I’m 8+ months pregnant, baby girl will be here very soon… and I really need some input!
My husband’s favorite name is Josephine, and mine is Mary. There are no other alternative names or spellings that can be compromised upon (after 8 months worth of discussions), so the baby’s name has to be a combination of these two names. The only question is the order:
Josephine (with Mary as a middle name)
Mary Josephine (double first name, no middle name)
Last name is a fairly common single syllable surname. We are aware of the strong religious / nun-like undertones and we are ok with that.
I really like double barreled names for girls, especially when paired with Mary, but I wasn’t expecting to have to use it with Josephine. DH likes option #1, while I’m leaning towards Mary Josephine. But my main hesitation is… are the old lady vibes too strong?
A friend suggested using Josephine Mary as a double first name, but I’m not used to a double-barreled name involving Mary with Mary listed second. Any thoughts on this?
Any other pros / cons that I have not thought of? Are double names a hassle on legal paperwork?
I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] flows better. I like both, [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a fave. I think it doesn’t sound dated at all. It’s beautiful! While I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] flows better, I think [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] sounds less Biblical somehow? It’s honestly such a soulmate’y thing that your fave is [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and his is [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]!
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is gorgeous and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u] would work very nicely as a double barrelled name.
These two names are so gorgeous. I am partial to using both as a first name because they just work so brilliantly! A [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] has so many nickname options, too… [name_f]Marjory[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u], MJ, [name_f]May[/name_f] [name_f]Josy[/name_f] …what a gold mine!
I know a girl (aged 10) and have a cousin (aged 21) who have double first names. I myself have a double middle name. Far as I know, none of the three of us have ever experienced any paperwork hassles. It can be a little bit cumbersome for the two I know with double first names to get people to call them by both names upon first meeting them (eg, in the first week of a new school year repeating, “My name is [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f], not [name_f]Anna[/name_f], please.”) — but nothing really beyond that!
I think double names are absolutely beautiful. They’re a way to get all that name-y goodness into one and to use all sorts of lovely choices.
(Plus, I don’t find [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] too old-lady-ish. Both of those names are quite timeless, in the vein of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], etc. I’d find a name like [name_f]Wanda[/name_f] [name_f]Tammy[/name_f] or [name_f]Ethel[/name_f] [name_f]Myrna[/name_f] to be very dated, very old lady, but not a classic like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]! That’s my two cents there.)
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as a combo and known by both names is my favourite option.
I know quite a number of ‘double named’ people and they seem to get on fine - however, they do tend to go by one of the names rather than both (unless they’re really short, like Lexi-Rose or Ellie-Mae). I went for [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is too [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_u]Joseph[/name_u] for me, whereas [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] feels less so?
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] as a double first lets you use both names and has the added benefit of MJ as a potential nickname which I think is cool. [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as a double first is awkward because the flow isn’t great and I feel like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] would end up getting dropped a lot at which point [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as first and middle makes more sense, which I do like.
As an alternative…might I suggest [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]?
It includes the [name_u]Josie[/name_u] [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] sound of [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] at the end!
However if you are set on using those two names, I’d vote [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], however as a double barrel it’s a bit long, but [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u] is so adorable!
I love both these names - [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is top 3 for me and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is chasing up the (my) charts.
I have a friend called [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f], though [name_f]Mary[/name_f] definitely a middle so it doesn’t feature day to day.
I would myself use [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (double barrel or not) if you want to primarily or definitely use [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] nicknames - [name_u]Josie[/name_u] goes really well and includes both names and I also like [name_f]Posey[/name_f] or Phina. You could also use [name_u]Jem[/name_u], [name_f]Jemma[/name_f] or [name_f]Molly[/name_f] to capture both.
Mary-Josephine is a more intuitive order for a double barrel, I agree, but I personally don’t like Mary-Jo and I really don’t like [name_u]Jo[/name_u] for a nickname for [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] - it goes from hero to zero for me (I get this is subjective!). But you might love Mary-Jo, MJ etc. (Moppy is a sweet nickname if you choose [name_f]Mary[/name_f] Josephine).
The other risk of Mary-Josephine is she might get Mary-and-Joseph jokes as pointed out above.
Hmmm it’s hard! They’re both truly lovely names. I would love to meet a [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (it’s so pretty and tailored), and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is very elegant.
Not sure I’ve helped but these are some or the things I’d be weighing up. I would probably use [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] no double barrel or Mary-Josephine (but subject to factors above). Good luck, you have wonderful options!
I prefer [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]! personally, I think having [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] as the first name makes things more interesting.
Our friends named their daughter [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and she goes by MJ! So sweet. [name_f]My[/name_f] style would lean more towards [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f], and for a double barreled name I would pick [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f].
I like both, [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is a fave. I think it doesn’t sound dated at all. 
