Still completely charmed by Mary Augusta, Chanel’s brilliant Mary double barrel, so I thought I’d do a post on some double Mary names. I’ll be honest, usually I’m not a fan of double barrels because I think they have a tendency to sound either too Catholic, too pretentious, or too twee. Can you imagine “Mary Beatrix, can you come here, dear? Mummy needs you to freshen her drink,” or see Mary Agnes without picturing a nun? It’s a fine line you need to walk to make a double Mary name work. Some barreled names, such as Marybeth and MaryAnn, have become decently popular “smush” names, so they are to be avoided as well. As for the hyphen: no! The hyphen is just awful, in my opinion. My hatred of punctuation in names does not stop at apastrophes.
I’m going to try my hand at some double barrels with Mary. I probably wouldn’t use a Mary- name, so these might get a little fanciful! I think Mary works best with an unexpected 2nd half:
- Mary Violet (saw this on a board I frequent and I love it)
- Mary Scarlett (ditto)
- Mary Alice (Love this)
- Mary Frances
- Mary Petra (Be still my beating heart! I love this one.)
- Mary Zelda
- Mary Charlotte
- Mary Eden
- Mary Iris
Of cpurse, there’s always the “First middle nickname” route. Mary Elizabeth called Mary Beth, Mary Katherine called Mary Kate. I think that’s a really good way to double barrel without fully committing, in case you’re not sure it would work for you. Mary Jane is beautiful too, but there’s that pesky drug connection. I’ve also got Mary Clementine knocking about, but I’m not convinced that it would be acually usable. Also, what would you do about middles with a double barrel first? I usually play with 3 name combos, so putting a middle in wouldn’t bother me, but if you ony want 2 names, do you add a middle or not? What are your opinions on hypenating the two names? What do you think of these names as a “genre?” I would love to hear your thoughts!
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 8:56 am
I saw a link to your blog on BNaBBT, and I love it! The synaesthesis thing is fascinating.
My favorite double-Mary name in this post is Mary Violet. I would like Mary Jane, but yeah…too bad.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Yeah, Mary Violet is tough to beat. It’s shaylea’s, isn’t it? I don’t remember. And I thought I recognized the avatar!
I’ll be adding you to my blogroll, okay?
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I read about a Mary Veronica in my alumni magazine. I don’t know the grad who used it for her daughter, but should I meet her, I will surely gush!
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Mary Veronica is lovely, but I wouldn’t double barrel it myself. Seems a bit of a mouthful. It’s gorgeous as a combo, though.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I’m Melian over on BNaBBT. Thanks for adding me! I’ve added you, as well. Great blog! 🙂
Saturday, February 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I like Mary with the T-enders. Mary Violet, Mary Scarlett, Mary Charlotte. T-enders sound so good as middle names (or by extension, the second half of a double-barreled name).
I also like Mary Alice. It’s so delightfully old-fashioned!
I think it’s fine to bestow a middle name with a double-barreled first, especially since you generally have three-name combos anyway. But just give one middle name here, not two.
Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Thanks Melian!
Emmy Jo: I think you may be right about the T enders. It lends a crispness that’s good. And I was leaning towards double barrel, one middle, myself. Double barrel two middles is definitely overkill!
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
My sister’s name is Mary-Helen. I see what you mean about punctuation, but she was named after my grandmother, who was so very irked when people called her “Mary” without the “Helen.” Frankly, when my sister writes her name, she doesn’t even include the hyphen. Personally, I quite like her name. Mary can be rather frilly when paired with things like Jane and Anne; Helen is solid enough to balance the duo. From yours, Mary Violet is very appealing. Violet has the edge there and the neon color, but isn’t lenghthy like Charlotte (Imagine having to write out Mary Charlotte all the time!). Second would be Mary Alice- dainty and old fashioned. She’s quite cute! 😀
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Thanks Ysa! Mary Helen is cute, albeit a bit old sounding (gotta keep honest here!). Your point about Mary Charlotte is one I hadn’t thought about, but a very good one. As a Catherine, I know the pain. I sign everything Catherine, and it does take a bit.
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
[…] Double Barrel Mary Names « Moniker Madness!I like Mary with the T-enders. Mary Violet, Mary Scarlett, Mary Charlotte. T- enders sound so good as middle names (or by extension, … […]
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 at 1:20 pm
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