Marian?

[BessSedgwick]

Thoughts? It's the least popular of the names we're considering, but it's got stuck in my head ... I associate it with the wonderful Marian Halcombe, but DH rightly pointed out that Maid Marian is probably a more common association!

I think it’s beautiful. Just on the right side of unusual and old lady-ish (I mean that in a good way). Much, much prefer Marian/Marion to Marianne, I agree that seems frilly and a bit… unnecessary. Can’t think of a better way to put it. Marnie as a nickname is perfect, too. Congratulations on your baby!

I think it's nice. Mariana is on my list.

Agree with PP it's a bit silly not to give a name because of how other countries use it. There are loads of people calling their kids "Pippa" for example despite the awkardness when they go on holiday. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/baby-names-other-languages_n_5a8dd057e4b03414379ceda2

I know a guy called "Andrea Michele" (or similar) who lives in the UK, I don't think people fall about at the sight of him and go "you've got a girls' name! and a beard!"

Reminds me of the Virgin Mary, and decades of the rosary, and shrines and all sorts of Catholic related Marian stuff.

Marianne seems less laden down with religious connotations.

I'm not a fan of Marian/Marion, to me it sounds the name of a woman who was 70 plus in the late 1990's. Names like Maryanne/Marianne and the other Mar..... names that have been suggested on this thread sound like they have a lot more going for them an a lot less dated.

Much prefer Marianne.

Marian is very dated & dowdy.

I've always quite liked Marian, probably inspired by Robin Hood and Maid Marian stories as a child. (I would pronounce as Marry-un whereas I would pronounce Marianne as Marry-Anne).

If I had a Marian I would shorten it to Mari (marry) which is one of several Welsh versions of Mary which I think is a lovely name.

I like Marianne too, very Jane Austen. I would worry people thought I was inspired by Normal People though, which is a programme I didn't enjoy!

Love it.

I like Marian a lot. But I also like Marianne. They’re very different names pronounced differently. Marianne is classic in a Jane Austen sense. I don’t think it’s frilly. Marian is classic in a Scottish sense, along with Jean etc. A no-nonsense type of name.

I like Marian. Also Merryn. Marianne is a little frilly..

@cheesecrackerz

I love Maryam, Miriam and Mari

Personally not a fan of Marian/Marion but probably because I don't hear it much. I think I prefer Marianne

Why don’t we go to Eastern Europe and tell them not to call boys Marian because it’s a girls name?!

We wouldn’t would we.

It’s a boys name there, girls name in the Western world.

Sorry quoted wrong post.

French / German men's names: Jean-Marie and Christoph-Maria (both slebs)

I like it

Marion was John Wayne’s birth name

😂 that huff post link from pp. Apparently “Gary” sounds like the Japanese word for diarrhoea. It’s reminded me of the time Gary linneker shit his pants during a match. Good name choice for him

I had a great aunt Mari short for Marion. Mari was on my shortlist.

It's a lovely strong name (& also a cracking goth song if you're old enough).

Marianne is definitely far too frilly.

I do also love Maryam/Mariam to be fair, but I'm in the middle of supervising a student who is a) called Maryam & b) writing a long essay about a protagonist called Mariam.

We've gone down a rabbit hole of name symbolism - there are some very diverse meanings/backgrounds to every conceivable 'Mary' name, across multiple cultures.

I think that's rather cool, but it's possibly worth being aware that it's a name that comes with decided associations built in, wherever you go.

I wonder why Marian is considered a male name in Eastern Europe? Is it unconnected to Mary/Maria, what is the origin?

I once got a book on my Kindle from a male Eastern European author whose name was something like 'Catalin' which I also thought pretty weird, because you would assume it was a variation of Catherine/Katherine.

In France some boys have Marie as their middle name. As Poland is pretty Catholic (not sure about elsewhere) maybe Marian is of a similar origin.

Like Jean-Marie Le Pen Same in Spain e.g. José María Olazábal.

It’s nice. I also like Mariana.

It's a very pretty name.

I'd laugh more at a boy called Marion, if I were that way inclined, than a girl, when it's clearly a very feminine name that sounds like it comes from Mary

Love it

Marian/Marion is lovely, I agree Marianne is too frilly and makes me think of Faithful and Mars Bars, but then I'm very old.