Sorry for making another thread but I am not sure what the correct “etiquette” is for asking about another totally unrelated name. Derail your earlier thread or make a new one? I apologize if I am breaking some sort of forum rules!
Anyway, back to the question. My husband and I both love the name [name]Margot[/name]/[name]Margaux[/name]. We can’t decide on a spelling, though. When I see [name]Margot[/name] I think of maggot (as do a lot of people and I think it may make for easy teasing spelled that way) but we are worried [name]Margaux[/name] is pretentious since we are not French.
When I first read the French spelling the first thought that came to my mind was " wow what a neat spelling! It gives the name such a quirky and edgy vibe!" much like [name]Beatrix[/name] vs [name]Beatrice[/name]. But I read on another forum that it came across as snooty or pretentious spelled that way So I guess that’s my question. [name]Do[/name] you like the French spelling of the name?
I never really thought the name [name]Amelie[/name] was pretentious so why [name]Margaux[/name]? I dunno- I am really having second thoughts on this name now! We both vastly prefer the x spelling. Neither of us likes the [name]Margo[/name] spelling- it just seems incomplete or made up when spelled that way.
Oh, I was about to suggest the [name]Margo[/name] spelling as the ultimate compromise, since it really seems to fix both of your issues - I love that. I think all of the spellings are nice, though. [name]Margo[/name] is simple and sweet and completely fool-proof when it comes to pronunciation. [name]Margot[/name] looks official and strong, and most people know how to pronounce it. Then there’s [name]Margaux[/name], which looks elegant and French and fun and sassy, and hopefully nobody tries to call her “mar-gocks,” right? I’ve met [name]Margo[/name]'s and [name]Margot[/name]'s, but never a [name]Margaux[/name]. I actually think, of the three, my favorites are definitely [name]Margo[/name] and [name]Margaux[/name]! So, if you hate [name]Margo[/name], I’d just go with [name]Margaux[/name]. It isn’t pretentious - at least it is no more “pretentious” than [name]Eugenie[/name] or [name]Beatrice[/name], right? - and if it is pretentious, then I say, “Who cares?” Go with the spelling you love!
My college roomate’s name was [name]Margot[/name], and she spelled it with the T. I’ve always liked that spelling the best, and I had never thought of the teasing potential until you mentioned it. I honestly don’t think that it’s a big deal.
The spelling [name]Margo[/name] looks incomplete to me too.
[name]Margaux[/name] has always looked weird to me, like it’s trying to be something it’s not. I wouldn’t use it unless you are French. Plus, little kids would be very confused about the spelling.
If I were you, I’d go with [name]Margot[/name]. The T just seems to complete it.
[name]Margo[/name] was the runner-up name for my first daughter. I had the same problem as you. [name]Margo[/name] is a bit incomplete, [name]Margot[/name] reminds me of maggot, and [name]Margaux[/name] is too pretentious. I could never quite reconcile it but ultimately I think I would use [name]Margo[/name]. I don’t really know, but I was under the impression that [name]Margaux[/name] wasn’t actually used as a name in [name]France[/name]. It is a village and the wine, of course, but I thought they used [name]Margot[/name] for the name. Maybe someone can chime in and tell us for sure. Anyway, my feeling on [name]Margaux[/name] is that is a bit over-the-top.
If your main concern with [name]Margaux[/name] is that it seems pretentious, then I don’t think you should worry. It’s no more pretentious than [name]Margot[/name] (which is to say, not at all - at least in my opinion). They’re both French. [name]Margot[/name] is the traditional diminuitive for [name]Marguerite[/name]; [name]Margaux[/name] is a region of [name]France[/name]. There is no non-French version of [name]Margot[/name] (it’s not like just subbing [name]Margaret[/name] for [name]Marguerite[/name]). I love, love, love [name]Margo[/name]/[name]Margot[/name]/[name]Margaux[/name] (am trying to get DH on board), and would second lemon - if you both love [name]Margaux[/name], use it!
I just looked up the name on appellationmountain.net and this was the description she gave: "[name]Margo[/name]/[name]Margot[/name]: [name]Margaret[/name] has been worn by queens and saints, but we think [name]Margo[/name] has more frills-free spirit, with or without the final ”t.” Our only spelling request is that parents refrain from using [name]Margaux[/name] ” unless, of course, you expect your daughter to develop multiple-personality syndrome. Like [name]Juno[/name], the ”o” ending is lively, but this name makes for a slightly more traditional choice. While [name]Margo[/name] is unranked in the US, [name]Margaret[/name] is 173, so there are doubtless some Margos out there. "
What does she mean by “develop multiple-personality syndrome” by having that name?
