DH and I went over our respective baby girl lists on the weekend, we’re due in 7 weeks. We’ve narrowed it down to two options, both of which I can imagine on a daughter. But now I’m obsessing over them!
My obsessing: I love [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] for it’s vintage feel. It seems graceful, sweet and refreshing. But is it plain and boring? Or does it’s classic quality and fact that it isn’t used very often cancel out boring? We would use [name_f]Annie[/name_f] for NN.
I think that I like [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] more but it has more complicating features for me. 2 yo DD has a name that we totally love but there are 2 spellings and 2 prononciations. 50% of people both misspell and mispronounce her name all the time- even family members- which is annoying. We’re setting ourselves up for this with [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]/[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. I like the NN [name_f]Leni[/name_f] better than [name_f]Maddy[/name_f] but also feel like we’d be fighting against [name_f]Maddy[/name_f].
Would love your thoughts on [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] vs [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]!
I love [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is gorgeous, has so many nickname choices, and ages well. I am feeling that [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] as a middle name does not work with either [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] or [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. The sound and flow is off to me.
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f]! It sounds fresh and lovely, while [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], though pretty, is ubiquitous. I do agree that the flow of [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] isn’t quite as good; would you consider changing the middle? If not, I would still choose [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] anyway.
I love [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] more than [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is beautiful, but you’d definitely have issues with [name_f]Maddy[/name_f], unless you introduce her as [name_f]Leni[/name_f]/[name_f]Eleni[/name_f]. I also agree that [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] doesn’t fit.
If [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] has to stay, what about [name_f]Marina[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]?
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f] [name_f]Angelique[/name_f] (AHN-gel-eek) would work nicely too.
I’m guessing you’re Acadian based on your user name so I understand the significance of [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] for you! I prefer [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]. I don’t see (or hear) a flow problem, but in any case, how well a first name and middle name flow together is really, really insignificant in the real world (outside of name forums, that is).
You will still get some spelling confusion with [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] - people will spell it [name_f]Marie[/name_f]-[name_f]Anne[/name_f] or [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] etc. - but at least you are unlikely to have people mispronouncing it when they see it on paper, as you might with [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f].
I don’t think you can go wrong either way as they’re both very nice names, but if you really dislike [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] I’d probably stay away from [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is more beautiful, and I think if she goes by [name_f]Leni[/name_f], people are not going to insist on calling her [name_f]Maddy[/name_f] instead. That’s crazy talk. [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is pretty too though, but it feels almost dated to me. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Miri[/name_f]) or [name_f]Miranda[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mira[/name_f])?
I love [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], but I have to agree that the flow is off a bit with both choices. With [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] you have very similar endings (-eleine / -eline), and with [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] you have the repeated ‘an’ (anne) sound.
I do think [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is super boring. And I am just being honest…If I read that announcement in the newspaper or in the church bulletin even Facebook I’d think…why? [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is not old enough, to me, to be super classic. Like a [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] or a [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] or [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]…it’s old victorian but made a rise again in the 80’s and I think most people think of it from that era…so it’s not super unique or amazingly pretty. The other name is definitely confusing it’s like the [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f] debacle
I love [name_f]Marina[/name_f]
[name_f]Merida[/name_f]
[name_f]Merrin[/name_f]
Merrit
even [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is cuter and sweeter
I have a dilemma with the choices too! I don’t know your elder daughter’s name or your surname so I’ll just give my general thoughts.
The Better Combo Flow: [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] (neither combo is ideal but I don’t like the repetitive “an” sounds of [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f])
Prettiest Name: [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] by a hair (if pronouned correctly). I do think [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is lovely if spoken in [name_m]French[/name_m] (mah-ree-AHN) but how many English speakers would pronounce the name the [name_m]French[/name_m] way?
The More Popular Choice: [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]
The More Bolder Choice: [name_f]Marianne[/name_f]
Most Pronunciation/Spelling Issues: [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]
Literary Pedigree: [name_m]Both[/name_m] names share this feature but I’m going to have to give this one to [name_u]Austen[/name_u]'s Ms. [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] Dashwood over Bemelman’s [name_f]Madeline[/name_f].
Thanks for your comments! I’m secretly delighted to see such support for [name_f]Marianne[/name_f]- maybe she is our name. I get people’s opinions about flow with [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] in the middle but it is an important Acadian name for us and I’m happy with how these combos sound in both [name_m]French[/name_m] and English and with our [name_m]French[/name_m] surname.
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f] Faithful totally sells [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] for me
I like [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] but it’s popularity puts me off. I love how beautifully [name_m]French[/name_m] it looks - but I had been pronouncing it like [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] for years… now I know it’s mad-uh-lin I don’t like it quite as much (it’s still pretty, but I can’t not think of [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] McCann too).
[name_f]Marianne[/name_f] is wonderful, and [name_f]Marianne[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] is literally perfect.
I don’t know your elder daughter’s name or your surname so I’ll just give my general thoughts.