I found rarely any threads on the name [name_f]Marine[/name_f] around so I thought I’d start one. I think [name_f]Marine[/name_f] is a beautiful [name_m]French[/name_m] name. It comes off as simple and classic to me. I wonder what the reception would be to the name in [name_u]America[/name_u]. It didn’t even cross my mind until I thought about the name for quite a while it has the potential to instantly remind someone of the [name_f]Marine[/name_f] branch of the military.
I’ve never met a [name_f]Marine[/name_f], only a [name_f]Marina[/name_f]. I definitely didn’t think about the military, only the ocean… which I don’t think is a bad thing.
I come from a military family- The Marines and the [name_u]Navy[/name_u]. Surprisingly I did not automatically think of the Marines when I first read [name_f]Marine[/name_f]. When speaking of the military’s branch I always say the Marines or he/she is in the US Marines. I first thought of the name [name_f]Marina[/name_f] (was a childhood friends name) and of the ocean when I read the name [name_f]Marine[/name_f]. I really like the name. Very elegant.
I’m from the east coast of [name_f]Canada[/name_f], and I don’t think of the military Marines (we don’t have Marines here) but I do think of ‘marine’ as kind of an adjective for lots of things here - a marine museum, a marine mammal, etc. - having to do with the ocean. I love the name [name_f]Marina[/name_f] (though I have heard some people complain that ‘marina’ is another word for ‘dock’) but I don’t think I’d use [name_f]Marine[/name_f]. It doesn’t have any negative connotations that I know of, it’s just very much a word rather than a name to me.
In English [name_f]Marine[/name_f] feels incomplete to me. I first read it and wondered if it was a mistype for [name_f]Marina[/name_f]. Then I read the first sentence of your OP and thought - “[name_f]Marine[/name_f] in [name_u]America[/name_u]” I wonder if that makes the name to masculine or meat heady - similar to naming your son [name_m]Gunner[/name_m] or [name_m]Ranger[/name_m] etc.
Then I thought of Aquamarines and then of the ocean. (But mostly because of the color of Aquamarines). Due to this thought process - and the amount of time it took me to get where you wanted me to be to begin with I’d probably avoid it. I’m not sing it’s unusable I’m just suggesting you might not get the reaction you are hoping for.
Also, remember you are asking a group of name nerds what we think - we are bound to see [name_f]Marina[/name_f] in [name_f]Marine[/name_f] before we think of the armed forces. There is a good chance the rest of [name_u]America[/name_u] might see this differently. I suggest utilizing the “Starbucks"-test and see how people react.