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I like Bridget quite a lot. I feel like it's one of those names that is uncommon but familiar. I think it ages quite well -- I can imagine a young Bridget, a middle-aged Bridget, and an elderly Bridget.

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The only Bridget I know spells it "Bridgette".

I find both Bridget and Gretchen to be ugly but not charming. Bridie is the most adorable nn of all time, though. Shame it has never really caught on here.

I LOVE the name Bridget. I have an aunt I'm close to and that is her name. Bridget is high on my list for a girl, but unfortunately my SO hates it and thinks it's 'clunky' sounding.

Agree with the ugly charm thing. I like it too and I'm not sure why, because the 'idge' in it is definitely not the prettiest of sounds. Yet there's something sturdily appealing about it, and even though the only one I've ever met was a grumpy old Irish lady I can see it working well on a kid.

I love Bridget. I can't say that I know anyone with the name but I still love it.

I've known a few Bridgets of various spellings. I think somebody I went to school with named her daughter Bridget about eight or ten years ago but I can't be sure.

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I used to like it somewhat but now I don't. It sounds like a frog.

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I used to work with a Bridgette, pronounced just like Bridget. She's probably sixty now. How she got her name is interesting. She was named after her mother, Anne Marie. In eighth grade she was playing charades with her friends and did a Brigitte Bardot impression that was evidently very good, and her friends started calling her Bridget. (Not sure how they spelled it.) Within a couple years even her parents had quit calling her Anne Marie and called her Bridgette. The changeover was so complete that when her youngest sister was born when Bridgette was 15, her parents named the baby Anna, which they would not have done if she was still going by Anne Marie.
She was called Bridgette exclusively from then on, but only got around to making it legal and official a few years ago.

I've only known one - a rather dumpy, ordinary-looking woman who was such a brilliant actress that she could make you believe she was anything at all. I like it, but not enough to use.

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South Africans in general are bad at French, so there are quite a few women named Brigitte or even Bridgette, but they all seem to pronounce it like Bridget.

I find it quite dated. When I lived in Northern Ireland I noticed it was very popular there, but only on women older than around thirty.

I love Bridget. I'd consider it IRL for a daughter. I think it's strong, familiar but not common, and has some cute nickname options. I don't see it the same as Gretchen- Gretchen sounds like retching.

I like Bridget. It's got guts. It's like Gwen - charming and quaint but won't shy away from a fight. I've never known any Bridgets. I knew of a Birgit once though. I'm not so fond of that version.

I like it for the reason you gave, ugly/charming. I like Gretchen, too.

I went to school with a Brigitte (which was pronounced the same as Bridget) and I know one in my church as well. So one is 31 and one is 60ish.

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I think of Bridget significantly better than Gretchen. Gretchen is ugly yet charming. But Bridget is waif-ish and pale and I just feel sorry for her.

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Weird, I never knew I thought that about the name. Weirder still, neither one I know is any of those things.