Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Question about a middle name and surname

9 replies

wellineverknewthat · 30/09/2009 15:14

Mary Janes.

Does it have any connotations for you? I am sat here feeling sick, I know it's a type of shoe but I have just discovered by accident that my dd's middle and surname together (surname spelt slightly differently) is slang in America for Marijuana.. Can you tell me, do you think this will cause her any problems, is this slang widely known? Will Americans hear *** Pothead. Or am I getting this out of proportion.. Oh crikey I thought I gave her a really safe middle name.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Anya4 · 30/09/2009 16:59

Don't worry about it for ONE second ! for a start, when do you actually use the whole three names ? for a second nobody over here would ever think that, third, Americans have ridiculous names - and its not like its slang for prostitute or something.

Don't mean to offend Americans by saying they have ridiculous names...! just mean there is a great variety

ConFuschias · 30/09/2009 17:01

No-one ever uses full name. Don't worry.

wellineverknewthat · 30/09/2009 17:39

Thankyou so much for that. Yep you're right, no-one goes around calling themselves all three names.

I think it's upset me as i've always been so proud of telling people she has Mary as a middle name, as it was my Grandmothers name. Then suddenly I wasn't sure if dh and I had been living a blinkered life and were the only ones who didn't know this slang meaning!

Phew.

OP posts:
smother · 30/09/2009 21:24

Don't worry! I'm sure it won't cause her any problems in later life. Please don't worry.

There's a beautiful Nick Drake song about Mary Jane and yes, I'm afraid it is about marijuana, but I think you should find it and listen to it because it might actually cheer you up!

busybutterfly · 01/10/2009 15:24

Mary Janes - type of shoes? Never heard of the slang version!

IAMmingthemerciless · 01/10/2009 21:17

.

Tambajam · 01/10/2009 21:21

It is widely known slang but it really doesn't matter as

  1. Noone says all names together and only those names together.
  2. They are also obviously NAMES and that's the primary association.
  3. It's not a terrible terrible thing. It's better than finding out a name means 'genocide' or something.
IAMmingthemerciless · 01/10/2009 21:21

I had to comment on this but am hoping you don't mind my cowardly name change to do so

my name is Mary-Jane

I have been known as Mary-Jane in full my entire life. not Mary. not Jane. Mary-Jane in its entirety, no middle names either.

my mother chose two family names and put them together. I am named after shoes and have heard on occassion reference to pot/hash etc but NOT that much at all. I live in the UK and have visited the states on several occassions where it is even more common there

I hated it growing up as felt like one of the Waltons but have to admit its grown on me with age (I'm in my mid 30s)

if your only concerns using these names is because of its associations with drugs and shoes then please PLEASE don't worry about it one bit.

and I feel that this is the one time on a baby names topic that I feel FULLY qualified to comment

IAMmingthemerciless · 01/10/2009 21:22

oh, now I'm obvious which is worse than being cute shoes or a drug

New posts on this thread. Refresh page