One of the names we are considering is [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] (a combo of my mom’s middle and my [name_f]MIL[/name_f]'s middle name) or [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] (would likely call her [name_f]Marie[/name_f] for short). I can’t for the life of me come up with a middle name that flows. Any thoughts? I love the name [name_f]Mae[/name_f] but don’t think it fits at all with [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f].
Also, what are your thoughts on hyphens? Pretentious or okay?
I am personally not too fond of smooched or hyphenated names. I would go with [name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] _____. I have several combos on my short list like this; [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] “[name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]”, [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] “[name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]”, [name_f]Edie[/name_f]/[name_f]Indie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] “[name_f]Edie[/name_f]/[name_f]Indie[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]”, [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] “[name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]”, etc.
Without knowing your style or names you like -
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Maebry? - I prefer the sound of a 1/2/2 syllable count over 1/2/1.
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_u]Eloise[/name_u]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Adeline[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Aveline[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Annabel[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabel[/name_f]
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
I quite like hyphenated names myself, but a lot of the ones I like are pretty cutesy ([name_u]Darcey[/name_u]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Lola[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f], etc.). [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] works imo, but I feel like it would be tricky to find a middle for it, as both are commonly middle names (a common problem for myself - I can never find a middle I like for [name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f] or [name_f]Grace[/name_f]).
I’m not usually a fan of cutesy hyphenated names (e.g [name_f]Toni[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f]) but I think that [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] goes really well together! I think the hyphen looks a lot nicer than 2 names together (they usually just look smooshed).
[name_f]May[/name_f] doesn’t go too well as a middle name sadly. I think having [name_f]Marie[/name_f] in the name does make finding a middle name that flows quite difficult!
I think hyphen or two separate names but not smooshed into one. My friends are [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Ellen[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f], no hyphens, and always called their full names - never just the first, just sometimes their pet names. My point is, you don’t need a hyphen to get people to use both names but a hyphen makes it easier to expect people will use both without being told!
Personally I am not a fan of hyphenated names and in this case I would go with [name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as in [name_m]French[/name_m] [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] would be a male name. (The gender of the first name in a [name_m]French[/name_m] hyphenated names determines whether the name is masculine or feminine; so [name_m]Marc[/name_m]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] is male while [name_f]Marie[/name_f]-[name_m]George[/name_m] is female. And since [name_u]Jean[/name_u] is also a [name_m]French[/name_m] masculine name [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] would be male). So I can imagine the name [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] might cause some confusion in Francophone countries.
Thanks for the suggestions! I think I like [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], [name_f]Elise[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]-clearly something about the E appeals to me!
I understand that you will be pronunciating [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] in English, however I’m [name_m]French[/name_m] Canadian and here (and in [name_f]France[/name_f]/Haiti) it is a male name. And pretty popular in men 40-80. So I would recommend [name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] without the hyphen!
As for a middle, I’m a vote for [name_f]Elise[/name_f], but way biased as that’s the name we have chosen for our daughter coming in [name_u]March[/name_u]!
I actually like [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] without the hyphen or separation.
For middle names, I like [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] [name_f]Suzette[/name_f], [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] [name_u]Patrice[/name_u], and [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] [name_f]Martine[/name_f].
Would you consider Marjean instead? I also really like [name_f]Marjolaine[/name_f] and that could be an honor name too. I do know men named [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_f]Marie[/name_f] so I’d probably put it together [name_f]Jeanmarie[/name_f] and I like [name_f]Claire[/name_f] as a simple mn.