[Opinions] May or Mae (more)
What do you think of May and Mae? Which spelling would you choose and why?
Do the spellings give you different colors/associations/images/characters etc? Would you imagine a May or the parents of a May to be different than a Mae or her parents?
Just tell me everything you think of when you hear/see these names.
Thank you :)
Do the spellings give you different colors/associations/images/characters etc? Would you imagine a May or the parents of a May to be different than a Mae or her parents?
Just tell me everything you think of when you hear/see these names.
Thank you :)
Replies
I like May/ Mae and prefer the Mae spelling because (1) it doesn't look like a verb and (2) because it was one of my mother's mns. I've recently come to appreciate this name a lot and sort of wish I'd considered it for one of my three girls. The only reason I didn't was because my mother despised this name and never used it as an adult (on her children's birth certificates, for example). Today, I'd even consider using it as part of a two-name deal (i.e., Cora Mae, Daphne Mae).
As for the spellings themselves, I definitely prefer Mae although I don't perceive them differently in terms of colors, associations, etc. Both have a sweetly old-fashioned feel.
As for the spellings themselves, I definitely prefer Mae although I don't perceive them differently in terms of colors, associations, etc. Both have a sweetly old-fashioned feel.
These are my associations...
Mae:
(picnics and blue/pink vintage floral patterns, Georgia or other Southern states, a feisty old lady, a girl in a straw hat)
5) Rita Mae Brown
May:
1)
2)
3) May Day
4) Louisa May Alcott
5) Mayfly from "Everything is Green" by David Foster Wallace
I think I'd prefer May (it seems more springy and less regional to me) as a FN, but I have no preference when they're used as middle names.
Mae:
(picnics and blue/pink vintage floral patterns, Georgia or other Southern states, a feisty old lady, a girl in a straw hat)
5) Rita Mae Brown
May:
1)
2)
3) May Day
4) Louisa May Alcott
5) Mayfly from "Everything is Green" by David Foster Wallace
I think I'd prefer May (it seems more springy and less regional to me) as a FN, but I have no preference when they're used as middle names.
This message was edited 4/26/2017, 7:42 AM
Mae seems typically USA to me; no doubt because the only one I've ever heard of is Mae West. And I was writing that off as a Hollywood frivolity until I realised that there were also Fae people roaming the streets.
In both cases, I far prefer the -y version. I don't get a clear phonetic message from /ae/ anyway, and people who do not have English as their first language (my country is full of them!) are likely to be confused.
As a name for present-day use, I like the idea of May but I wouldn't use it myself; mostly because there are so many names I like better. And I wouldn't touch Mae with a garden rake.
In both cases, I far prefer the -y version. I don't get a clear phonetic message from /ae/ anyway, and people who do not have English as their first language (my country is full of them!) are likely to be confused.
As a name for present-day use, I like the idea of May but I wouldn't use it myself; mostly because there are so many names I like better. And I wouldn't touch Mae with a garden rake.
I like it, but I far prefer the Mae spelling. May to me is a very ladylike older woman who likes to knit, wear sweaters, and has a lot of lace doilies in her house. Mae is feisty, brash, and independent. I'm pretty sure that Mae has that image for me because of Mae West, but whatever.
I would imagine the parents of a May to be more religious and conservative than the parents of a Mae.
I would imagine the parents of a May to be more religious and conservative than the parents of a Mae.
I guess I would pick Mae -- it seems more like a name than a verb or the month. Honestly I do not like the name very much at all and never have. It just strikes me as very rotund.
May is very Victorian. It makes me think of May blossom (which is out at the moment and making me sneeze) and all the connected folklore. I had a great great (or something) grandmother known as May, short for Mary which apparently was very common.
So for me May is sweetly old fashioned. It's horribly over used as a filler middle and a tacky hyphenated addition, but I'd love to meet someone just called 'May'
Mae is pure Vegas showgirl to me. Brassy blonde and sequinned hotpants. Plus everything I said about middle fillers and hyphens. Just a little bit trashy
So for me May is sweetly old fashioned. It's horribly over used as a filler middle and a tacky hyphenated addition, but I'd love to meet someone just called 'May'
Mae is pure Vegas showgirl to me. Brassy blonde and sequinned hotpants. Plus everything I said about middle fillers and hyphens. Just a little bit trashy
I love the look of 'ae', and I used to say Mae 100%. But I've grown to like the simple, classic feel of May. I usually use it in the middle, so I match the spelling to the first. But I think I'd still go for Mae. Mae feels more modern and adventurous, whereas May seems more reserved and delicate. But then out loud they're the same, so I don't see them as all that different.