My husband and I are currently TTC our first baby and we’re narrowing in on our final names. I know I want to use either [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] for our first girl, in part to honor my grandmother [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. But I go back and forth on which I like more.
[name_f]Mary[/name_f]- I love the sweet simplicity of this name. To me it’s a “grand old name,” just like the song says. My husband thinks it’s too plain/common, but he knows names are a big deal to me so he’s fine with using it. The thing is though, I feel like most of our friends and family are going to agree with him. In a way this doesn’t bother me, because I think that anyone who doesn’t like this name is just wrong 
But I guess maybe it does bother me a little bit, you know? Another thing is that It ranks within the top 50 in our state for popularity, which is higher than I would prefer. If we use [name_f]Mary[/name_f] then I’m pretty sure [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] would be the middle, and I like that there would be some built in nicknames there if she grew up and decided she wanted something more distinctive ([name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Belle[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elle[/name_f], etc).
[name_f]Marielle[/name_f]- I think this name is very pretty, and almost every comment I’ve been able to find about it online has been positive. But I just don’t know if I love it as much as I love [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. I’m also not sure I like how it sounds with our one-syllable last name. Something about the rhythm just sounds off to me (I’m pronouncing it [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_f]EL[/name_f]). It’s been hard to come up with middle names for it that sound good and are also meaningful, which is important to me. However, I do like that it’s uncommon yet not weird, and I like how feminine it sounds.
One other option I’ve considered is [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. I really like this, but at the same time I feel like using [name_f]Grace[/name_f] in a double barrel name is way overdone.
Tl;dr - Is [name_f]Mary[/name_f] too plain? Does [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] sound weird with a one syllable surname? Is [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] too obvious of a combo?
I used to think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] was plain as well, but now it has so many positives: it’s sweet, ancient, simple, clean, literary, historical. It has a lot of namesakes, so it can’t be associated with just one person. I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] is wonderful. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] is a little predictable, for me, but I don’t think it’s bad at all.
I don’t think you should worry too much about the popularity of [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. My own name was #33 in my state the year I was born, and I have seldom shared it with anyone in my class or at work, and I have never once had to go by an initial or nickname to avoid confusion.
[name_f]Marielle[/name_f] is very frilly and sweet, and I love the way it sounds; however, it doesn’t have as much grounding as [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. I prefer [name_f]Mariella[/name_f] over [name_f]Marielle[/name_f], but I don’t know how you feel about that one. [name_f]Mariella[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]? I think that is a lovely name.
If I had to choose for you, I’d choose [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]. Using the exact name of your loved one always seemed the best way to honor them to me, and using [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] probably feels like a stretch to you, like you’re just stretching to please everyone else and not yourself, because you are already happy with [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. So what if they think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is a little plain? It ain’t their baby. And when [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is born and she’s happy and bright and strong, they’ll think it’s great.
I love [name_f]Mary[/name_f], but [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] is so beautiful. I think it’s fine with a one-syll surname. [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] feels unique but not unfamiliar, and feels peaceful, reminds me of sunshine.
Both names have merits, but my personal preference is for [name_f]Marielle[/name_f]. My preferred spelling is [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] though, which I think also gives you more leeway with the rhythm with your surname? I also love [name_u]Marian[/name_u], and thought I’d mention [name_f]Maribel[/name_f] as a combination of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] that’s really charming and sweet ^^
As for picking, I would really look at potential future siblings. If your list is filled with classics like [name_f]Edith[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_m]Philip[/name_m], [name_m]Edmund[/name_m], [name_m]Colin[/name_m], [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] and [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is definitely the way to go.
If not, I think [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] would be the more versatile of the two and also the better pick.
[name_f]Marielle[/name_f] definitely. Are you guys [name_f]Christin[/name_f]/Catholic or would consider putting her in [name_f]Christin[/name_f]/Catholic school? I’m asking because [name_f]Mary[/name_f] would cause a lot of issues then (personal experiences) with teasing. I would see [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] and [name_f]Bella[/name_f] or [name_f]Marielle[/name_f] and [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] as siblings.
Thank you all for your responses. It’s a tough decision because I really do like both names in different ways. We are Christians but not Catholic, so I’m really more concerned about the popularity of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] in our circle of friends than about teasing. I can only think of one child that I know of named [name_f]Mary[/name_f], but I also don’t know that many children, so it’s just hard to tell how common it really is.
I really like [name_f]Mariel[/name_f], which I would pronounce like [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] with an M, but DH said it sounds like a cartoon character to him (I think because it reminds him of [name_u]Ariel[/name_u], the little mermaid). I had also thought about [name_f]Mariella[/name_f], which I agree is lovely, but I think it’s a little too long for us. I’m also concerned that it would end up getting shortened to [name_f]Mary[/name_f] a lot, which isn’t bad since I obviously love that name too, but if she’s going to be called [name_f]Mary[/name_f] I’d rather have that just be her name. [name_u]Marian[/name_u] might be a possibility depending on what DH thinks. I suggested [name_f]Marabelle[/name_f] to him before, which I think is just darling, but he vetoed 
As far as other names we like for future children, [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] will be our first boy. Some others we’ve talked about are [name_u]Everett[/name_u], [name_m]Leo[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], and [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] for boys, and [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]/[name_f]Celia[/name_f], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f]/[name_f]Rosa[/name_f], and [name_f]Esther[/name_f] for girls.
Personally [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is probably still my favorite, but I guess it’s a little sad to me that most people don’t seem to find it as beautiful as I do.
[name_f]Marielle[/name_f] is very pretty, but [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is a truly perfect name. It’s sweet, classic, perfect for any age, Biblical, etc. it’s one of my top 5 names.
You can’t go wrong with [name_f]Mary[/name_f].