Pros
I find it elegant and beautiful
Uncommon - Not in top 200
Spelling is less common
Appealing visual wise
Honors family
Cons
[name_f]Maddie[/name_f]
[name_f]May[/name_f] be misspelled as [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madilyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]…
[name_m]Said[/name_m] spellings are very common
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]
Pros
Various nicknames
Uncommon - Not in top 600
I find it beautiful and charming
honors family
Cons
Disqulifies other herb and/or nature names such as [name_m]Basil[/name_m]
People think of Rosemarys [name_u]Baby[/name_u]
I would list the same pros and cons, except for [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] not being in the Top 200. That spelling itself isn’t, but if you were to combine all 26 spellings (there may actually be more, but I found 26 on just a cursory search) of the name on the SSA list into one entry, it would be #9.
(Sidebar: Some of the spellings are really horrendous, particularly toward the bottom. Maddelynne, Madellyn, Madelinn, even [name_f]Madelon[/name_f], which sounds to me like some kind of metal alloy.)
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is absolutely gorgeous, one of my favourites. It’s so glamorous and old-lady and beautifully [name_m]French[/name_m], but usable anywhere, on any age. I can’t stand [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f] etc. ([name_u]Madison[/name_u] makes me want to cry). [name_f]Maddy[/name_f] is tolerable, but I’d use [name_f]Lina[/name_f]. I’m not sure how popular it is in the UK, but it’s US popularity puts me off.
I like [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] because it’s a smush of my grandmother’s middle names. It’s not my favourite [name_f]Rose[/name_f]- name, but I love that it’s a herb.
I don’t like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] in itself which puts me off, but it still sounds fresh and beautiful. [name_f]Love[/name_f] nickname [name_f]Rosie[/name_f].
but Madeleine makes me wary because if I have to teach one more Madison, Madelen, Maddie, Madi, I think I will scream. Madeleine is beautiful, but the nicknames are today’s Debbie and Missy.
Rosemary I love and also the nickname Romy.
I never think of Rosemary’s Baby when thinking of the name Rosemary. I think of the beautiful blue-flowered herb and of what a strong and elegant name it is!
I agree with the others that just because it’s spelled slightly differently doesn’t mean it’s a different name. No one is going to say, “Oh your name is [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]? Well that’s completely different from [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Madilyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madelynn[/name_f], [name_f]Madalyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madilynn[/name_f], [name_f]Madalynn[/name_f], Madelynne, Maddilyn, Madelin, Madelyne, Maddilynn, [name_f]Madaline[/name_f], [name_f]Madelaine[/name_f], etc.” (all of which had more than 50 girls with that spelling last year, a total of 12,424 total, making it #14 over all).
I’d definitely go with [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]. Hardly anyone under 35 is going to think of [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s baby first. I think of the herb and of people I’ve known with the name and of [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] before I’d even go there. Far fewer cons as far as I’m concerned.
I meant that the [name_m]French[/name_m] spelling is much more uncommon than the modern ones. It’s not used as much as [name_f]Madalyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] and the other various spellings.
I actually wouldn’t mind [name_u]Madison[/name_u] if it was used on boys. [name_f]Lina[/name_f] is sweet. I would prefer no nickname at all, but my family will most likely use [name_f]Maddie[/name_f].
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is beautiful but too common when all the various spellings are combined (I do like the [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] spelling best). I like [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and didn’t think of [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s [name_u]Baby[/name_u] until you mentioned it. Because of the popularity of [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] (et al), my vote goes to [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f].
I may have some insight on this as my name is [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], growing up (elementary/middle school age) I always wished I had a trendy name like [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], [name_u]Bailey[/name_u] or [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], now I am beyond grateful my parents gave me a classic name with some substance to it. I think it’s a name that ages really well, and there are a ton of nicknames you can use. When I was a baby my mom started calling me Roie (Row-ee) and that stuck through high school, most of my family and old friends still call me Roie. Once I hit college I decided Roie seemed a little young, and people just started calling me [name_f]Ro[/name_f]. [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] is also a good nickname choice, I hated it when I was little (I grew up in the 90s and always associated it with [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] O’[name_m]Donnell[/name_m] for some reason) but now I think it’s adorable and wish I had used it more when I was younger.
Other perks of the name are that I’ve only met a handful of other [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s in my life. So usually when I hear someone say my name, I know they’re talking to me. (On the rare occasion I’m out somewhere and hear someone say [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] not directed at me it always throws me off) haha.
