What IS it with Marie??

Had supper with a good friend and her husband last night who are expecting a girl. In the course of the meal I casually asked her what their daughter’s middle name would be (they’ve settled on [name_u]Sage[/name_u] for first) and she replied, somewhat sheepishly, “[name_f]Marie[/name_f].” When I gave her a despairing look, she held up her hands and said “I know, I know - but we just couldn’t seem to think of anything better.”

Why is [name_f]Marie[/name_f] SO popular - almost a default reaction? It’s my middle name, AND HER middle name, now her daughter’s middle name, and the middle name of about every third woman and girl you ask. And yet you almost never hear it as a first name option. It puzzles and fascinates me. There are plenty of beautiful, melodious, easy-to-spell choices out there that get completely passed over.

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The reason is 1) it is short 2) emphasized on the second syllable and 3) starts with M, so very few first names ending sound will slur with its beginning

Not to mention, it’s [name_m]French[/name_m], and a variation of [name_f]Mary[/name_f], which may be the most ubiquitous name of all time. Likewise, it’s past it’s prime as a first name, but still has history as a middle, so many people give their daughter mn [name_f]Marie[/name_f] after Grandma [name_f]Marie[/name_f] (or [name_f]Mary[/name_f]) or Grandma _________ [name_f]Marie[/name_f]. I think all this combines to produce an endless filler middle name train wreck that spirals out of control.

The remedy I recommend is [name_f]Elise[/name_f]. [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] would be lovely, if your friend is open to some more unique suggestions. Shares many of [name_f]Marie[/name_f]'s ideal qualities.

[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to pipe in and say I love the [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] option!

It could be a generational idea - my godparents recently welcomed a daughter, named [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Marie[/name_f]. [name_f]Marie[/name_f] is my godmother’s middle name, her mother’s middle name, my godfather’s mother’s middle name, and my godfather’s sister’s middle name. They chose it because, for the most part, every first born/only female on both sides had [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as a middle name.

[name_f]My[/name_f] mother’s family is similar with [name_f]Anne[/name_f] - my great grandmother was [name_f]Lillian[/name_f], my grandmother has [name_f]Anne[/name_f] as a middle name, my aunt has [name_f]Anne[/name_f], my mum has [name_f]Ann[/name_f], and my cousin has [name_f]Anne[/name_f].

Tradition can be a very, very big thing for some, which would explain the overabundance of [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], etc in the middle spot.

Another, could be as simple as a lack of originality. I was born in 1995, and, most of my female classmates had [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_u]Lynn[/name_u], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as their middle name;

[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] [name_u]Lynn[/name_u]
[name_f]Emily[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_f]Brooklin[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]
[name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] [name_f]Marie[/name_f]
[name_f]Danielle[/name_f] [name_u]Lynn[/name_u]
[name_f]Brittany[/name_f] [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] [name_f]May[/name_f]

and so on and so forth.

Thanks to two courses I took in grade 11 that involved names ([name_f]Media[/name_f] Studies, our teacher had us do a name background assignment to introduce ourselves, and in Living and Working with Children, we had to actually do a paper on our favourite names and discuss our own names), I learned that, for the most part, every girl in my school had one of 6 middle names, and the answers they received from their parents were similar to ‘It was all we could think of’ or ‘It’s a family name’.

I actually [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] in the first name spot…but I agree that it’s way over done in the middle name spot.

Haha, I agree. [name_f]Marie[/name_f]'s my middle name, but I’m starting to see its merits. It sounds really good with a lot of names (although I don’t happen to think it sounds good with mine). I’m okay with [name_f]Marie[/name_f] in the right combo. :). I agree with [name_f]Larissa[/name_f]'s explanation, though. In addition to [name_f]Elise[/name_f], I would add [name_f]Camille[/name_f] and [name_f]Noelle[/name_f] and even [name_f]Lisette[/name_f]. I think [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Camille[/name_f] or [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Lisette[/name_f] would be adorable!

On my grandma’s baptism certificate, that’s her middle name.

Ha. Maybe it’s where I lived or the time I was born, but I had quite a number of friends growing up who DID have [name_f]Marie[/name_f] for a first name.

I have a sweet spot for [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as a girls name as it was my grandmothers name and I’ve always thought it was pretty, but also simple. I can understand why it’s used often but I agree that it’s overused. However, I would personally rather see [name_f]Marie[/name_f] than [name_f]Mae[/name_f]/[name_f]Grace[/name_f]/[name_f]Rose[/name_f] which all feel way more popular! (In [name_f]England[/name_f], anyway!).

It was a top contender for our daughter’s first name; truly one of my favorite names. We both liked [name_f]Elise[/name_f] better, though. So…bam. Into the middle spot went [name_f]Marie[/name_f].

Maybe it’s a second-favorite name for lots of people. Easy to see why. It’s got a pleasing sound and is a short spelling jump from the historically ubiquitous [name_f]Mary[/name_f].

