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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Marian/Marion

27 replies

User764 · 25/08/2023 14:49

I seem to see 'Marianne' suggested reasonably often on here, but there don't seem to be many Marians/Marions (obviously pronounced differently to 'Marianne'). What do people think of the name?

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Inkypot · 25/08/2023 14:51

I jump straight to "it's Maid Marian and her merry men..." 🎵
But then I'm a child of the 80s, no kids now would make that reference!
It's kind of an older lady name to me and not one I could ever imagine giving a baby but having said that, all the older ladies must've been babies named Marian at some point so as with all baby names it is down to what you love and what you feel would suit your child 😊

Angie147836 · 25/08/2023 14:52

Awful! (And I'm called Angela - that's bad enough!).

Maybe I have negative associations though, as it was my first boss's name and she was so mean to me.

And yet I like Marianne / Marianna

Restinggoddess · 25/08/2023 15:03

Marion is my mother’s name - and it blew my mind as a kid to hear that it was also the real name of John Wayne

I like the way it looks when written
Its also different to all the popular girls names we get at the moment

Marian does remind me of Robin Hood but that’s not a bad thing - she was Lady Marian after all

Either is different to the current over popular names and will probably stand your DC in good stead

IsadoraQuagmire · 25/08/2023 15:14

I know a Marion about my age, mid 20s, and was at school with one too, when I about 12 (I think she was a Marion and not a Marian)
Very pretty name.

RitzyMcFitzy · 25/08/2023 15:16

I think of the Virgin Mary. I'm not hugely keen on it.

Neverseenbefore · 25/08/2023 15:17

I like it a lot, and it fits with the growing trend of simpler names.

Anotheranonymousname · 25/08/2023 15:37

I'm not a fan at all but then I'm not keen on names such as Lesley, Hilary or Lindsay which I think are similar.

Mary or Miriam are from the same root and I much prefer these.

toastofthetown · 25/08/2023 15:40

My main association with Marian is Marian Drăgulescu so I find it too masculine to like for a girl. But most people in the UK would view the name as exclusively feminine, so that’s more a me issue. I do like Miriam though.

thecatwiththesilveryfur · 25/08/2023 15:48

I absolutely love it, and very nearly used it for DD. Classy, beautiful name, excellent connotations.

thirdistheonewiththehairychest · 25/08/2023 15:55

My Grandma was a Marion and was an actual psychopath so it's a no from me.

Whatsthepoint1234 · 25/08/2023 16:11

To me it’s a late middle age kinda name. All the Marion’s I’ve met would now be aged about 55-63.

Bunnyhair · 25/08/2023 16:13

I love the name Marion. I always think it sounds dignified. Also like Miriam - I absolutely idolised a girl named Miriam in the year above me at school. She was tall and willowy and serene and very chic.

IsadoraQuagmire · 25/08/2023 16:14

RitzyMcFitzy · 25/08/2023 15:16

I think of the Virgin Mary. I'm not hugely keen on it.

That's the reason I AM keen on it 😊

EllaMenopee · 25/08/2023 16:15

Love Marian. I resent Marion, because people spell my lovely aunt's name that way, when she spells it with the -an end 😳

HamishTheCamel · 25/08/2023 16:17

I like it a lot - would spell it Marian. I really like Miriam too.

nameXname · 25/08/2023 20:13

Marion is a very, very old diminutive of Mary/Marie. Just like Manon. (Alison - a diminutive of Alice - follows the same pattern.)

Marian is an eastern-European verison of the ancient Roman male name Marianus.

Marianne is a combination of two female names Marie and Anne. It became popular after the French Revolution of 1789, when 'Marianne' became the personification of the newly liberated state.

Gowlett · 25/08/2023 20:16

Marian / Marion / Miriam / Mary would all have been popular in my mum’s generation, and widely used where I live. Lots of my mum’s friends would be called any of those four. Marianne is nice.

KirstenBlest · 25/08/2023 21:10

Marianna is awful. Marian is quite pretty. Not sure about Marion, Marianne a bit too frilly.
Maria is great.

TaigaSno · 25/08/2023 21:13

I love it, it sounds strong yet graceful to me. I would spell it Marian.

User764 · 25/08/2023 22:17

Interesting to hear the range of opinions on this! I think it sounds classic and feminine without being frilly, but also can't help thinking of Maid Marian. I don't find that a particularly problematic association, though.

OP posts:

Daisybuttercup12345 · 25/08/2023 22:24

Marian is pretty.
Marilyn?

Moveoverdarlin · 25/08/2023 22:28

I think they are both awful. Really really old fashioned, but not in a classic way like Elizabeth, Charlotte, Alice. Just dated and old fashioned. Bit like calling a little girl Marjory or Glenda.

freesiasandpeonies · 25/08/2023 22:30

Lovely - French and pretty. Makes me think of Marion Cotillard.

Liv999 · 25/08/2023 22:40

Awful, really frumpy names

user1492757084 · 26/08/2023 07:18

I like Marian.

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