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[Opinions] Margaret, Marguerite, and Margot
Firstly, what are your thoughts on this trio, and which do you ultimately prefer?Secondly, which, if any, nicknames do you like for each name? Mae, Maggie, Mamie, Peggy? Something else?Most days, I think I'd say Margot (no nickname) was my favourite, but I've been liking Margaret "Peggy" a lot lately, and I've been pondering Mamie, too. I realise Margot is a nickname for both Margaret and Marguerite, but if I was going to go for Margot, I'd go straight to it.Any general thoughts are welcome.Much obliged!


Ottilie


http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/116467
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I like the nns better than the names themselves. For Margaret, I like Daisy, Meg and Maisie. For Marguerite, I like Daisy and Margot. My overall fave nn is Daisy.
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I really love Margaret and Margot. I think Margaret ekes out as the winner though.I really don't like Marguerite on the other hand. I don't like how it looks. I don't like how it sounds. I just don't like it.I don't think Margot needs a nickname, but Margaret might want one for at least occasional use. Mae is sweet, but I don't really get it as a nickname for Margaret. I sometimes like less intuitive or less standard nicknames myself though, so I could go with it. Maggie is cute up until about age 7. I feel like most girls would outgrow it by about then, although there are obviously exceptions. I could see myself using it as an "every so often" nickname. Mamie is definitely a no-go, in my opinion. It does bring to mind offensive depictions of Africans/African Americans/Blacks and racial slurs because it is so close to "mammy." Peggy is sooo homely to me. My favorite nickname, and the one I would use most often were I to name a child Margaret, is Meg. I would still use her full name a lot too though, because I really like it.
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I've also been flirting with Margriet (Dutch) lately..I love them all!
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I always go for Margaret. The only issue I've got with it is that where I live, the default nn is Margie, with a hard g rather than a j. I like both Maggie and Peggy, though I really don't think Margaret needs a nn.Marguerite seems silly if the family isn't at least somewhat French, and Margot has never appealed to me, with its air of suburban snobbery.
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Margot is currently sitting pretty in my top three; I really do love this name and would definitely consider it for a future daughter. Most of the time I reckon I would use it without a nickname, but I have a burning love for Meg also, which I find really sassy and cool, so I could easily see myself using Margot as a full name with Meg as an occasional nickname.
Marguerite is my least favourite because I can't get passed the pizza.
Margaret I like but I don't think it's ready to come out of Granny-territory yet. Meg makes it more wearable, but as I said about I could easily use Meg as a nickname for the much more hip Margot.
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Margot is pretty common where I live. I kind of like it, but with this spelling only. Not Margo or Margaux or anything else.
I prefer Marguerite. It sounds more sophisticated than Margaret, which is more old fashioned. Mae is ok as a nickname. The other ones I really don't like, especially Mamie and Peggy.

This message was edited 10/9/2014, 1:39 AM

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Marguerite!! Margaret is frumpy and Margot is clunky. But Marguerite is spunky. :)I like Mae and Maggie.
Other options
Mar
Margie (either with a hard g or a soft one)
Rita (for Marguerite)
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I think clunky is fab :P
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I love Margaret! It's classic and timeless but not boring (in my opinion, at least). Marguerite is okay but I'm not big on the stressed "reet" sound. I hate Margot. It's such an ugly, plodding sound. Mar Go. And written down it reminds me of maggot.Mae, Mara, Mari, and Maisie are my favorite Margaret nicknames. I absolutely can't stand Maggie, sorry. Again, way too maggoty.
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I love Margaret, like Margot and dislike Marguerite. I love a bunch of nicknames for Margaret, that is part of the beauty of the name for me. Mae, Daisy, Greta and Maisie are my absolute favourites. I do like Margot as a nickname for Margaret, better than as a full name itself (I like options :p), but not as much as the nicknames I listed previously.
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Ooh, Maisie! I do love Maisie, I might even like it more than Peggy. Hmm.
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I love the name Margot! Margaret is also a nice name with Maggie, Mae, or Mamie as a nickname. I think Peggy might be a little dated, but in the end, it's your choice!
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Thanks! I like Peggy's datedness, haha :)
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For me, Margaret and Marguerite are both sophisticated, distant and aloof.
Margot has a whole different vibe, being friendly and both sweet and tangy. I like this one best, but way way better without the silent T. Some people said "margot" is close to "maggot". Margo isn't though :)The only nicknames I really like for them is Meg. I like Mig too, but that's from a book as a nn for Margaret and I've never heard it anywhere else so maybe it doesn't count.
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QuoteMargot has a whole different vibe, being friendly and both sweet and tangy.
I really like that description! I'm afraid any other spelling of Margot doesn't really cut it for me, though :/ Mig is interesting!
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I absolutely adore Marguerite and would seriously consider bestowing it on a future daughter. I'm also fond of Margaret and Margot, but Marguerite is unrivaled in her glimmering resplendence.

