My husband and I have had the name Maybellene picked out for a baby girl for about 10 years…(after the chuck berry song) The song came out in 1955 and the make up company has been around since 1924.
Now we are thrilled that we are expecting a girl for our second baby and wanted to use the name. Neither of us has ever met anyone with the name. …We plan to nickname her Maybe (Mabie, [name_f]Maeby[/name_f]) not sure about spelling…I know there are a lot of negitive comments online having to do with the similarities with the make up company-however i dont think that is a negitive thing? I just worry about the ‘jingle’ of the commercials…And this makes me worry about teasing…
We can also spell it different than the song Maybellene, Mabelene, I am open to suggestions (it is a little closer to [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] less like the make up company)
Hmm… I think that no matter how you spell it, Maybellene/Mabelene will immediately make people think of the make up brand, and I guess that’s something that you decide is worth it (and that your child will be fine with the constant comparisons). Personally, my favourite spelling would be Mabelene, as I think [name_f]Maeby[/name_f] could be a plausible nickname for it and it looks significantly different to the brand name. I’d also like to suggest [name_f]Belle[/name_f] as a nickname. Another name similar to Mabelene would be Aibileen, like the character in ‘The Help’, pronounced like Mabelene without the M. Abelene/[name_u]Abilene[/name_u] would honour the song but also be a distinct name in itself, with the cute nickname [name_u]Abby[/name_u].
I’d also suggest giving her a more ordinary middle name (like [name_f]Rose[/name_f]) so that if, in the future, she had the opinion to go by her middle name. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!
i very much agree with the previous poster. I do think that she would get annoyed with makeup comments and jingles being sung at her. I understand your love of this name though, it does sound pretty. Could you not call her [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] and nn her mabellene at home? Or use the alternative name suggested above.
I do understand your issue though, [name_f]Flora[/name_f] is a name I love however there is a brand of margarine in the UK with this brandname. It also has the catchy advertising phrase ‘easily spreadable’ which may cause all kinds of awful teasing for her. I think I will just have to move on or adopt a cat xxx
I’m a big fan of [name_f]Mae[/name_f] names and have toyed around using this. Ultimately, I decided against it because of the ribbing that most likely would happen. I know we all think our children are beautiful but what happens if your Maybelline isn’t to others?
[name_f]May[/name_f] I suggest [name_f]Maebelle[/name_f]? Pronounced may-[name_u]BELL[/name_u]. A pretty alternative that you can still use the nickname [name_f]Maeby[/name_f].
I really like the suggestion @lovebugsmama gave of [name_f]Maebelle[/name_f]…it’s still a beautiful name that will give you the [name_f]Maeby[/name_f] nickname you like.
Naming her Maybellene seems like it might put a lot of pressure on her…it’s so strongly tied to a universally recognized company that I think pretty much EVERYONE she comes across in her life will at least comment “Oh, like the make up company?” and, unfortunately, a lot of people will make fun of her for it.
Ultimately, do you want to do that to her? I’d really urge you to think about using [name_f]Maebelle[/name_f] or putting Maybellene in the middle name spot. Girls and young women today already have so much pressure placed on them to be perfect and beautiful by societies skewed standards, that I’d worry a name like Maybellene may just cause more problems than it’s worth. [name_f]Maeby[/name_f] is an adorable name though, it reminds me of [name_f]Mae[/name_f] Mobley from The Help.
I personally wouldn’t use it- I like the song, but my first association is the makeup company. Essentially, everyone’s first association is a high street / cheap / pharmacy / supermarket makeup brand, and, on top of that, it isn’t even the original spelling either. To say the least, it isn’t super classy (sorry :(). No matter how you spell it, you are not going to get rid of that association- aurally, it is still Maybelline. Whilst it isn’t a ‘negative’ association, per say (à la [name_u]Sweeney[/name_u] [name_m]Todd[/name_m] with [name_u]Sweeney[/name_u]), it comes off as a bit tacky and unprofessional, a bit like naming your child [name_f]Sephora[/name_f], [name_f]Ikea[/name_f] or Kmart- I hate to be this blunt and I am very, very sorry if I’ve offended you.
Maybe you could name her something like [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], with the middle name containing the ‘een’ or ‘leen’ sound, so that you can nickname her Maybelline / Maybellene, for example:
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_f]Selene[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_f]Angeline[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_u]Abilene[/name_u], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_u]Aberdeen[/name_u], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] [name_f]Isabelline[/name_f], etc.
Another idea would be to use the name [name_f]Beline[/name_f], possibly with middle name [name_f]May[/name_f], so then you can still have Maybelline as a pet name. You could even use [name_f]May[/name_f] with the middle name [name_f]Bellina[/name_f] (I would probably stay away from [name_f]Beline[/name_f] as a middle name in this case though).
I’m super sorry to be such a [name_f]Debbie[/name_f] Downer, but I am just giving my honest opinion and I sincerely hope that I haven’t offended you.
Good luck with your hunt for names!
