[name]Mary[/name] is nice enough, but i know a lot of girls named [name]Mary[/name]! I think it’s too plain.
[name]Martha[/name] is absolutely beautiful. Easily my favorite, although [name]Margaret[/name] does give your little girl some more options.
[name]Mary[/name] is my favorite with [name]Margaret[/name] a close second. [name]Martha[/name] doesn’t feel fresh to me. I wish I liked it because it is my grandmother’s name, but I just don’t.
[name]Mary[/name] with a spunky middle would be so charming with your wonderful boys’ names! I adore [name]Mary[/name] [name]Clementine[/name]. I really like [name]Margaret[/name] too though, it’s so timeless it can never be tired. Not as fond of [name]Martha[/name], which has always felt a little dreary to me, and is quite th heavy with [name]Theodore[/name].
@teddy’smom: I love [name]Mary[/name] [name]Clementine[/name]! [name]Mary[/name] [name]Flora[/name] is nice, or even [name]Mary[/name] [name]Florence[/name]!
I think [name]Martha[/name] is the prettiest. You can sing her “Pretty [name]Little[/name] [name]Martha[/name]” by [name]Loudon[/name] [name]Wainwright[/name] III, lyrics go something like this (the best parts anyway):
“[name]Don[/name]'t cry pretty little [name]Martha[/name], don’t cry pretty little girl. [name]Don[/name]'t cry pretty little [name]Martha[/name], the prettiest girl in the whole damn world,
prettiest girl in the whole damn world. Oh you know I love your brother, and you know that I love you. Oh you know I love your brother, how I miss the both of you! I wrote a song for your big brother, now I’ve written one for you.”
[name]Margaret[/name] probably because of the nn options. I like [name]May[/name] and [name]Meg[/name]
[name]Mary[/name] is okay but not something I’d really use.
[name]Martha[/name] I just don’t like at all.
I love [name]Rufus[/name] [name]Wainwright[/name]–his son. Amazing voice. I have a recording of him singing with his sister [name]Martha[/name] actually. But…I still don’t like the name 
Probably because I knew a dog with the name as a kid. So it always has a slightly doggy feel to me. But I do love [name]Rufus[/name]!
I like [name]Mary[/name] the best, actually. Crisp, classic and extremely versatile. [name]Margaret[/name] still sounds like a pair of clogs, and [name]Martha[/name] even heavier.
Thank you again for the feedback, ladies!
So far, it seems like the only real cons for the names are that they seem a little too clunky to some. Clunkiness certainly doesn’t bother us - many would say [name]Theodore[/name] and [name]Philip[/name] are clunky.
Good news! I mentioned [name]Mary[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] to my husband when he got home and he actually likes it!
It has to be [name]Margot[/name]!
1 [name]Mary[/name]
2 [name]Margaret[/name]
3 [name]Martha[/name]
@rollo - I really like [name]Margot[/name] as well, but it’s a close friend’s name!
That’s too bad. My Mum’s name was [name]Margaret[/name] but always known as [name]Margot[/name] so if you want some flexibility then go with [name]Margaret[/name]. You never know your daughter may prefer [name]Margot[/name] when she grows up.
rollo
[name]Margaret[/name] 
So funny, my second daughter is [name]Mary[/name] and she was going to be [name]Margaret[/name] on the way to the hospital. Obviously I was torn on this issue too. I can see the appeal of [name]Martha[/name] but it was never on our list. Now that I have a [name]Mary[/name], I adore the name (my hubby liked it more) but I know I would love a [name]Margaret[/name] too. You can’t go wrong with either choice.
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[name]Martha[/name]! I love [name]Martha[/name]. Elegant, classic, and yet fresh. And it has nicknames - [name]Mattie[/name], [name]Patty[/name], [name]Patsy[/name], [name]Marti[/name]…? The “th” is very soft and enchanting, I like in [name]Martha[/name], [name]Judith[/name], [name]Elspeth[/name], and similar Biblical and vintage names. Find it ver
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[name]Mary[/name]. I do like [name]Mary[/name] very much. I know a lovely grey-eyed girl named [name]Mary[/name] who is fun and sweet. However, I prefer related names to straight-up [name]Mary[/name]: [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Mara[/name], and [name]Marie[/name]. [name]Just[/name] my own taste there - [name]Mary[/name] is evergreen and never really a bad choice.
Very far behind in a distant 3rd would be [name]Margaret[/name]. I find it harsh sounding and most of the nicknames don’t appeal, except for [name]May[/name]/[name]Mae[/name], which I would be just as happy to see on [name]Mary[/name]. I do like related names though - [name]Marguerite[/name], [name]Margaux[/name], etc.
@m2mom - if you don’t mind sharing, how has your daughter [name]Mary[/name]'s name been received?
I pick [name]Margaret[/name]. I [name]LOVE[/name] the nn [name]Maisie[/name].
For 2011, [name]Mary[/name] was actually #112 on in popularity (in the U.S.) - which is fairly high. [name]Margaret[/name] was #187. Its interesting that most of the people who replied felt [name]Margaret[/name] is used more than [name]Mary[/name]. [name]Do[/name] most [name]Mary[/name]'s perhaps go by middle names or nicknames? Hmmm…
Blame [name]Margaret[/name]'s diminutives and variations for making it seem more popular than it is, maybe?
[name]Megan[/name]/[name]Meaghan[/name]/[name]Meagan[/name] are all three in the top thousand ([name]Megan[/name] at #164). [name]Megan[/name] quite a long run, too. Spent from '78 to 2005 in the top fifty, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. That means lots of Megs and Maggies.
[name]Maggie[/name] as a standalone name is at #228.
[name]Daisy[/name] at #166
I really like [name]Megan[/name], actually, but I do think it’s a big part of why [name]Margaret[/name] feels like it hasn’t ever gone away.
[name]Mary[/name] is so simple it doesn’t really get mixed around the same way.
Yay! [name]Mary[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] is a wonderful combination.
I love [name]Mary[/name]. I like it the best of these three classic names, and I think it is underused, especially compared to [name]Margaret[/name].