This message was edited 10/8/2014, 10:34 AM

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I thought you might like them :) Thank you!
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I'd choose Margot, it seems more lively than the others.
Greta and Mared are my favourite Margaret nns, but I prefer them as full names.
I've known two Marguerites, both elderly and both really interesting, intelligent women, so it's a name I have a good impression of, but I think it's a bit too fancy for me. One of them always went by Daisy - not sure you could get away with that nowadays - and the other was sometimes Margi, with a hard g.
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Marguerite "Daisy" is adorable, but I agree in that I'm not sure how well it would work now. I also feel the popularity of Daisy makes Marguerite a little less distinct.
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Margeurite by a mile. I think it's, on the right person, sleek and yes, retro, and elegant and little bit femme-fatale. At the same time, it wouldn't look too adult on a teenager (on a child, maybe, but that would be a passing phase) and if the bearer didn't grow up to be elegant and sleek and femme-fatale-y, it'd still suit them, it wouldn't look silly. Anyway, I love it. It would be great as a fn or mn.Margot, well, I prefer Margaux, simply because it looks less like Maggot. But I guess it also looks less fresh and more pretentious. Anyway, it's more mn than fn material for me.Margaret, I should like. I've known some wonderful Margarets in my time. I just find it dull.I don't think any of them need a nickname. And even though you've said otherwise, I think if you were to give Marguerite a nn, Margaux would be the way to go. Margaret "Peggy" wouldn't work very well here in the UK, at least at the moment. Too much of a vibe of a famous shrill character from a famous gloomy soap. But give it ten years, and that'd probably be forgotten, I guess. I still don't like it.
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QuoteMargaret "Peggy" wouldn't work very well here in the UK, at least at the moment. Too much of a vibe of a famous shrill character from a famous gloomy soap. But give it ten years, and that'd probably be forgotten, I guess.
Honestly, I'm from the UK and I have no idea what you're talking about now, let alone ten years from now.
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Margot no nickname is my personal favorite. Margaret has always seemed dingy to me, and Marguerite isn't any better. Had my mother named me one of those I probably would have picked Mae as a nickname. Or possibly Midge or Greta.
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Hm, I'd forgotten about Greta. Thanks! :)
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I prefer Margaret though spelled as Margret
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I know it's the Icelandic form, but Margret always seems like a misspelling to me :/ Thanks, anyway!
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Actually its Margrèt with the accent on the letterI just personally prefer the Spelling of Margret because with Margaret (the more well known spelling) you don't say the A. Margret: Mar gret.
Margaret: mar (silent A) gret
LolEither way, very nice name. A bit old and vintage for some peoples taste but I defiently can see it making a com back. Even for mostly being a middle name

This message was edited 10/8/2014, 5:11 PM

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If we're being so specific, it's Margrét ;) I definitely think some people say the "silent" A, though I vary on the matter personally.
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*raises hand* I say it. MAR-guh-ret.
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I find Margaret dull, boring and dated. And I think of Margaret Thatcher and Maggie Smith.
Marguerite is even worse. And it's complicated to spell, and it reminds me of baguettes.
I've recently started to like Margot though. I like it enough to have it on my PNL. I think it's sweet and has a younger feel thant he other two so this is my favorite.
I don't really like any of the nicknames.
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I'm not sure I'd group Maggie Smith with Margaret Thatcher, haha! Pity about the Thatcher association, though. Thank you :)
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No, I wouldn't group them together either.
But those two are the only Margaret's I could think of. I'm in Sweden, so I've never met Margaret or even heard it in real life. I'm more used to Margareta, which is used here :)
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Oh, sorry, I kind of read it with a negative tone once I saw Thatcher's name :P
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I can't get into Margaret. I don't know what it is, because I like the elements of it - the sounds within it all appeal to me. But I just can't shake the feeling that it's boring. Same with Margot. I want to see it as classy and sleekly chic, which it is, but instead it turns into a disappointing shrug. Marguerite is juuuuust beginning to become pretty to me. I'm starting to play with it as a middle name and that appeals occasionally, so I think I'd pick Marguerite as the version I prefer.That being said, I really love the nicknames Madge and Midge. I might use Marguerite as a first name simply to use those, I like them so much!
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Interesting - I really thought you'd like all three of the names, haha! I don't know how I feel about Madge and Midge just yet, hm.
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Around here, in Delaware, and also in the neighboring parts of Maryland, Margaret Ann is extremely common as a double name for old ladies. Like Norma Jean in Oklahoma. And the local accent slurs Margaret Ann into Mar-Gur-DAN.
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Margaret Ann is hardly much better in terms of boringness, because Ann is another name that leaves me wanting more. I could probably warm up to Margadan as a name though. That would at least make me stop and say "what?"
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I really like Marguerite, it's beautiful and elegant and if I was going to use it I'd just use it in full and no nickname.
Margaret is boring as hell, and Margot is attractive but I prefer Marguerite or even Margarita.Mamie sounds like a slave name to me. Peggy is a sixty-year-old schoolteacher name. Mae/May is cute but if I wanted to use it that much I'd just use it and not make it short for anything.
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QuoteMamie sounds like a slave name to me.
Oh dear :/ Does Margarita not remind you a little too much of pizzas?
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No. Until a few years ago I'd never heard of a margarita pizza, then I had one down in North Carolina and it was delicious though very garlicky.
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Yes, agree about Mae. I do like it, but not as a nickname for Margaret. I'd use it on its own.
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I am not a huge fan of any of them, but if I had to choose, I think Margaret is the best of the three. I just don't find Marguerite any kind of an improvement over Margaret, in English-speaking countries, and I particularly dislike Margot. I don't like names that end in the O sound.I don't like any nicknames for Margaret except Meg. I really dislike Peggy. Makes me think of a pig.

This message was edited 10/8/2014, 6:31 AM

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Is there a particular reason Peggy makes you think "pig", or is it just sound-wise?
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It's just sound-wise. It sounds close to "piggy." I don't have a great association with it, either. I've only known one Peggy, a girl I was friends with in college. I allowed her to borrow my car and she got into an accident and didn't want to take responsibility and we had a big fight and weren't friends any longer, lol.
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Haha, oh dear! I can imagine it sounding a little too much like Piggy in some American accents, certainly.

This message was edited 10/8/2014, 11:29 AM

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