Sigh I thought the spelling make it quirkier and more likely to fit it with our usual taste in girl’s names (mainly Greek) like [name]Xanthe[/name] or maybe even [name]Helena[/name]. I am really disappointed because I just don’t think I like the other two spellings enough to use them.
Well, my understanding of [name]Margaux[/name] is that it is not a traditional spelling of the name. It was a name of a village and wine until [name]Margaux[/name] [name]Hemingway[/name] changed her name from [name]Margot[/name] to make it seem more exotic. [name]Hence[/name], the multiple personality disorder comment. So I was always under the impression that [name]Margaux[/name] could be considered rather silly and “faux French.” As far as I know, in [name]France[/name], the name would usually be [name]Margot[/name].
I’m not trying to knock your style here. As I said, I love [name]Margo[/name], too, and I get exactly where you are coming from with the different spellings. But I was just googling around and every Yahoo Answers question about [name]Margaux[/name] had at least one person correctling the OP’s spelling to “Margeaux.” Problem.
You know what? It’s your baby and if you love [name]Margaux[/name], you should name her [name]Margaux[/name]. It’s not a made-up spelling. It’s just a little different. You don’t want to have regrets and settle for a name you don’t love as much because people on a website had opinions about it. People will always have opinions about whatever name you choose. I know it’s hard to get things out of your head that you read on these forums, but you have to go with what you and DH love, what you feel is your baby’s name.
Oh SHOOT! I hate it when something happens like the [name]Margot[/name] / maggot connection. Once you get something in your head like that, you can’t get it out. For us it was [name]Adeline[/name] – my husband got “Subtract-a-line” in his head & that was it for [name]Adeline[/name].
The main question is, do you LIKE Margeaux? Or is it that you like [name]Margot[/name], but not the spelling?
If the former, then absolutely. Go for it. If the latter … well, what’s your second favorite name? [name]Margot[/name]/Margeaux may just not be it.
I love both [name]Margot[/name] and [name]Margaux[/name], but I agree, I think [name]Margo[/name] is incomplete. It looks like someone took the “t” off to anglicize it or something. I can honestly say that I’ve never, ever thought of the [name]Margot[/name]/maggot connection. I always thought of [name]Margot[/name] as very elegant, which is not how I think of maggots! But if you can’t get this out of your head and you think the spelling looks cooler, then go with [name]Margaux[/name]. I agree, that spelling does look a bit more interesting. And no, Margeaux is not a viable spelling at all. One of the pronunciation rules in French is that the ‘g’ is softened by a vowel after it (as is also the case in English), so Margeaux would be pronounced Marzho (the soft ‘g’ is pronounced like the ‘z’ in azure in English). So that spelling really would be a faux French one whereas yours is completely legitimate because, after all, it’s a region in [name]France[/name].
Thanks for the replies. So would [name]Margaux[/name] be pronounced like [name]Margot[/name] in French? (I only ever took Spanish in school)
[name]How[/name] would Bordeaux be pronounced then? I don’t know. I really love the name but I don’t want a child to have some faux poi (sp) name that would be laughed at if chosen by a native French woman. You know what I mean? If only someone from [name]France[/name] could reply!
I guess the issue is that my husband really thinks a kid will get teased with the [name]Margot[/name] spelling and not so much that WE have a maggot association with the spelling. A nickname like maggot is something that could really easily stick and cause a kid grief. We both also just like the way the [name]Margaux[/name] spelling looks, but that was when we thought it was an authentic alternate spelling of the name and not just a wine. Like the difference between [name]Isolde[/name] and [name]Iseult[/name] and not [name]Madeline[/name] vs Maddylyn. Like if there was a famous bakery called Madylyn’s here, or a famous wine spelled that way it would still just look made up to anyone here.
Ok sorry for the rambling, I am not very good at articulating what I am trying to say in writing!
[name]Margot[/name] and [name]Margaux[/name] would be pronounced exactly the same way in French (mar-GO). Bordeaux still has a hard “d” with an “e” after it because there is no way to soften a “d” sound. It’s the same as English in this way. We soften our "g"s with "e"s as well. After all, “marriage” is pronounced mair-aj and not mair-agg. Only letters with a soft version, like “c” or “g” respond to these pronunciation rules though, which is why Bordeaux is unaffected but Nice has a soft “c” at the end rather than being pronounced “[name]Nick[/name].”
Anyway, I say don’t worry about it. [name]Do[/name] you travel in [name]France[/name] regularly? [name]Do[/name] you run into a lot of French people? I think the answer is probably no so just spell the name [name]Margaux[/name]. If you ever meet a French person who cares, just tell them you named your daughter in honour of the region in [name]France[/name] and what’s wrong with that? It’s like naming your child [name]London[/name] or [name]Boston[/name] or [name]Geneva[/name] or something and people do that all the time.
