thoughts on Maria

[pigeonstew]

I keep coming back to Maria... then drifting away.. then returning again. What do you think about Maria

Lovely. One of my favourite ever pupils was a Maria.

It’s my mums name which meant I couldn’t use it, but I think it’s beautiful

I'd assume the family are Christians. It's ok think I prefer mary.

I love it! It's a beautiful name, and not overused. Timeless and classic.

I prefer Marie.

It’s my name and I’ve always liked it :)

I like it, I’d call it traditional rather than dated

Marianne could be an alternative, then you could shorten to Maria if you wanted.

I also like Mariah

It’s lovely, timeless, and classic. Lovely nicknames/alternatives - Mari, Mary, Mia, Ria, Ari, Marina.

Elegant, timeless, international classic that has only occasionally fallen out of the Top 100 historically in England; yet because it’s never made something like the Top 20 either afaik, doesn’t feel at all too popular. Maria is obviously most popular with Catholic families or with non-British heritage, but it’s still well used enough in the UK in general that I don’t think it’s a big deal if you don’t fall into those groups.

As for nn’s - Mia is the traditional one (like for Maria “Mia” Farrow for example) but May is used too (just like for variant name Mary) or occasionally Mimi, so there’s plenty of choice.

Gorgeous name. There's a Maria in our nursery.

Very dated.

It's my second dds middle name after her Italian grandmother.

I like it (but it is my middle name!). I think it is much less dated than Mary. I like a previous posters suggestion of Marianne. How about Mirren?

I don't like it because everyone in the world has that name or a variation of it. In saying that it's better than Mary of some of the other variations

Love it

I quite like it. Makes me think of Maria from corrie

I like Mary too. It's a gentle name.

It’s my favourite name and I don’t think it should be shortened.

Because MN is obsessed with settling on a shortened version of the name and pretending it's a nickname before the child is born. In reality children are called random other words and names which evolve as the child develops their own personality.

Is that not an upside?

All the Maria's I know are Catholic.

Well I'm not, but then again, I don't know you.

Not on MN. If there is no diminutive, you take a random mix of letters and use it as a 'nn'. e.g. Esther nn Tessa, Sienna nn CeCe, Vivien nn ViVi, Genevieve nn Gigi or Vivi or Evie

Also, if asked 'Which one out of Anya, Isla or Nina?' you need to suggests about 25 completely different names. Bonus points if you include misspelt foreign/celtic names (e.g. Emelia, Elouise, Jamima, or Celina)

I much prefer it to Marie - Big SOM fan here so l love it!

I like Marie too, but not as a middle name.