Mary

[Spookypig]

I love Mary. Which is weird because as a child I remember reading the Secret Garden and literally shuddering over the name, thinking how awful it was! But it has grown on me over the years and now I love it. I’m also fond of Maria. What do you think - are they lovely and timeless and sounding fresh again after being less popular for years? Or… not?

There's a Mary at our nursery (with a very hipster mum 😄). I like it!

I quite like it! I had always thought it was an old lady name when I was growing up but now I can imagine a Mary being quite a cool, chilled out kind of girl and in England, at least, very different from the rest! Standing out in a sea of Olivia’s, Mia’s, Ava’s, Isla’s and Mia’s etc! Go for it xx

I love the name Mary.
Possibly because to me it sounds classic but unusual and timeless, I don’t know any Marys.

I like it. My mum is Mary and it's my middle name and my DDs too. Would be nice to see it have a revival.
There's a whole load of what we thought of as old lady names coming back. Ivy, Florence, Edith, Nora etc, so why not Mary?

I find it drab.

and it's my middle name so I can say that.

It's my name abs I've always absolutely hated it, because it's the default female name - John and Mary, you know - and undoubtedably the most used female name ever - which has, made me feel that I'm described as a typical person on the street or another grain of sand on the beach - as having no individuality.

I know it's not been used for a couple generations but I think it has no originality factor. Any time there's an example woman in a book she's Mary, walk into any library and the books will contain millions of them, everyone has heard of it and I think it has that typical girl/woman cache. And worse - it's very religious, in a way not everyone likes. It's boring and ugly. I'm sorry but that's my honest feelings about it. However you might hate a name I love.

Prefer Maria to Mary , haven’t heard of a baby Maria ever .

I love Mary
I also love Jane and Annie

Mary is a lovely name.

Tbh I wonder if you would like to call a son John.

Fifty plus years ago, if I had been a boy I would have been called John but being a girl had to be Mary. I think the idea was to attract no attention. Not a good vibration and I think that vibrations linger on. If you give your child a name practically no one else has ever had, it comes with fresh energy and they're not going to be weighed down with other people's - or most people's - stuff.

I think it’s pretty and feels refreshing nowadays. I also love love love Maria!

There’s no names ‘practically no one else has ever had’ unless you just make one up. And surely a name that’s been used loads would be better because it would have loads of different ‘vibrations’ leading to them all being cancelled out/insignificant.

Like this - if your child is called John then a serial killer is found out and his name is John nobody will say ‘oooohhh like the serial killer?’ Or if you are named Mary - nobody will be constantly saying ‘oooh like Mary from Downton Abbey? Is that who you were named after, the woman from that TV series?’

But if your child is called Hermione or Hannibal or Madonna… those vibrations stick.

Although for what it’s worth I do also love the name John.

Yes, but loads of vibrations mean everyones vibrations and that's what I mean - it's like being called "every girl" or "every boy" or "any girl/any boy because it doesn't matter". I never liked that. Personally I like originality and would like to be seen as interesting rather than "Oh yes met her type before/she seems very typical and ordinary".

Why not make one up? I kind of did for my daughter.

You can if you want, but the vibrations I’d get off that wouldn’t be good. Generally it sounds like you have really different ideas around names than I do though so that might be why we’re disagreeing! Realistically most normal people just meet someone and say hey Mary, nice to meet you. They don’t start thinking ‘hmm Mary, too many vibrations off that name, they must be a typical ordinary person.’

Slang word for vagina.

Very old fashioned

I also think parents are probably very religious if it's chosen

Not really more old fashioned than Ivy, Freddie, Alfie, etc?

Re religious. Well obviously the mother of Jesus. But also used by queens and fossil collectors too. And in novels such as Secret Garden (that is right isn't it?) And P&P.

I think it has stood the test of time.

Sorry but every Mary I have ever met has been an utter cow. So on that basis I would say no

Plus I don't think it's a very nice name in general. Sorry !

I know two under the age of five, so I think it's coming back.

One of the two has a very cool mother, who is probably ahead of the trend.

Actually the both have very cool mothers, but one is trendy cool iyswim.

It's a great name and was on my long list of ten, though didn't make it onto my shortlist.

I love Mary. Classic, timeless and reminds me of a much loved Great-Aunt.

My gran was a Mary. I always associated it with her generation until I met a young Mary at university (who would now be mid 30s). Changed my view of the name, and I think it's lovely. But I prefer the Scottish version, Mairi (pronounced Marry) - one of my favourite girls names.

I'm not so keen on Marie/Maria.

Mairi sounds like the welsh name Mari (Marry), which wasn't popular until the 1960s, the biblical Mair (My with an r on the end) being more popular, and used often as a middle name. I like both. I think Mair/Mary has a gentleness about it. The Marys I know are my DM's age, apart from one in her 20s.