Zara.

Older names: Victoria, Elizabeth, Mary, Anne, Alice.

Maybe look at a Royal family tree for ideas?

We have a saying in our circle that everyone has an Auntie Margaret and for my generation that does appear to be true.

I always see Margaret as a dignified sort of name. Someone you'd look up to. I like it.

Really not keen at all. Feels very old fashioned and frumpy to me. Sorry.

I would be happy to use Margaret as a MN as tbh, how often is a MN used other than on docs?

I would have like Maggie as dds FN but it is my DMs name, so we went with Meg. She does get Peggy every now and then too.

What about
Rebecca
Mary
Helen

I think it's very old fashioned, I would use it as a middle name but not a first

Mathilda? She was an English queen, although never crowned. I like Margaret though and would have used it as a middle name for DS had he been a DD.