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Baby names

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Original poster

Mara

66 replies

Hankthehonk · 20/07/2023 20:23

I'm just curious what people's opinions are on the name Mara. It's not too out there, but equally you don't see it often either.
We're pretty set on it if this baby is a girl.
We gave an older daughter named Rosa.
Most likely will go for Mara Elizabeth (middle name for a family member)

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Unexpectedlysinglemum · 21/07/2023 13:23

It's lovely

Gcsunnyside23 · 21/07/2023 13:58

I love it, means ocean/sea in Gaelic which is much nicer than other meaning and closer to where you're from and will sound lovely in Scottish accent

DramatisPersonae · 21/07/2023 14:03

User63847484848 · 20/07/2023 20:44

I have in my mind that it means ‘bitter’ but may have made that up!

It does, which is one of the things I like about it. It's plain in the right way, with a sting in the tail. But in Irish, it is also a grammatical declension of the word for 'sea' when used in relation to a noun -- so, for instance, mermaid in Irish is 'maighdean mara', literally 'maiden of the sea'. A sea voyage is 'aistear mara' etc.

twilighteaser · 21/07/2023 14:26

I know quite a few Italian women with the name Mara. It's a nice name.

TheBirdintheCave · 21/07/2023 14:27

I know one Scottish toddler Mara and one English grown up Mara :) It's a pretty name!

Hazelnuttella · 21/07/2023 14:40

Mammyofonlyone · 21/07/2023 03:43

It's a slang term for mate in a really disadvantaged town near where I'm from (north west England) so it would put me off.

Isn’t that Marra?

I assume Mara rhymes with Zara / Tara / Lara etc

Theoldwoman · 21/07/2023 14:47

I think it’s lovely, also love Zara and Cara.

RitzyMcFitzy · 21/07/2023 16:30

I'm Irish so only know it as a word for the sea. I think it's nice enough.

RitzyMcFitzy · 21/07/2023 16:38

Re. The 'bitter' meaning: Mary has the same origin and the same meaning. Admittedly Mary isn't particularly popular at the moment but the meaning hadn't held it back over the years.

Lucienandjean · 21/07/2023 18:16

I immediately thought of the 'bitter' meaning. Perhaps most people won't though? It would put me off using the name.

windowof · 21/07/2023 18:59

Thirty5 · 21/07/2023 13:13

Isn’t the little girl from Mrs Doubtfire, Matilda and Miracle on 34th st, Mara?
I like it!

This is who I picture right away when I hear Mara too. Beautiful name and the actress in the films grew up to be such a lovely person too. I really like it.

cptartapp · 21/07/2023 19:11

Somewhat bland. I know a couple.
Zara has much more about it. Love Elizabeth as a middle name.

Daphnis156 · 21/07/2023 23:29

Reminds me of Myra Hindley.

Mammyofonlyone · 22/07/2023 00:58

@Hazelnuttella I think you're correct re: the spelling but it's what I think of when I see then name nonetheless.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 22/07/2023 01:20

Lovely choice. I like that it has a familiar sound so she'll fit in (Lara, Clara, Zara, Mia, Maya etc being in the top 100) but is still unusual enough that she'll likely be one of very few (if you are in E or W).

I also think Mara has an exotic yet elegant look, enough that I don't think the bitter or demon thing would bother me personally (I was aware of the negative connotations but only because I'm a name nerd -don't think it would be obvious to most people she meets ).

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 22/07/2023 01:22

Ah, just saw you are Scottish. Not sure how popular it is in Scotland? Still think it's lovely though!

Original poster
Hankthehonk · 22/07/2023 07:58

Thank you everyone for replying! As with any name it's not for everyone, but it's nice to see that the majority of people respond positively to it.
The 'bitter' meaning doesn't bother us, my own name has a meaning in Hebrew that I didn't even learn about until looking into baby names in my 30s so it hasn't impacted my life at all! If people here make any association with Mara, it's likely to be the sea meaning.
To me it seems such a different name from Myra (especially in our accent) that this doesn't bother me either.
I partly posted to see if there were any negative associations we hadn't thought of that might be deal breakers but so far so good.

OP posts:
Newbie887 · 22/07/2023 09:09

Beautiful name (simple and pretty) and sounds lovely with Rosa.

Inkypot · 22/07/2023 12:13

Rest assured it sounds nothing like Myra! Totally different names. Mara is beautiful.

LizzieAnt · 22/07/2023 14:34

How is it pronounced in Scottish Gaelic OP?
In Irish mara (sea) is said as morra rather than to rhyme with Zara etc. I don't know how it's said in Scotland though.

Whataretheodds · 22/07/2023 14:39

I like it.

I also like Marta, Martha, Maria, Mari (Welsh) and Mhairi, Margot and Margaret.

Whataretheodds · 22/07/2023 14:40

Marla might also work?

Original poster
Hankthehonk · 22/07/2023 16:05

@LizzieAnt I confess I'm not a Gaelic speaker unfortunately (hence why we stayed clear of more obviously Gaelic names even though I love many of them). My understanding though is that Mara would sound much as it would in English, just with more of a roll on the R.
I'd ask one of my Gaelic speaking friends but don't want to give away our name plans! If anyone hear is a Scots Gaelic speaker please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'd also love to confirm whether it's connected to the word muir in gaelic as this is a family name

OP posts:
Purplecatshopaholic · 22/07/2023 16:24

Lovely name

uncomfortablydumb53 · 22/07/2023 16:47

Nice and it goes perfectly with Rosa