Minnie May - is this a bad idea? And why do so many people dislike hyphenated names with Mae?

[caitlinrose]

Yesterday I watched "Anne with an E" for the first time and there was a character called Minnie May who was really sweet. I thought it was hyphenated because she was called by both names but google let met know it's not.

I thought it was kind of cute. What are your thoughts on Minnie May, called by both names? I think it's more of an idea right now and I wouldn't actually use it but I'd use May or maybe just Minnie.

What are your thoughts on just Minnie or just May? And Mae?

General question: why do hyphenated names with May, Mae seem to be disliked so much here even though May, Mae is a classic name? Does this apply to Mae, May on its own too?

Does it matter whether there's a hyphen or not? Is Minnie-May less popular here than Minnie May (called by both)?

And why do people seem to like May and dislike Mae (noticed this in a past thread)? To me they are both classic (Mae West etc.). Do you prefer Mae or May?

I’m no help because all I think of is mouse unfortunately Op and I think a lot of kids would make that connection also.

May / Mae are so so overdone (as is Grace / Rose and Rae / Ray) so it's everywhere and honestly I find it boring and unimaginative

Minnie (in my neck of the woods) is a very common word for the word Vulva and so if Minnie started school where I live every chance about half of her school friends will make an instant connection to vulvas if not Minnie Mouse which is a cartoon.

It's a cutesy nickname to be kept within the family maybe for a real name like-
Marina
Amanda
Maya

If you like spend a couple of weeks introducing yourself as Minnie May - maybe in a coffee shop or how would you feel in a work setting entering a room and introducing yourself. It's terrible

It sounds cute now, but she will grow and a cutesy name in the workplace takes some getting used to.

So funny, when I read your thread title I thought of Minnie-Mae Barry and the Ipecac. I think Diana and Minnie-Mae were both quite 'frilly' names (Anne certainly sees Diana's name as more on a par with Cordelia, whereas her own lacks romance), and now it's got additional mouse-related connotations. I think it's fussy for a baby and babyish for an adult.

Minnie-May definitely brings to mind Minnie Mouse and it's not a name I would choose.

Mae isn't a classic name in my perception. Where I live, I'd expect a Mae to be either elderly or very young. It's not a name that was popular when I was born.

Hyphenated names like Daisy-Mae, Molly-Mae, Ellie-Mae etc are even less classic to me. I think the reason they are disliked is because they are a recent trend that probably won't age well. Similar to names like Kelly-Anne and Lesley-Anne in the past.

You've posted over 30 threads in less than a month about baby names. I think you're over-thinking this massively. Do you not have an idea by now what kind of name you want to go for?

Too close to Minnie Mouse for me. Sorry.

Cutesy names are not great for adults.

5 year old Minnie May might get ooh'd and aah'd over, but 30 year old Minne May the accountant doesn't get taken seriously at work.

Name your child for the long term. If it's not a name you'd want to introduce yourself with in a professional meeting, don't use it.

Just don't. It doesn't even sound cute for a baby/toddler, tbh. It just sounds ridiculous. Like a character from the Beano.

Minnie Mae/May is an awful name.

Curious to know where in the UK Minnie means vulva?

I've never heard of this before!

I've heard it in London, it's certainly not a term everyone uses, but enough that it has that connotation.

i actually love Minnie as I did my family tree and there were a lot of girls named Minnie a couple of hundred years ago! A weird amount of Minnie’s if anything 😂 But anything hyphenated with May becomes a bit… can I say chavvy? Because that’s what I mean but I want to find a nice way to say it. But I can’t. So… chavvy it is. May cheapens all names. It’s just a weird phenomenon of this era. I’m sure at some point in time, May will become usable again but at this moment in time, it’s not nice. I still love Minnie though. I’d not use it as I’m a coward, so please do!

Oh! Just read the other comments. When I was a kid Minnie did used to be slang for vagina now you mention it! I’d totally forgotten until I read this. But this was like, 1996. I’ve not heard it mentioned much since. Long enough that I’d totally forgotten! (I’m from SE England).

Adding May or worse Mae onto a name just makes it sickly and twee and irritating. Like you're naming a cat or a doll and not a human person.

Like Gracie-Mae or Lily-May or Minnie-Mae. They're human girls, not dolls.

Please don't call your child Minnie Mae. It's way too cutesy and ridiculous.
I know quite a lot of teen girls with hypenated names - lots of May/Rose/Mae/Belle type middle names. Without fail they have all dropped the middle name and ask people not to use it. It's little girly and as soon as they get older many of these girls stop using them.

Ummm is there a limit? I post like 30 threads a day 😂 baby names are fun and interesting to some people, especially when you’re pregnant! I love to hear other people’s thoughts even on names I’m not planning to use. Leave OP alone! She can post as much as she wants.

sounds like the miniature version of May

Minnie-May sounds a bit like 'Mini me'. I'm not mad keen on hyphenated names. Just choose a single name IMO.

I can't really imagine a grown woman being called Minnie May, sorry

I'm literally just asking the OP a question. I can post what I want too.

May is lovely. But Minnie? No way. What if she is big as an adult? Too harsh.

My first thought was Minnie May Barry from Anne of Green Gables and her croup related near death experience. Mrs Barry certainly had to eat some humble pie after that. In yer face Mrs Barry, one drunken daughter and one all phlegmy.

That aside, you cannot call your kid Minnie May. It's a ridiculous name. May by itself is fine. Minnie isn't fine in any context.

There were lots of these names in DDs primary.
3 Lily-Maes in her class alone.

One mum was furious if you didn’t call her by the full name. She’s now in secondary and has dropped the Mae herself.