Mary or Maud?

[FolkSongSweet]

Which do you prefer?

I love Maud!

Maud

Or the French Maude.

Martha is also deeply cool.

I love Mary, it's a classic
I can't think of Maud without thinking maudlin...

Both awful. Mary is marginally less awful. But still awful

I think both names might be a bit marmite tbh, OP.

When I hear Maud, I think of Maud from the Worst Witch books - wasn’t she terribly slow and “plump” and generally viewed dull and uninteresting poor thing? Maudie does sound sweet. Maud will forever sound lumpish to my ears.

Mary - I will confess a vested interest in this name (And I’ve name changed accordingly!). I am a mid 30 year old of this name and detested it growing up. I still think about shaking it off. It only shortens to Maz/Maza which is deplorable imo. Every job I start I think I’ll change to my middle name but never get round to it. I really don’t think of myself as a Mary, I’ve really struggled with identifying with this name.

On the flip side, everyone I meet does seem to like it and be surprised / intrigued I’m the age I am with this name. I enjoyed meeting a 5 year old Mary the other day.

Mary.

My grandmother was called Maud and she hated it even then. It’s ugly and sounds like mud.

BUT....I kinda love it, there’s something so quirky about it. But it’s a huge pressure to put on a kid, to be cool enough to pull off such a name.

Mary is pretty, underused and a classic!

I prefer Mary but what about other forms of Mary like Mara , Maria ect.

Maud is getting trendy and will really date. Mary is a classic, timeless name.

I dislike both, sorry. Catholic upbringing and school fetes run by many greying Marys ruined that name for me, and Maud reminds me of a french exchange student.

Mary it runs in our family
My great grandma..my nanny my mam my sister my niece and my granddaughter.
Used also a lot as second name.
Maud is very 19th/early20th century

Dislike both.

Not keen on Mary

But Maud is one of those old lady names that remind me of battle axe old women scrubbing their front doorstep

They are both terrible and my middle name is one of them

Definitely Maud! Although have you considered Mabel...?

Not crazy about either but Maud is dreadful

I really like both OP. I think I slightly give the edge to Maud, but they’re both great choices.

I think both are great names. I agree with your summation of them OP, and would find it hard to choose between them. Both are quite cool I think. Mary is safer and Maud is edgier. I would probably lean towards Maud for its feistiness ( and love Maudie as a nn), but really I would love to meet both a little Mary and a little Maud!

Just to add, Maud Elizabeth Daphne Marina Windsor, aged 7, is Prince Michael of Kent's granddaughter.

Maud

I love Mary .
I'm not sure about Maud. My DD knew one at school and it seemed fresh and atttactive. They are in their late 20s now and I have changed my mind a bit. It is definitely associated in my mind with the trend for Victorian and Edwardian names albeit, not widely used. It is easy to pronounce and spell which are pluses for me. I am just not sure about the sound of it.

I love Mary, it was my grandma's name. Used as a middle name amongst some of my cousins as a result.

I can picture a toddler maud in wellies & a rain Mac splashing in puddles but can't see her as a teen or grown up for some reason 🤣

Maud is a dreadful name. It's just a horrible sound, like a whinge.

Mary

I thought Maud was short for Magdalen. If you go for the full name you have lots of options and it's the same vibe.
To me they are both timeless, classic international names.