Marianne vs. Marian

[Anonymous]

I like both. I think you’ll have to go look at her full name to make a decision

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like Marian isn't really a name - seems like a misspelling of Mary/ianne or Mairin/Marin?

Of course Marian is a name. It's pronounced "Merry-un," which is distinct from Mary Anne or Marin ("Mair-in"). It's less common, but still lovely.

I think Marian would be more distinct, OP. Great name!

I would think Marian was a typo, and assume your DC was male.

[Anonymous]

OP do you have any French background? I like the Mari-enne pronunciation more than Mary-Anne

[Anonymous]

I like Marian so much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like Marian isn't really a name - seems like a misspelling of Mary/ianne or Mairin/Marin?

Of course Marian is a name. It's pronounced "Merry-un," which is distinct from Mary Anne or Marin ("Mair-in"). It's less common, but still lovely.

I think Marian would be more distinct, OP. Great name!

I would think Marian was a typo, and assume your DC was male.

seriously? Wow. I guess you’re not much of a reader!

[Anonymous]

Op here - thanks all! yes, these names are pronounced differently as PPs have pointed out.

Marianne would be pronounced "Mary-Anne" while Marian would be more like "Mary-ehn", with most emphasis on first two syllables. Have not seen the name spelled "Marion" anywhere.

No French background -- trying to honor a "Mary" and an "Anne" in our lives and love both of these names!

[Anonymous]

Marian, madam librarian. I'm really surprised more people aren't familiar with this spelling and pronunciation.

I also think that the spelling, Marion, is more gender neutral. In fact, I distinctly remember men of my grandparents' generation named Marion, but not Marian. I was obsessed with The Music Man and always took notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really think these are very distinct names. Like I would pronounce Marianne like "Mary Anne" - emphasis on both Ma- and Anne. And I would pronounce Marian like the anglicized version of Marian Cotillard's name -- all one word with the emphasis on the Ma- only.

I personally prefer Marian because I associate Marianne with women of my mother's generation -- I have a former coworker and a Kindergarten teacher with that name and it doesn't sound like a child's name to me. I also always think of Marianne the Librarian, which isn't necessarily a bad reference, but also feels old fashioned and a bit stodgy.

Marian feels a bit fresher to me.

The song from The Music Man is "Marian the Librarian".

[Anonymous]

I like them both but I have noticed that people have a hard time with the name Marian. I have a good friend named Marian and people had a hard time hearing/pronouncing/believing it is a real name. And you can see some of that in this thread. I never had a problem with it. In fact, it reminded me of Maid Marion from Robin Hood.

So I think I would go with Marianne. Both are lovely. But everyone seems to be able to handle Marianne better. And it better honors the name Ann. Marianne makes makes me think of Sense and Sensibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here - thanks all! yes, these names are pronounced differently as PPs have pointed out.

Marianne would be pronounced "Mary-Anne" while Marian would be more like "Mary-ehn", with most emphasis on first two syllables. Have not seen the name spelled "Marion" anywhere.

No French background -- trying to honor a "Mary" and an "Anne" in our lives and love both of these names!

Do you live in DC? How is it posible that you have not heard of Marion Barry?

Here's a list for you:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_(given_name)

[Anonymous]

I have had two friends named Marion and Marian, and neither had a problem with people not understanding the name. I prefer the spelling Marion.

Marianne is a totally different name. It's pretty, but frilly.

[Anonymous]

I prefer the spelling Marion, and have seen it semi-frequently (none of these are particularly common names).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like Marian isn't really a name - seems like a misspelling of Mary/ianne or Mairin/Marin?

Of course Marian is a name. It's pronounced "Merry-un," which is distinct from Mary Anne or Marin ("Mair-in"). It's less common, but still lovely.

I think Marian would be more distinct, OP. Great name!

Ok, You are right. I looked it up, it is a name. Interestingly, its the female form of Marius! (Les Mis anyone?) And a common male name in Slovak/Czech.

Apologies.

LOL--PP you're quoting, and I *loved* Les Mis back in the day. I still have the whole thing memorized, original London cast, of course.

They're both great names, I just think Marian is less common and fresher.

[Anonymous]

I think Marianne is a really pretty name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like Marian isn't really a name - seems like a misspelling of Mary/ianne or Mairin/Marin?

Of course Marian is a name. It's pronounced "Merry-un," which is distinct from Mary Anne or Marin ("Mair-in"). It's less common, but still lovely.

I think Marian would be more distinct, OP. Great name!

I would think Marian was a typo, and assume your DC was male.

seriously? Wow. I guess you’re not much of a reader!

I have never known any Marians IRL, but have personally known a few Marions. My real life trumps fiction in this case.