I think [name]Margaux[/name] is a pretty and unusual spelling of the name [name]Margot[/name] and totally legitimate seeing as it’s the name of an actual place in [name]France[/name]. It’s not like you’re trying to be tryndee by spelling the name Maargoe or something.
Thanks again for the support. I think something that may help me make up my mind is to see how many (if any) girls were given the spelling [name]Margaux[/name] in [name]France[/name].
Does anyone know of a link that shows name popularity charts for other countries? I would really appreciate it if you could link it for me!
Also, one final question, if you saw an American girl with the name spelled that way would you think it was tacky and pretentious? Overall I think people on this site have excellent taste in names so I really trust your judgement. While replies like " it’s your baby so you should name it what you love" are sweet, that could be said for almost any name and what I am looking for is your honest opinion. I’m tough- I can take it!
The site basically says the name is rare and was in use in 2007 (the last year for which this site offers stats). As you can see from the chart, only 53 children have been born in [name]France[/name] with that name since the late 1980s, when the name first registered on the charts The name peaked in 1989 with eight births and they don’t say what its ranking was in 2007. They offer a psychological profile on the name [name]Margaux[/name] that is the usual internet waffle, but I can loosely translate it for you if you like. There are only two comments on the name. One person says she hates it. The other says: “This is the name that we chose for our first daughter. My husband likes margaux (in moderation) and Iike it because of [name]Ernest[/name] [name]Hemingway[/name]. Additionally, this is a name from the south west where I am originally from. It’s a marvelous name and my granddaughter of 11 would not change it for anything in the world.”
So, basically, it’s not unheard of in [name]France[/name] but it’s not common. The site also offers information on [name]Margot[/name], Margaud and Margaut. The name [name]Margot[/name] is also considered rare (since 1900) but has enjoyed a recent upsurge in popularity, peaking in 1999 with 2003 births. In 2007 it was the 113th most popular name. Margaud peaked in 1993 with 18 births and was the 6207th most popular name in 2007. Margaut peaked in 2007 with 4 births. It is the 7738th most popular name.
Argh! This thread is totally bringing back all my frustrations when I was trying to decide about [name]Margo[/name]/[name]Margot[/name]/[name]Margaux[/name]. And, honestly? I still just don’t know! I think that the majority of people will think [name]Margaux[/name] is a very cool name and never have any thoughts as to its origin or authenticity. But I also think that your daughter will have to deal with a lot of misspelling issues, and personally, the authenticity thing would bother me. I could never name my child after a place that I have never visited, either, so the place-name connection doesn’t solve it for me. I really don’t know what my advice is, except that I do love [name]Margo[/name] in all its forms, and I do agree that [name]Margaux[/name] looks cool. I guess you just have to decide if that is enough for you.
[name]Do[/name] I think it looks tacky? No, not at all! [name]Do[/name] I think it looks pretentious? No, and I’ll say it again - [name]Margaux[/name] looks no more pretentious than something like [name]Eugenie[/name], which I wouldn’t say looks pretentious at all. Some might say that looks like an upper-crust British name and it would look silly on an American girl or a Canadian girl or whatever, but I disagree, honestly. [name]Just[/name] because the name might have been made “name-famous” by [name]Princess[/name] [name]Eugenie[/name] of [name]York[/name] - daughter of [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Ferguson[/name] - doesn’t make it pretentious. If so, we’d have to say that [name]Anne[/name] is pretentious, too, since it is the name of [name]Anne[/name], [name]Princess[/name] [name]Royal[/name], daughter of [name]Queen[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] II. For that matter, I guess [name]Elizabeth[/name] would be pretentious! Okay, I’m rambling…
[name]Margaux[/name] is quirky and sassy and I like it. So do you! Use it if you love it more than [name]Margot[/name] and [name]Margo[/name]. It’s more equivalent to a place name, I suppose, than a traditional name. Honestly, I like the simplicity of [name]Margo[/name], and that’s probably what I would use if I used the name, but my second choice would be [name]Margaux[/name], and I admire it’s spunky flair.
So I just checked out nathini’s website and it looks like she made an error in giving you the MASCULINE stats for [name]Margaux[/name]. Here is the feminine stats.
From this link you will see that [name]Margaux[/name] is actually about as common as [name]Margot[/name]. So, maybe I was wrong and [name]Margaux[/name] is totally acceptible in [name]France[/name]! Which puts you back to your original question-Is a baby [name]Margaux[/name] too pretentious for non-French parents?