View Message

Maybelle
WDYTO Maybelle for a girl? I like it pronounced like two names put together: May Belle. I dislike the name Mabel. Do you think people would pronounce it more like Mabel? To stop the confusion would it be better to hyphenate the name, May-Belle, or to have a double first name, May Belle?Also, any middle name suggestions?Thank you.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I kinda like this name as May Belle (hhyphen optional). May - Belle Rosamond
vote up1
It's far too Southern for me so can't say I like it. I'd probably pick it over Mabel but not happily. I don't think the pronunciation would get mixed up often, if it were Maybel then it'd be a different story. But yeah, way too southern not my style at all.
vote up1
It just makes me think of Maybelline cosmetics. May Belle or Maybelle feels very frilly to me. I think people would probably pronounce it May Belle, but May-Belle would emphasize that pronounciation.Maybelle Caroline
Maybelle Irena
Maybelle Rosalie
Maybelle Genevieve
Maybelle Josephine
Maybelle Jessamine
vote up1
Some might pronounce it as Mabel, but I immediately read it as May Belle. It's a little more frilly than my personal taste, but it's all right.Maybelle Jane
Maybelle Amaya
Maybelle Helena
Maybelle Sophia
Maybelle Ava
Maybelle Irene
Maybelle Josephine
Maybelle Veronica
Maybelle Isolde
vote up1
Maybelle is always pronounced May Belle to me, not Mabel-rhymes-with-table. I first saw it in Gone With The Wind and it took me a while to even realize that it COULD be pronounced the same as Mabel, so I doubt that anyone else that saw it in writing would pronounce it that way. I like it - I have a great fondness for Mae/May in general.I think it sounds well with classic mns - Catherine, Mary, Jacqueline, etc.
vote up1
I first heard that name this morning while watching Hairspray for the first time. I think it's a nice name. And no, I don't think many people would pronounce it like Mabel...use it as a full name if you please...otherwise use May Belle.
vote up1
I like Maybelle. This is the name of a long-ago friend of my mother's, who also happened to be a commercially successful artist.It was pronounced MayBELL, which I believe is what you want. I agree with whichever poster it was who said that separating the names, or adding a hyphen, lends a rather awkward and hickish feel.Although Maybelle is a bit frilly, I don't see it as being overly so. It certainly is not as frilly as names such as Arabella or other -bella names, for example.
vote up1
I love the name Maybelle. My nans first name is Maybel and she pronounces it May-Belle anyways. I don't think it needs to be hypenated.:0)
vote up1
Aw, I love Mabel, and I don't like Maybelle at all. I do think Maybelle would be pronounced like Mabel very frequently. Look at Maybelline cosmetics...it's pronounced like Mabel + een. I think hyphenating it or separating Maybelle into a double name would help the pronunciation issue but probably not eliminate it completely. Of the two options, I prefer the double name. May Belle has a frilly, hickish quality that I believe hyphenating only emphasizes.
vote up1
It's a GP of mine. It's overly frilly, but it makes me picture a sweet, friendly, hospitable southern girl from the Civil War Era. I can't see it being pronounced like Mabel since it has the -le. I don't like the look of May Belle or May-Belle. That makes it seem even more cutesy than it already is. Odd that I only like Maybelle because I don't generally like smooshed together names.My combo is Maybelle Virginia!
vote up1