We will be calling our girl by her middle name like our others children. Trying to decide between these two names still.
Pros of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] for us
[name_f]Katherine[/name_f] has a very good name meaning (pure)
Its been a name we thought we would always use
Cons
We have a [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] so the [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] makes me think of pride and prejudice and the two younger wilder sisters [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] and [name_f]Kitty[/name_f]
[name_f]Katherine[/name_f] seems to be more popular now then [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_f]Mary[/name_f]
Pros
A family name on both sides
My husbands grandmothers name, a really sweet lady ( We found out we were pregnant with this one the weekend of her passing
Most of our children names have come from my side of family not his
A name that is underused now
Like [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] its a Biblical name
cons
Still struggle a bit with the known meaning of the name (bitter) as meanings are important to us . I have heard that it actually came from the Egyptian root word meaning beloved but thats not the meaning everyone knows.
I prefer [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] personally, but after reading your lists of pros and cons, I would choose [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. There seems to be more sentiment for you with that name.
I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is a prettier combo/flows better. I also like the family connection. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] has much stronger associations than the ‘bitter’ meaning, based on its history. I think you should focus on other meanings it holds for you.
Style-wise I prefer [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], but [name_f]Mary[/name_f] has a lot of significance for you and I like that. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] also flows better than [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f], which is a lot of name. I don’t think the Pride & Prejudice association will be very strong as you will call your girl by her middle name.
I’ve never seen the spelling [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] before by the way, it’s beautiful but I think it might get misspelled because people will mistake it for [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f] or [name_f]Eleonora[/name_f], just a heads up
I would choose [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. It’s a beautiful classic that’s hardly ever used today. I don’t think she will run into very many other [name_f]Marys[/name_f] at school. It seems [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] is much more popular. I have a very common name and didn’t like it growing up so I always like more uncommon names.
Well, I prefer [name_f]Mary[/name_f] because [name_f]Maria[/name_f] is my favorite girls’ name (I named my only daughter [name_f]Maria[/name_f] back in 1998). Both names are classic and pretty, but I see on your list that [name_f]Mary[/name_f] has more pros than [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]. I read MarieLalie’s comment on [name_f]Mary[/name_f]'s name page, this comment offers information on the name’s meaning.
Here’s the link :
Good [name_m]Luck[/name_m],
[name_f]Leonora[/name_f]!
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is very beautiful. It has a lot of emotional connection to you and you don’t hear the meaning of names in everyday life.
Best of luck!
Thanks everyone! You were very Helpful! I feel better about the meaning as well now,[name_m]German[/name_m] [name_f]Star[/name_f]! I think it is what was holding us back. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] it is!!
I prefer [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], but [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Eleonora[/name_f] flows better and seems to carry more meaning for you personally.
But [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is one of the sisters’ names in P&P!
And in P&P, the character is [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], not [name_f]Katherine[/name_f].
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is a name I call a “murmur name”. There are no hard consonants, and the first and middle run together while your mouth stays open. I prefer the clear and distinct flow of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] [name_f]Elenor[/name_f], but I think [name_f]Katharine[/name_f] [name_f]Elenor[/name_f] is much prettier, with the ‘A’.
[name_f]Katharine[/name_f] [name_f]Elenor[/name_f] is such a gorgeous name!
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] has a few different meanings not just bitter. It also is known to mean “star of the sea,” “living fragrance” and possibly even from the same roots as [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] meaning “wished for child.”
It’s a darling name and perfect with [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]!
I like the sound of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f], but like [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] better as a full name. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is also a [name_m]Bennet[/name_m] sister (personally, I find her even more annoying than [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] and [name_f]Kitty[/name_f], lol), but not as strongly attached to the terrible decisions that [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] made. I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] would be a sweet double-barrel, too!
As long as you don’t use [name_f]Kitty[/name_f] as a NN, I think [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] and [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] is great. I’ve heard that [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (and a lot of [name_f]Mar[/name_f]- names) are related to a name meaning “of the sea”, but I think that meaning could be disputed.
I agree with the others, though, that [name_f]Mary[/name_f] seems to be the clear winner to you. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is great, and works really well with [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]!
In general, I definitely prefer [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] to [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. That being said, I think [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is a better fit for you and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is a beautiful combo.
I feel that you will regret not honoring your husband’s grandmother. My grandfather died the day before my son was born. Immediately upon delivering my son, I knew his middle name was suppose to be the same as my grandfather’s. You will never regret using a family name. It seems that everyone that I know that has an honor name, the child is a bit like the person that they were named after. [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Elenora[/name_f] is sure to be as sweet as her great grandmother!