Mary Claudia, Mary Claudine or Mary Claudette?

[FreedomOfTheTess]

We've starting to lean strongly towards Mary for girl bump (due mid-July) and would like to honour my late grandfather, Claude in the middle name spot.

Our options are:

Mary Claudia - obviously Claudia is the 'go to' feminine form of Claude, but we don't think this sounds great.

Mary Claudine - this sounds better but it still isn't great.

Mary Claudette - we think this has the best sound to it, but is Claudette a bit fusty?

The only other option is to use Claude itself. In France, the name Claude is both feminine and masculine, but I appreciate we're not in France and would therefore be met with puzzling looks if we simply named her Mary Claude.

Thoughts/comments? Are there any other feminine forms of Claude you're aware of that we're missing?

Obviously it depends on the surname, but as it stands I think Mary Claudia has the nicest flow and rhythm.

go with what you like best as she is just going to be known as Mary anyway. so for that reason claude itself would be ok.

Kitten - good point - I meant to mention the surname. Starts with a W and is 10 letters long. Has a flow similar to Whittington.

I think Claudia is good. It doesn't have to sound fabulous as it won't be used on a daily basis and Claudia is the best name of the 3 I think (personally, would go for it as a first name - Claudia Mary sounds fantastic!).

Merry - I do love Claudia, but Mary as a FN is a better fit with our DCs' names; Jack, Alexander and Sarah.

The more I say 'Mary Claudia' out loud, the better it starts to sound.

Ooo I like Claudine!
I've got to male relatives names for middle names and I really love it, so you could just go with Claude?

I like Mary Claude.

Ah, then I'll stick with Mary Claudia. It flows well. Although I think Claude would be fine as well, tbh.

I would actually go for Marie Claudette. Marie said like "marry" in the French way. I think it flows better than Mary.

Claudette or Claudine... Claudia sounds very American whereas Claudette and Claudine sound more French. Also agree 'Marie' has a nicer ring with that middle name... Although i do like Mary as a name.

Claudia doesn't sound American to English ears.

I just remember reading babysitters club as a little girl and i think one of the characters was Claudia- hence the affiliation

I agree that Claudette & Claudine are more French, but I don't think OP is looking for a French name. If she was, Marie Claude would tick all the boxes.

I would go for Marie not Mary, purely because I have a friend called Mary and there are no words to describe how much she hates her name - she thinks it is boring, frumpy and unimaginative.

Mary Claude. Lovely idea and a beautiful name.

Fair enough- will let the OP decide. Just my opinion

I prefer Mary Claudette.

I don't like Claudia but that's because me and my mum know someone we don't like with a baby called Claudia and my mum refers to her as Chlamydia.

:X

I also don't like the name Mary and think it is a bit boring, but it's not particularly popular so at least there wont be loads of girls called Mary at nursery/school!

Thanks for the feedback so far. Lots to chew on.

To clarify, we're not necessarily looking for a name that sounds French, it's just I'm aware that Claude is both f/m in France, so in that respect it wouldn't be wrong to use it as a middle name for a girl.

NB: My grandfather was actually half French, his mother was French, so I could perhaps use the fact I have a tiny amount of French blood to justify using Claude and not one of the feminine forms!

Fair dos to anyone who doesn't like Mary, but DH and I love it.

As my work colleague said to me, hearing a baby girl called Mary would be a pleasant surprise to most, as opposed to yet another baby girl being named Olivia/Ruby/Grace/Amelia/Isabella.

I love Mary and would use Claudia for mn however Marie-Claude has a good ring to it :)

I like Mary Claude or Marie Claude best. Good choice OP. Maybe outing myself but I'm actually a Mary myself (surname also begins with W and longish like yours>>. With fairly long surname I've always been glad to have a simple classic first name that everyone understands and can spell. I've never thought of my name as boring or frumpy :)

Marie-Claude would sound better imo than Mary-Claude

Or forget Mary completely (a bit old fashioned, but not trendily so) and use Anne-Claude; I know an Anne-Claude and she (and the name) are fab!

Love Marie Claude, Mary Claude just doesn't sound right.

Ah we are calling our baby Mary if it is a girl! We are just going for Mary though. Are you going to use both names all the time? I really love the name.. it is a special name to us anyway but I love it because it is not too common anymore yet still traditional. Pretty.