Creative variations to honor a Maureen

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone! This is my first time posting. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I aren’t yet expecting, but we’re planning ttc in [name_u]August[/name_u]. Also I’m a total name nerd, so I think about names a lot lol.

Anyway, we have a daughter [name_f]Margot[/name_f] and we both love the name [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] for a second girl. We are thinking about [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] for a boy.

The problem is with the middle. We like to choose family names that are more common than our firsts so that, say [name_f]Margot[/name_f] gets tired of her name, she could go by her more common middle, [name_f]Nathalie[/name_f], which was also my grandmother’s middle and honors her.

Whether our next is a boy or girl, we are hoping to honor my [name_f]MIL[/name_f] [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]. But [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]? Obviously not. So I’m hoping for some help finding creative variations of the [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]/[name_f]Mary[/name_f] family that go well with [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] and are fairly common in the US. If someone is creative enough to think of a middle for a boy that fits the same bill, so much the better.

Some variations we’ve liked so far:
[name_f]Marielle[/name_f]
[name_f]Marien[/name_f]
[name_f]Maren[/name_f] (perhaps not common enough)

[name_m]Marek[/name_m] (also perhaps too uncommon)

Thanks in advance!

What about [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Maura[/name_f] or [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Marin[/name_f] (muh-rin)?

What about [name_f]Irene[/name_f] or [name_f]Irina[/name_f] (the -reen ending) or are those too much of a stretch?

I really like [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] and [name_f]Maren[/name_f]. [name_f]Maura[/name_f] and [name_f]Mira[/name_f] also came to mind.

Girls:
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f]
[name_f]Maria[/name_f]

Boys:
[name_m]Marius[/name_m]
[name_m]Marvin[/name_m] (?)
[name_m]Mario[/name_m]

What about [name_f]Maura[/name_f] or [name_f]Mara[/name_f]? [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Maura[/name_f] is nice, and it’s common enough. I like [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Marielle[/name_f], as well.

I like the previous suggestion of [name_f]Irina[/name_f]! It’s a beautiful name.

[name_f]Maureen[/name_f] means bitter, so other names with that meaning with a more youthful sound: [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Malia[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f]

[name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Malia[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Mara[/name_f] ([name_f]Mara[/name_f] is my favorite, but IDK if it sounds good with [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]…)
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] (sounds best)

You could also use [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Aura[/name_f], with the ‘aura’ sound derived from [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]. Or [name_u]Rue[/name_u], which is young, fresh, and used with letters from [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]…I know I’m stretching it here, lol.

For a boy…[name_m]Mauro[/name_m]? It sounds nice when you roll the r, but it is a little dated/exotic.

Thanks so much these are fantastic. I especially like [name_f]Maura[/name_f] and [name_f]Mara[/name_f]. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think [name_f]Mara[/name_f] is too close to [name_f]Margot[/name_f]?

I like [name_f]Maura[/name_f] as it is the closest to [name_f]Maureen[/name_f] without the problematic -een ending.

I don’t think [name_f]Mara[/name_f] is too close to [name_f]Margot[/name_f] since it’s a middle name, if they were both first names I would say too close. But if you are thinking of the possibility of her going by her middle maybe go with [name_f]Maura[/name_f] instead.

What about [name_f]Amaryllis[/name_f]? I saw someone suggest it once as a unique way to honor a [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (amaryllis), and since [name_f]Maureen[/name_f] is a variation of [name_f]Mary[/name_f], I think it could work. Might be a bit of a stretch, though.

What about [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] [name_f]Amara[/name_f]? The een from [name_f]Maureen[/name_f] is already in [name_f]Delphine[/name_f].