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The youngest Mary I've known was born in the mid-1980s. When I met her she was a radiantly beautiful 15-year-old, with straight, glossy dark hair, huge eyes, exquisite features, lovely figure, legs to die for. If you'd wanted a Mary for a Nativity pageant, you'd have picked Mary. No interest in school, but kept on the right side of things mostly.

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And by night she was a well-known local prostitute, working one side of a busy road while her mother worked the other side.

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This was quite a disappointment, but I'd like to meet a young (and preferably more respectable) Mary. I wouldn't call it dated, unlike Sandra or Susan - just overtaken by trendier and less durable options.

I suspect a lot of people who are having children now, or will be in the next few years have mothers named Mary, so I suspect it's not quite in the trendy-Grandmother names stage yet. However it's a classic that's never really been out of style in 500 years.

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I am a 20-something year old Mary so I tend to notice other young Mary's, it's not as uncommon as people seem to think.

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I find a lot of authors seem to tend towards names that are currently popular rather than really common names. Except Kate, I swear every second character is called Kate.

No, I think Mary is a classic and will come back.

I think Mary will come back in full force. Plenty of generations have used it, which means its likely to come back even as an honoring name.

I can't comment on the use of Mary in fiction. I think Mary is a beautiful name and I have been sad to see it fall into being a rarity.

Yes, it's definitely passed, and it's going to pass further, much further, before Mary has any hope of a comeback.

Not at all. I'd use Mary for my own daughter. LOVE Mary.

Hmm... Yes and no.

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I agree that Mary is seen a lot less on both fictional and real people who are young if it isn't set early/pre-20th century.

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For my generations (late teens / early 20's) and probably the one above me, Mary is much more common as a middle name, in fact it is my own middle name.

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It's my mother's middle name and my paternal nan's middle name so it has always been on the cards for a middle name for a future daughter of mine, however lately I've been thinking about the possibility of it as a first name.
I love Mary now, whereas as a child I don't think I appreciated it and thought of it as "old".

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I reckon Mary will role back around, but probably with a trendy second name, something like: Mary-Rose, Mary-Fay etc.

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I guess I don't read enough fiction to be able to say one way or another that Mary, or really, any other name, gets a lot or a little bit of use for characters.

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But I do think Mary's time for a rest is long overdue.