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We had a cat named Martha when I was a kid, so that's what I think of first.

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Beyond that I have mixed feelings about it. I want to like it, because I do like names that are a little unfashionable. But it just doesn't grab me. So... meh. Maybe if I saw more of it or saw it in a really good combo I'd grow to appreciate it.

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I've known two human Marthas, one woman who is now in her 50's and another now in her late 20's. The younger Martha went by Mattie and the older had no nickname.

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Of your combos I like Martha Emily and Martha Madeleine. I want to like Frances because I like that name in general. But it already fights with being kind of dumpy, and being paired with a name like Martha that skirts the same sort of territory doesn't help. :-/ Personally I'd go with something I find to be prettier (for what that description is worth), like:

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Martha Emmeline
Martha Eleanor
Martha Rosalie
Martha Catherine
Martha Temperance (I don't know how pretty that is but I have been on a Temperance kick)

This message was edited 11/4/2014, 7:17 PM

From your list I like Martha Madeleine because she could be called Mimi in the same way as an acquaintance of mine called Margaret Mary is Mimi
I think Martha is a frumpy name and no matter how pretty the middle name - such as Vivien - nothing can save it from its frumpiness. I always think of "mat" - and of doormat.

I love Martha! I'd definitely consider it IRL. I know two Marthas around my age and neither go by Marty, so I think it is definitely avoidable.

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Elizabeth "Betsy" is also up there for me so I'd also head towards the Martha and Betsy sibset- completely perfect.

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I love Martha Madeleine (yay, alliteration!) and Martha Emily.

Martha is like Dorothy to me ... it has a stuffy / stern, almost comically square image, and I'm just recently able to imagine it as youthful and pretty - it's like looking at a double exposure and trying to see the fainter image.

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I like it alright. Better than Margaret, maybe.

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Martha's sisters are Phyllis and Nancy. Those two names I don't like, though. Martha and Betty (not Betsy), Martha and Carol, Martha and Frances, Martha and Jean. Even Clara. Susan, eh ... Susan seems too smart for Martha. ??

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Martha Melinda
Martha Christine
Martha Joanna

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I also like Martha. It feels very warm and cozy to me. Very homey, which to me is a lovely thing. I think you could avoid Marty- personally I would never call a Martha that, because the "th" sound separates it from that crisp T sound in Marty. But at the same time I can see how others might. Well, I hope it's avoidable, because I agree with you- it's awful!

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Martha and Susan and Martha and Sally are great sibsets. Martha and Elizabeth is nice too, just sounds more classic than the others.

I think it's fabulous -- a little sassy. No flimsy Ariana or Mia, mind. That's a positive in my book.

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It's also my great-grandmother's name, and I have a cousin named Martha who is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life (not kidding).

I have complex feelings about Martha. My grandmother's name is Martha (Marta), so I have a really strong and negative association with it as being a cold, cruel, manipulative name with a bad smell. On the other hand, I once knew a cat named Martha, and that was adorable, so I also think of it as affectionate, warm, and soft. Complicated! I do think that Martha will become a bit more popular with time - it seems right up hipster alley.

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I think you're safe from Marty. I would instinctively shorten it to Marth...which I'm not sure is much better.

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Of your combos, I really like Martha Emily, Martha Madeleine, and Martha Josephine - they really fit with the warm soft side of Martha I enjoy.

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I also quite like Martha Caroline! :) And Martha Phoebe. And Martha Clementine.

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Martha, Susan, and Elizabeth are ok. I think I'd like Martha, Susannah, and Elizabeth better. Susan and Martha together are kind of flat. Sally and Betsy are adorable though. Would Sally be Sally-in-full, or short for Sarah? Sarah, Susannah and Martha would be a super sweet trio.

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I think these would go well with Martha as sisters:

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Amelia
Charlotte
Eliza
Wilhelmina
Mabel
Mamie
Winifred
Lucy

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I like it. It's a little stodgy, but charmingly so. I just love its eighteenth century flavor. And no, I don't think Marty is at all inevitable. In fact, it's never even occurred to me as a nickname for Martha. Martha has had some nicknames -- Mattie, Patty, and Patsy -- but these date from the eighteenth century, when Martha was so common that nicknames had to be found to differentiate between the girls and women named Martha. I don't think any nickname is even likely these days.

I think Marti is very avoidable. I never met a female Marti, though my stepfather had an aunt who was called Martannie; but her name was really Margaret Ann and not Martha.

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I don't like Martha at all. It sounds so ugly and drab. I do like Martina.

I actually do kind of like Martha. It's ugly, but in a charming and attractive way. But Marty is disgusting. Ugh. Martha doesn't need a nickname, and especially not one that downgrades it like Marty.

I actually love the name Martha! But I am partial to "old lady names" in general. I don't think Marty would be used as a nn for Martha here in Australia, but I could be wrong. Martha and Sally and Martha and Elizabeth "Betsy" are cute for sisters. I also like Martha and Alice, Martha and Sadie, Martha and Violet, Martha and Hazel and Martha and Jane work well for sisters. Martha Emily and Martha Josephine are nice combos.

I really like it. It's quite newly-popular in the UK but I think it's more of an underused classic. I've never even thought of Marty being a nn for it, so I don't think it's inevitable.

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I like Martha and Susan and Martha and Elizabeth "Betsy", I also like it with Eliza.

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From your combos I like Martha Emily, Martha Harriet and Martha Josephine. My favourite combo with it is Martha Lucy (although I don't actually like the name Lucy, I think it goes well here).