View Message

I like it. I don't like how it looks, but the sound of it is striking.

---

I don't think it's too close to Miriam.

I'm not wild about 'een' names in general and they seem a tad dated to me. I prefer Maura which has a more lilting quality to it.

It's my niece's name (Maureen Elizabeth). She's 26 and goes by Mo. Biased I am, but still count me in the "love it" column. My SIL had a thing for Maureen O'Hara, which totally worked out for my niece. I'm the annoying aunt that calls her by her full name because I'm still tickled pink they chose it. :0)

---

Here in the U.S. the stress is on the second syllable. But I love it even more when My mother says it with an Irish brogue. The stress is on the first syllable and the tongue is allowed to make the most out of the "r" in the middle.

---

Maureen Glynis is my stock combo for it.

I also really like Maureen. There's just something about it. It seems sort of glamorous.

---

Are Miriam and Maureen too close? IDK. Maybe. Maybe not, though. You could at least user it for a middle if you don't want to use it as a first. Helen Maureen. Judith Maureen. Margaret Maureen (I like the double M!)

Maureen O'Hara

---

Swoon. I was soo into Maureen O'Hara as a kid. She is simply gorgeous and her characters were always so feisty. For that reason, I have long loved the name Maureen.

---

I actually considered using it, simply because it is one of those old fashioned gems that might be dusty but will always be classy (like Kathleen). People recognize it and tend to like it. Plus Maura is a decent nn to make it a little more modern.

---

My sister's MIL has this name, so it's on our "do not use" list.

I love it! I have since I was a kid. I've considered wanting to put it in the "would use list," but I think it's too close to Margaret. Same issue. :)

---

I think it's a very sweet name, but it's both sophisticated and upbeat too. And has quirky nickname options! I've known Maureens who've gone by Mo or Marty. I like Mo.

This message was edited 4/28/2015, 4:33 AM

It's super-dated here and only happens on people over 70. The only living Maureen I know is an American friend of a friend who I see periodically - for years I thought her name was Marine, and was very surprised when I saw it written down as here we pronounce it MORE een. I think I could like it with the US pronunciation, but I can't see it coming back here for a long time, if ever.

It's alright, but feels a bit dowdy and dated.

It's my grandmother's name as well as my sister's middle name, so I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it.

I like Maureen but I feel Maura and Moira are more modern looking (though I know they aren't).

My older sister makes fun of this name. That's because when she was very young, say 12 or 13, it was her "favorite name" and she would say at that age that when she had a girl her name was going to be Maureen. This changed and when she had a daughter years later her name was Heather, not Maureen. So Maureen has become to my sister the "stupid name you like when you're 12 but you later thankfully grow out of." She always says it "Maur--EEEEN", emphasizing the last syllable because she thinks the last syllable is so stupid. (She does the same thing with her own middle name, Eileen. Which she thinks is horrible.)

---

It kinds of grates on me, to be honest. Kind of agree with my sister, to be honest.

Something about this name just doesn't jive with me. I like Maura and I like Colleen, so I should like Maureen, right? Ah, but not so...I guess I just don't like those two sounds together. All I see is a tight-panted, frazzled red-headed, over-make-upped woman pinching a little girl's cheeks so hard the poor child is holding back tears. The woman's face is unsettlingly close to the girl's as she nasally croons, "Maur-eeeeeeeeenn...! Maur-eeeeeeeeenn...!"

---

Ho-hum. I think it's worth mentioning that, in this mental image, it's the little girl who bears the name Maureen, not the creeper woman. But the woman is completely obscuring the girl's face and she won't let go. She's like a leech, stuck on Maureen. Perhaps forever, unless someone comes along and pries her off with a crowbar.

I'm not much of a fan. It just sounds cranky and humorless to me, and not a way that I like.

---

I enjoy Maura, though. It's pleasant and simple.

It's not my thing. I normally don't mind dated names that much, but the sound of it is a real downer: MORE-REEN. Ugh.

It's kind of minimally attractive, but also fairly glum-sounding. Like your mouth has to turn down when you say it. Like it better for a middle name, I guess.

I really, really like Maureen. I like that it's kinda dark and dusty. It also reminds me of the beautiful Maureen O'Hara.