Also, very few people my age make the association with [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s baby. When I was pregnant with my son my friends would joke about it and I’d just laugh. It’s all in good fun, really nothing serious
Good luck!
I actually plan to use both names. [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is for my grandmother. I’m absolutely going to use it despite it’s popularity. I love the name and it’s a great way to honor her. This isn’t a [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] vs [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] thread.
Thank you for your comment! I appreciate comments from people with the names I like and the ones who have used the names I like. It’s a great help. One of my favorite thing about [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] is the huge amount of nicknames it has. [name_f]Ro[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_u]Romy[/name_u], [name_f]Rosie[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f]…
Well I have cousins [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] both under the age of 10. [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is gorgeous and one of my favorites. I really like it. [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] I wasn’t too fond of when it was picked. I read a lot of murder mysteries from the 30’s and [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] is either the victim or just not very nice. And Hollywood could always do a remake of [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s [name_u]Baby[/name_u]. On the other hand since [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] was born, it’s risen 100 slots. It seems on the rise to me, but it’s risen and fallen before. [name_m]Both[/name_m] are nice choices.
Good luck!
I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] but have stricken it from my top list because I love [name_m]Basil[/name_m] so much. So funny to see you make the same association. Anyway, they are both lovely names but I find more pros for [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] - less popular, more versatile, excellent nicknames.
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is wonderful, no doubt, and I would have only pleasant associations for a baby [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. My main concern with [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] - other than popularity of all of the related names - is pronunciation. I think people would constantly be pronouncing it either MAD-uh-line or MAD-uh-linn. I know Madelines who get called MAD-uh-linn and Madelyns who get called MAD-uh-line, but I think that the proper pronunciation of [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] would get mangled even worse. Be prepared to correct people’s pronunciation a LOT! Or, if you spell it [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] and pronounce it the same as [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] or [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], be prepared to correct people’s spelling, instead — unless it’s actually being pronounced as [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] I wouldn’t think to spell it that way.
[name_m]Both[/name_m] are beautiful names and I basically agree with what everyone else has said.
I have always liked [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] (and this spelling and pronunciation is definitely my favourite of all the possible spellings - I can’t stand [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f]!). It’s pretty and feminine, but also strong. I also love [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] cakes so that is a good association for me However, I really don’t like nn [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and I think that having to share this nn with all the [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f] and Madalynns is a shame and the beauty of the name is kind of lost. If I could think of a nn that I liked and was less popular than [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] then it might be added it to my list.
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] is also a very pretty name. [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] is a great herb (I love it on Lamb!), it has many good nicknames, it’s a great way of honouring family if you have any relatives called [name_f]Mary[/name_f], like [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] I think it is strong but also feminine, I can’t really think of many negatives. [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]'s baby doesn’t seem like a strong association.
I prefer Rosemary. Obviously, since we used it. There are a good number of names she could go by if you used it - Rosemary, Rose, Rosie, Mary… I love that its a nature name but also a classic, that its so recognizable but still uncommon.
I don’t think of Rosemary’s baby (I’m in my mid-late 20’s), I definitely think of the herb first which makes it seem fresh and lush to me. Second, I think of the Virgin Mary (and I’m not Catholic but I still somehow love that)- I don’t know if its because Rosemary is supposed to be “her flower” or because I think of Rosaries or what.
Madeline doesn’t do it for me, I mean I think of the little girl in the french story but that’s the only appeal it has. I don’t love the sound, and it has a pretty spelling but you might spend forever TELLING people how to spell it because of all the variations. Not crazy about the nn Maddie, it’d get mixed in with all the Addies out there too.
Edit: Obviously there is a reason there are so many little Madelines out there (or versions of her) so it does have a wide appeal, just not to me. If you have your heart set on using it, use it! Neither name is awful & neither would be a poor choice.
I plan to use ma-də-LEN. It’s pronounced four different ways*, but I’m not worried about it.
If I met a little girl who pronounced it like that, I’d spell it [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], no question! [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] pronounced the other ways that would give me pause, because then I wouldn’t assume the [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] spelling. An aside: when I see [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], and [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] written in a row, [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] looks by far the nicest to me.
Popular or not, that is one nice family name to have in your corner.
Unfortunately, I hate the name [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], which is weird because I love [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. I really love [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] pronounced with the line not lyn. (see my signature!)
