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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Mary

91 replies

SmeleanorSmellstrop · 04/01/2021 18:13

What do you think of Mary? I love this name but i often see it described negatively. To me, Mary is in the same sort of category as Eliza, Nell, Edith - old but strong baby girl names. Do you like it? I really like Mary for a little girl but don't want to saddle her with a name that everyone will hate.

OP posts:
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daisypond · 04/01/2021 22:01

I really love it. It’s fresh, not girly and flowery. It’s quite cool.

Chilldonaldchill · 04/01/2021 22:12

I'm not a fan.
I really like the other names you mentioned - Nell, Edith etc - but to me they feel strong and feisty.
Mary has always seemed a bit weak and wet to me. Maybe it's because I grew up in a very religious home and the stories about any of the Marys never made them seem interesting or independent - except for the one who was a prostitute and I'm not sure that was really the point of her story.
The only young ones I've come across in recent years have been part of the fairly large traveller community we have at work - there's one in every family of every generation there.

AhNowTed · 04/01/2021 22:15

LOVE IT!

EdgeOfACoin · 04/01/2021 22:18

the stories about any of the Marys never made them seem interesting or independent - except for the one who was a prostitute and I'm not sure that was really the point of her story.

The Bible doesn't even say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. It's a Catholic tradition.

elldog6 · 04/01/2021 22:36

Nooooo it's awful. Don't do it to the poor girl.

Evanna13 · 04/01/2021 22:40

I would assume a child called Mary is named after an older relative or maybe for religious reasons.

Blessex · 04/01/2021 22:40

My mum is called Mary so never would have considered it. But I absolutely would do now. I think it would be very cool to call your baby Mary. Very individual, confident and cool.

Blessex · 04/01/2021 22:41

@daisypond I agree with you! It’s fresh and cool. Lead the way OP!

goldenslumbers1 · 04/01/2021 22:42

I love the name Mary, but I could never convince my DH.

We called our daughter Maeve instead :)

Evanna13 · 04/01/2021 22:47

Also I would not view it as the same style as Eliza, Nell etc. I think it's much more of a traditional and classic name but definitely not a strong fiesty name. I might put it in the same category as Anne, Margaret, Elizabeth.

FluffyPinkSocks · 04/01/2021 22:52

I have a Mary, she’s now 7. I personally think it’s a lovely name. When she was born there were 3 boys on the ward....they were all named John 😆 I got a lot of weird looks when people asked her name when she was a teeny baby but now everyone says she has a lovely name.

Sheleg · 05/01/2021 08:16

A lot of people use "Mary" to mean vagina/vulva. This puts me off!

MercyBodle · 06/01/2021 03:47

I really like it. It would sound fresh on a little one now. I also put it in the same category as names like Edith, Nell and Eliza.

CovidCarol · 06/01/2021 13:21

@Sheleg

A lot of people use "Mary" to mean vagina/vulva. This puts me off!
I've only ever heard of that on MN Grin
ElvenMoonwings · 03/01/2022 21:55

It's my name and I've always absolutely hated it, because it's the most commonplace female name ever, and, really, the default girls name, (I'm a reader, and whenever there's an example female to illustrate a point in a non fiction book, she's almost always a Mary ...) A name is a description, and, who wants to be described as any typical person someone might meet on the street - or, as a grain of sand on the beach? Which is what it feels like to me to be named Mary. I had psychological issues about that by the time I was in my teens. I honestly don't think it matters that there's been less Marys for a while, because it's been so overused - if you got a pound for every real or fictional Mary you could find within the books in a library, you could probably buy yourself a house! - and I think it still has that conformist, undistinguished, sheep image to it.

It's also a huge one with Catholics, and has got me a lot of negative attention from deeply religious Catholic males obsessedly looking for someone like the holy madonna and, especially, a virgin, (seriously!). If you're not a Catholic, I think you need to be aware of that - that Catholics idea of who Mary is and what Mary means might be something you're profoundly unaware of, and yet your daughter may be having that projected upon her by Catholic people, including romantically, when she grows up. It's heavy stuff.

I just wouldn't use it, honestly. Too many people hate it so your daughter has a good chance of hating it too.

Luredbyapomegranate · 03/01/2022 22:10

It’s a classic

And you’ve got May, Maisie, Molly and Polly if you want a diminutive, so what’s not to like.

WeasilyPleased · 03/01/2022 23:11

I really like it. A friend of my mum has a Mary we've known since a baby. She's 21 now and as a pp said, it has suited her from being a baby until now.

merrymelodies · 04/01/2022 07:03

Love Mary.

Frazzled2207 · 04/01/2022 07:06

Underused IMO. I know one my age (40s) and not a single one younger.
Love it but prefer the Welsh Mari. (Marry with a rolled r). I’m Welsh though.

HeronLanyon · 04/01/2022 07:15

I like it a lot. Classic unfussy name.
Not sure why it is so overlooked and underused.
It looks pretty and sounds good. I know adult Marys which helps me like it.
Having said all of that I would hesitate to use it - a bit like Jane. Feeling it is a bit dull when in fact it’s isn’t at all.

UsernameIsHarderThanBabyName · 04/01/2022 07:24

I love Mary ❤️

AD3000 · 04/01/2022 07:29

I really like it - feminine without being fussy or cutesie , no idea why it's not more popular.

yikesanotherbooboo · 04/01/2022 07:31

Love it

Oldusernewname1 · 04/01/2022 07:32

Ive always called my front privates that 🤣since a child

Undertheoldlindentree · 04/01/2022 07:41

I like old names but Mary just feels dull and slightly religious. Ruth is another in the same category. Might get Virgin Mary jokes in her teens. I just wouldn't risk it.