Margaret or Elizabeth?

[maryautumn]

Which one do you prefer?

Elizabeth, but I do love Maggie...

My two late grandmothers names..

By all accounts princess Margaret was Margo to her friends.

Love Elizabeth, but there are a lot around plus Eliza/Elsa/Elsies and the other v popular El / Il names - Eleanor/Isabella... etc

So, you like both I’d go for Margaret - it’s deffo coming back into fashion and there is something cool and sophisticated about it - and lots of short forms.

Elizabeth is lovely

Elizabeth, Margaret is awful

@damndorothea

Elizabeth, 100%

Although I'm biased because every Margaret I've ever known has been a really mean person. Also Maggie is a very common name for dogs it seems

Same here, funny that!

Dd has Elizabeth as a middle name but randomly I would prefer Margaret as a first name. Peggy or Meg for short.

Elizabeth. I can't get past Thatcher.

"I love Meg as a diminutive (think Little Women!) but can't stand Marge"

I'm loving the idea of a baby called Marge

Elizabeth 100% because ...

I think the name Elizabeth is infinitely nicer than Margaret.

Elizabeth has much nicer nicknames. Don't like any of the shortenings mentioned unthread for Margaret. But there are several I really like for Elizabeth - Libby, Eliza and Beth are my favourites.

And finally I think Elizabeth is much more of a timeless classic, whereas I think Margaret is much more dated. I could name Elizabeth's I know from every decade from teens through to their 80s. I personally don't know any Margaret's under 60. I've been teaching since the 1990s and have always the occasional Elizabeth, but never a Margaret. I teach about 250 - 300 students a week. So whilst Elizabeth says timeless classic to me, Margaret feels dated and frumpy.

Margaret pros -

Cool nicknames (Meg, Maggie, Margo)
Cooler than Elizabeth in that there are SO many Elizabeths
Won't be one of several in her school

Cons:

The full name is a bit ugly and reminds me of an angry middle aged woman from the 1960s with her hair in rollers smoking a cigarette.

Elizabeth pros:

Cool nicknames (Eliza, Betty, Betsy)
Full name sounds fine

Cons:

A bit boring
Will probably be one of many Elizabeth/Elizas not to mention all the other El names that blur into one

Personally i know it is hugely unpopular on Mumsnet but I'd choose one of the nicknames for full name: maybe Margo or Betty

I like Elizabeth, love Beth.

Please not Margaret.

Why are people so anti Margaret?

Maybe it's due a come back. I can't stand Marge (reminds me of fake butter) but Mags, Margo are good.

Regardless of the name I'd probably call her by her full name as a child and let the shorter version evolve as she grows up.

Please don’t call your baby Margaret 😱

I favour Margaret but then DD2s name was almost Marguerite. I think we would have chosen Rita for a nn.