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Mary is sweet. I can appreciate it and I want to like it, but it always strikes me as a bit too plain. A worn-out faded old lady pink in my mind. It's just an image I can't shake. I know three Mary's and one Mary-Beth. Only one is anywhere close to my age group. I think she's 16 or 17. The others are in their late fifties, or around there. So around it's always refreshing to see newborns named Mary from where I stand. I live near Philadephia though, so I don't know how popular it is around other places. I find it's popular among religious parents, especially Catholics, but it doesn't scream biblical like some names.

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Victoria never gets old, a timelessly beautiful and somewhat sexy name = ). Victoria's Secret, Posh Spice, and Victoria Beckham keep those images going strong in people's minds I suppose. Queen Victoria adds to the elegance. I think of an elegant beautiful, slightly seductive woman, but the name is traditional enough that it has a down to earth approachability too. I know several Victorias my age. Some go by Tori, so go by Victoria, but everyone knows not to call a Victoria, Tori or a Tori, Victoria, It's a dark place that you don't want to see. I guess because the names have two totally different feels. I entertained the thought of Viktoria, still an option, and I came up the nns Vixie, Vee, Vita, and Vikki. If I used it, I think I would use Vixie as a childhood nickname, and maybe she would use Vee occasionally among her friends as she got older, but most of the time, I would call her Viktoria.