My middle name is Marie along with my aunt, cousin, and older sister while my mom, another one of my cousins, and my grandmother have a variation of Marie as a first name. Quite of few people have the name on my mom’s side of the family and I have met many people with it outside of my family as well. I think Marie is a very pretty name and I love it despite it being common. I see nothing wrong with using it.

I definitely agree- it does seem to be a filler middle name. If your friend is open to suggestions of a way to honour a [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Marine[/name_f] would be nice, and still have the same flow. There are so many options out there, and people often pick names like [name_f]Marie[/name_f] or [name_f]Anne[/name_f], because it fits, they didn’t know what else to do, etc. I mean, it is fine if you love the name, but most people who have picked it generally don’t love it. If you want to honour a family member, I like looking at feminine variations of male names (e.g: [name_f]Petra[/name_f] for [name_m]Peter[/name_m]), maiden names (my grandmother’s was [name_u]Kato[/name_u]), names with the same meaning or a similar sound ([name_f]Madrigal[/name_f] for [name_f]Magdalen[/name_f], etc.), variations of the name or names that meant something to the person (e.g: [name_f]My[/name_f] great grandmother was born in [name_f]Florence[/name_f], so I might consider using that.)

Eh, why not.
I think it’s dull but not everybody is into naming and [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] is pretty.

Can you not suggest a couple more? Like ‘‘oh I’ve always loved [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]/[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]/[name_f]Elise[/name_f]/[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] as a middle name’’, I don’t think it would be too hard.

I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s a solid classic, works with most names and is generally well-liked, thus it gets used a lot. Not everyone strives to be original and not everyone can easily agree on a first name, let alone a middle. And as middle names generally serve little purpose in life, you can expect that some people won’t put as much time and effort into choosing something. I also think that, as parents become more adventurous with first names, they stick to the classics for middles.

So I actually like it with [name_u]Sage[/name_u]. With an unusual unisex first name, [name_f]Marie[/name_f] really grounds it. And it’s a family name to boot. Top marks, I say.

I agree with this! There’s nothing “wrong” with using [name_f]Marie[/name_f] just because its so popular. I’ve read that its the accent on the second syllable that makes it flow so nicely with a lot of first names. I have [name_f]Maree[/name_f] as a middle name, as does my mother - so might well use it in the future if I have another daughter. I don’t love it though, so might use [name_f]Maria[/name_f] instead because I like it better and it has added meaning my favourite movie character.

I think it’s kind of a circular thing. [name_f]Marie[/name_f] became popular for the reasons people have stated (sounds good with everything, sort of like [name_f]Mary[/name_f]) and then once it was popular, it stayed popular because everyone chose to honor Aunt ___ [name_f]Marie[/name_f] and Grandma [name_f]Marie[/name_f], etcetera etcetera.

Personally, I’m sick to death of it. It’s just nauseatingly ubiquitous. I remember looking through the program at my high school graduation and rolling my eyes at the sheer number of ____ [name_f]Maries[/name_f]. It feels to me sort of like choosing the default option, like not bothering to actually think. If it were up to me, I’d rather have no middle name at all, tbh.

I realize that that sounds really harsh. I have nothing against the actual name, I’m just beyond sick of hearing it in the middle spot.

I’m a middle-named [name_f]Marie[/name_f]. I may be a bit biased but I don’t think it’s that bad. For me it at least is a family name and has a relgious meaning ([name_f]Mary[/name_f] - I’m Catholic). I actually haven’t heard many little middle-named [name_f]Marie[/name_f]'s lately. [name_f]Every[/name_f] other baby girl I hear of being born (and that’s a lot, I’m at that age!) is either [name_f]Grace[/name_f] or even MORE so, [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is everywhere lately; so much that I feel the same way about it that you do [name_f]Marie[/name_f]

No one in my whole extended family has it as a middle name. (or a first name). It’s just not done. [name_u]Ever[/name_u]. It’s not a name with cultural grounding for my side of the family.

So for a long time as a name-obsessed teen and even in my early 20s, I found it fascinatingly pretty and thought I was doing something really interesting by considering it. Yeah. You can laugh if you want. :slight_smile:

I still rather like it as a first name, it has some of the same unexpected quality as [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Jane[/name_f] as a FN.

For middles I [name_f]DO[/name_f] like the second-syllable flow, but I would be likelier to consider [name_f]Celeste[/name_f], [name_f]Raquel[/name_f], [name_f]Sinead[/name_f], [name_f]Tamar[/name_f], [name_f]Roisin[/name_f], etc. The ones my husband has banned outright are [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f].

I have never met another girl who had my middle name. It’s not a girls’ name. I do like giving a girl a girl’s middle name.

I would use [name_f]Marie[/name_f] because it is a family name and just a beautiful name. [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] is a favorite combo of mine. But there is an aunt on husband’s side named [name_f]Maria[/name_f] whom I don’t like so I doubt I would ever use the combo but use [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as a middle name.

I think if a little girl has two middle names, [name_f]Marie[/name_f] can sound quite fresh, but it is a bit overused.
It’s [name_f]Anne[/name_f] in my family. I thank my parents daily that they decided to end that tradition with me