Hi there! This is a real life scenario for a real baby girl (not a book character, cat/dog, etc.).
My husband and I want to name our daughter Magnolia, but we are having difficulty with middle names. The baby is due in December/January so we are running low on time. I had thought about “May,” as a middle name because I like the double M sound of Magnolia May, but I wonder if this is strange for a baby born in the winter? My only other thought is that the middle name should be relatively simple/short, since Magnolia is a long first name. Our last name starts with Z to the extent it matters.
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] is gorgeous. I think [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] is adorable and [name_f]May[/name_f] is namey enough to work outside of the month. I have an acquaintance who has a daughter born on NYE named M@rley M@y and nobody comments on the middle name being M@y!
I like @Greyblue suggestion of [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] very pretty.
You’ve had lots of lovely suggestions so count any repeats as me being in agreement with the berries
I don’t think it’s much of a problem. [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] is beautiful! You could spell it [name_f]Mae[/name_f] to make it less tied with the month if you like that spelling.
I do think [name_f]May[/name_f] is too similar to the beginning of [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]. When I first saw or mentioned I thought you were writing about a nickname. I love [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] nickname [name_f]May[/name_f].
Other ideas;
[name_f]Martine[/name_f]
[name_f]Mattea[/name_f]
[name_f]Marcelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Millie[/name_f]
[name_f]Gem[/name_f]
[name_f]Pomme[/name_f]
[name_f]Dawn[/name_f]
[name_u]Lane[/name_u]
[name_u]Camille[/name_u]
[name_u]Harmony[/name_u]
[name_u]Remi[/name_u]
[name_u]Jamie[/name_u]
[name_f]Tamsin[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f]
Congrats and I love [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]!
I agree that something short pairs well with [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f], but [name_f]May[/name_f] is not odd at all for a winter baby. I rather love the sound of [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] Z….
For an alternate, I second (or third) the suggestion of [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]. It gives the sound or [name_f]May[/name_f], keeps the double M’s, but maybe takes away the season reference that you don’t like?
Go with [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f]! I think it’s a very charming name and don’t find the [name_f]May[/name_f] born in winter odd in the middle spot.
I think [name_f]May[/name_f] is distinct enough from [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] to work just fine, and I don’t think her being a winter baby is a concern. It did me think of the slang term [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] (old school slang for a sex worker in the UK) but I don’t know how well known that is where you’re based.
If you’re worried about that association, I think the earlier suggestion [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is a nice solution.
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] or [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] would be my choices!
[name_f]Mae[/name_f] changes the meaning to “pearl” from [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. You could even go with [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] and call her [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] or even [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] as a nickname (if you were fine with settling on a longer middle.)
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]? (Too many Ms for me, but I saw [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] as a suggestion)
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Freya[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]Theo[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]Scout[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] Ivy/ [name_f]Iris[/name_f] (idk about two different plant names lol)
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] (still technically a plant name, but it’s welsh for elm tree so it’s not that known as a plant name)
I like [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] the best, I think it’s super cute
Thanks so much for your thoughts. Unfortunately, my husband and I discovered that the term “Maggie May/Mae” is [name_f]British[/name_f] slang for prostitute and that there are songs by both the Beatles and [name_m]Rod[/name_m] [name_m]Stewart[/name_m] named [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] May/Mae on this topic. We were going to use [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] as the nickname for [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f], so now May/Mae is no longer an option for us.
I appreciate the suggestion of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], but it feels very [name_u]Irish[/name_u] (which we are not).
Our current thoughts include:
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_u]Louise[/name_u]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] (my husband likes this, I do not).