View Message

In most American accents, Merry and Mary sound exactly alike, and so Merry seems like just a cutesy spelling of Mary.
Merry's just too cutesy to be a name, and too much of a nuisance to always keep spelling it for people, and probably everybody would assume you're a Christmas baby.

Well, I agree it's patently ridiculous as a nn for Mercy. They're the same length and don't make the same sound.

---

But Merry as a full name on its own... Yeah, it would just be constantly mistaken for Mary. You'd never know peace. Not worth it.

---

It is a nice sound, look, and meaning, but... Just not worth the trouble.

I don't think it works as a full name: perhaps because it's an adjective and virtue names tend to be nouns: Joy rather than Joyous, Hope rather than Hopeful. (OK, my daughter Beatrice bucks the trend, but in English anyway, there isn't a noun or an adjective in use that people could associate with Beatrice!) Or perhaps because I'm familiar with it in real life as a nn for Meredith (f) and in LOTR as a nn for Meriadoc (m).

---

Are you thinking of Merry as male or female?

I far prefer the way it looks to Mary (I pronounce Mary and merry the same), but they sound the same and I don't like Mary, so......no, but a less vociferous no than Mary would receive.

---

I remember talking to a Merry once at my first call center job.

also ...

---

I just remembered Merrylegs, from "Black Beauty." Merry sounds like a name or part of a name for a horse. And Merrylegs sounds to me like a brand of pantyhose.

I don’t really like Merry. It will always be confused for Mary.

It's a nice nickname IMO, but seems sort of flimsy as a full name. Like Happy or Rocky or Dusty.
Also, too on-the-nose as a concept for my taste, because people named Merry would not be merry any more often than anyone else.
But it does benefit from sounding like Mary (to me it sounds the same).

---

A serious middle name.
Merry Titania ?
Merry Anastasia
Merry Corinne

This message was edited 11/29/2018, 11:06 AM

I like it, it's one of my nicknames (it bears relation to my last name, I can't say more, without actually saying what my last name is!), and I think it has a sweet sound.

---

Merry and Mary are not said the same in my accent, so that isn't an issue for me.

I don't know about combos (it's not my style), but I had a great aunt who died before I was born whose name was Mary Gladys. However, at some point in her adulthood she changed the spelling to Merry. Everyone who knew her told me she was a really cool person.

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

It's sweet, but here 'merry' can be a euphemism for drunk.

---

Mary and Merry are said differently in my accent. I really like the idea of Meredith 'Merry'

---

I tried making combinations and they all sound like adjectives. :( Merry Anna becomes merry Anna. Sorry.