Margaret nn Daisy?

[IsItUnusual]

Note I am the happy aunt to be and not the mother (so you can all be brutally honest!). My sister had asked me to canvas opinions and the fastest/easiest way I know is mumsnet.

Anyway...

My lovely sister is having her first daughter and she has firmly settled on the name Daisy, but her DH is really worried that is sounds too cutesy and is only suitable for a little girl.

Our gran suggested Margaret as Daisy is apparently the official nickname for it.

Is this a thing any more? Is it too unusual?

Basically the child would be known as Daisy and use Daisy as her name but would have Margaret on the birth certificate and as an option for later in life.

What does everyone think?

How is daisy a nn for Margaret?

I have never ever heard as daisy being a nickname for Margaret.

Perfect!

I would definitely consider it. It is an established nickname.

Never heard of Daisy as a nn for Margaret. But it does remind me of the plant "Daisy Marguerite".

Daisy was originally a nickname for Daisy because the French version, Marguerite, is another name for oxeye daisy. I think it's a good solution, and in later life she could always be Maggie too if she wanted.

I mean nickname for Margaret obv...

Yes, I always assumed it was Daisy from Marguerite so Margaret.

Anyway Daisy is lovely but I would call her exactly what you mean her to be called as people will get confused between the two plus the DD will get called both. Have a few friends with this confusion.

I thought a nickname for Margaret was Peggy? Not really sure where. Daisy comes into it

Micah Fluffy Finola

I had never heard of Daisy as a nickname for Margaret (except perhaps is some terrible 1960s boarding school novel I read in my distant past) but I looked it up on wikipedia after my gran suggested it and apparently it's because Marguerite is the French name for the oxeye daisy.

But it doesn't seem to be used that way commonly anymore which is why my sister asked me to gather opinions.

I think one thing to bear in mind is that Daisy, along with Lilly and poppy, is a popular name at the moment. I don't think it will stand out as cutesy in 25 years as there may well be plenty of adults with pretty flower names

Oh I see Youcancallmebetty and Tomodochi already covered the history.

Thanks.

I like it, but think Marguerite much prettier than Margaret.

I always think of Daisy as a nickname for Margaret.

I knew Daisy was a nickname for Margaret, because of the flower - Marguerite/Margherita/Margarita in various European languages.
(and I'm a young person!)

I also know lots of people with quite classic proper names that are known by short cutsie nicknames like 'Kika' or 'Lulu' even if that sounds nothing like their real name...I might just be odd though.

Margaret with nn Maggie is so much better. Daisy/Poppy/Lily etc are so overused. I know about 5 of each. They are the new Eva/Evie/Ellie names that every other child has.

I remember in Little Women, published over 150 years ago, that Meg had her daughter (another Margaret) nicknamed Daisy. She was a twin and the boy was called Demi, short for half John, his father's name. All useful info that I've somehow dragged up from 30 years ago.

I knew Daisy was a nickname for Margaret. So is Meg, Peggy, Maggie, Greta, etc. Go for it, although I like Daisy as a stand alone name as well.

Daisy is a well established nickname for Margaret, and as people have sad, Peggy and Maggie are also choices. A gentle warning though, my DD1 has a similar classic name with lots of well established nicknames: the one that stuck, was not the one we chose originally: think Cathy/Kate.

A tangent but I'm sad to think you must have bypassed the entire Chalet School series OP. They're pre-60s and a fair proportion of the main characters have some diminutive of Margaret; Daisy, Madge, Peggy, Margot, Maggie.

If you can get hold of some of the books they'd make a lovely christening/naming present from an aunt to a niece ...

The thing about Daisy and Margaret is that for lots of people they're two completely unconnected names. It would be easy for someone to be Kate at home and Katherine at work but I can't see someone easily making the leap from Daisy to Margaret.

Also Daisy in Enid Blyton's "Five Find-outers and Dog" books is really named Margaret. Also featuring Bets (Elizabeth) Pip (Philip) Larry (Laurence) and Fatty (Frederick Algernon Trotteville)
I love those books!

Do they actually LIKE the name Margaret? As in, would be happy if she chose to use that name all the time?

Do they like the name Margaret? If she decided to use Maggie/Peggy
/Margaret as an adult how would they feel?

Personally I wouldn't as the names have 'grown apart' quite a lot. I don't think people see the link.

Another option would be to give a loner, more classic middle name? Daisy Elizabeth is nice, so would give her options later in life?

I'd just call her Daisy and have done with it.

Daisy is a lovely name in its own right.