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Baby names

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

Original poster

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.

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Bettybantz · 04/01/2022 07:47

I love it. I knew a few my age growing up and a lot of the older generation. In my culture it’s traditional to call your first child Mary.
It’s cute on a baby and elegant on an older woman.

NdujaWannaDance · 04/01/2022 07:48

I love it. I think it's an absolute classic that has been underused for many decades and is due a revival.

ZenNudist · 04/01/2022 07:50

Great name. And the variants. I like Maria.

greenteafiend · 04/01/2022 08:05

This is my eldest daughter's name. My mother was not keen at first ("too 50s" and "too Catholic") but then in her defense, she did go to a Catholic convent school where every single girl/teacher was called Mary, Something Mary, Mary Something, Maria, Marie, Marian or Maureen. It was definitely overused at one point, but I like it because it stands out in a nice way and there are so many famous Marys!

Ceramide · 04/01/2022 08:11

I want to like it as it's an old classic, but it has a ponderous sound.

Grumpyosaurus · 04/01/2022 08:24

I really like it. I was surprised how pleased I was when someone I know had a baby called Mary.

Heepers · 04/01/2022 08:27

The only Mary I know is super cool. It's a great name and very unusual without being try hard.

furbabymama87 · 04/01/2022 08:56

I like it but always not quite enough to use it, not sure why. I think it's better as a middle name.

KohlaParasaurus · 04/01/2022 09:05

One of my daughters has Mary as her middle name. I love it and only didn't choose it as her first name only because it would have given her the same name as a well known person.

hivemindneeded · 04/01/2022 09:07

It's beautiful. A very underused classic.

Tal45 · 04/01/2022 09:16

I don't like it, it was a term for female genitalia when I was growing up whilst also being very religious. Marie and Maria and much nicer IMO.

NearlyAHoarder · 04/01/2022 09:22

I'd like it for a baby now. It's fresh, and it's stronger than Lily and Molly etc

I don't see it becoming a top 50 name!

It was ubiquitous in 1950s and 1960s but it will remain a rare name for the next 20 years at least imo.

DontTellThemYourNamePike · 04/01/2022 09:27

I really like it. My mum is Mary and gets May. I remember it was the name of the baby in Three Men and a Baby at a time when older names hadn't become popular again and I realised how much I liked it.

But ... I'm from Belfast and a lot of people here pronounce it Meery, which I absolutely hate! So I would never have considered it if I'd had a girl.

Lemonlemon88 · 04/01/2022 09:29

I like it. In my family we have Rosemary and Maryellen/Mary Ellen repeated through out.

CrackerGal · 04/01/2022 09:40

I know lots of travellers who name their kids Mary & Anne etc, not uncommon for them to call 2 kids by the same name too. I know one family who has 2 daughters called Mary. They call them after family, so those traditional names are still strong in travelling communities.

NearlyAHoarder · 04/01/2022 09:47

Travellers have good taste in names.

Although I've heard some non-classic names called out so have the impression their 'rules' aren't stuck to as rigidly as they were 20 years ago.

NearlyAHoarder · 04/01/2022 09:49

Older Marys could have been named after Queen Mary as well. (My Grandmother Molly) was one of those. Born in Scotland roughly 1909

Letitsnoooow · 04/01/2022 09:56

I don’t like it at all.

CrackerGal · 04/01/2022 09:57

@NearlyAHoarder

Travellers have good taste in names.

Although I've heard some non-classic names called out so have the impression their 'rules' aren't stuck to as rigidly as they were 20 years ago.

Yes it might depend where you are though, where I am in Ireland its still all traditional names with the traveller families that I know anyway. Kids are named for people usually. Lots of boy Miley's too. Yes it's nice to see these names haven't died out & are still used a lot!
CrackerGal · 04/01/2022 09:58

@NearlyAHoarder

Older Marys could have been named after Queen Mary as well. (My Grandmother Molly) was one of those. Born in Scotland roughly 1909
I love the name Molly & Nell too.
emmathedilemma · 04/01/2022 10:04

Love it!

TheYearOfSmallThings · 04/01/2022 10:06

I love it but it falls in the same category as Jane and Anne - people like a fancier name these days. It will definitely come back around, but the little Marys I know now are Ukrainian, Australian and Swedish. I don't meet little English Marys among the Esthers and Irises and Florences and Pearls in the playground.

ISmellBurnings · 04/01/2022 10:18

I just wouldn't use it

Well seeing as the baby is a year old now….

DontTellThemYourNamePike · 04/01/2022 10:41

Well seeing as the baby is a year old now….

Ha! I didn't notice thisGrinGrin

PlainJane1000 · 04/01/2022 14:17

@Evanna13

I would assume a child called Mary is named after an older relative or maybe for religious reasons.
This is how I feel about Mary too. I know there are a lot of 'religious' names but to me, the religious association with Mary is very strong.