Tribute to my grandma with a name-- suggestions? (years, light, husband)

[confusedasusual]

One of my cousins is pregnant and wants to name her little girl after our beloved grandmother whose name was Mary Ann. The only issue is that she really doesn't like the name Mary Ann or any of the logical variants (Marianne, Maryanne, Marianna, Mary Anne etc.) She tends to like old fashioned but sort of unusual names (Clementine, Sylvia, Celeste, etc.) and would use the "Mary Ann" as a middle name most likely.

We also have some great family names in my grandma's generation which have now become trendy-- Sophie, Stella, Audrey, Bridget, etc. She likes those but wants to stay away from anything that will be the "Jennifer" of this generation. This is a first baby, and she is very excited.

What suggestions do you have? We have looked all over the place and are stumped.

[StarryEyedSurprise]

Maybe Marian? Beautiful name, just a slightly different pronunciation.

[Braunwyn]

My late brother's name was Mark. I wanted to have some kind of middle name for my daughter (due in April) after him, so we went with Marabel. I figured it at least had the first three letters and sound. Bell was from another little girl I knew about 15 years ago. She was a striking kid, so they went together nice.

[JustJulia]

Marie is a very common middle name, or at least it used to be. What about flipping it around to Anne Marie or Annamaria or something?

[BirdieBelle]

I like variations.

Miriam sounds like Mary Ann.

I also like

Maribel, as Braunwyn said
Maren is growing in popularity here
Mariette


I used to work with a woman named Marilee.

Maryanna? People probably would always leave off the "a" at the end.

What is the other grandma's name? My SIL used one name from each grandma, so it could be Mary [other grandma's name]. Then no one feels left out.

[confusedasusual]

Marian is kind of growing on her as a middle name, but she is having a hard time with first names that fit well with it.

[StarryEyedSurprise]

Originally Posted by confusedasusual

Marian is kind of growing on her as a middle name, but she is having a hard time with first names that fit well with it.

Since it's three syllables, I'd likely stick with a one to two syllable first name. Considering her preferences... Grace, Ava, Claire, though those are growing in popularity. Rose, Giselle, Elise, Leila - not in the top 100 at least.

[kayanne]

Originally Posted by JustJulia

Marie is a very common middle name, or at least it used to be. What about flipping it around to Anne Marie or Annamaria or something?

That was going to be my suggestion!

OP, what was your grandmother's last name? (both married and maiden) Maybe we come up with something using that.

[confusedasusual]

My grandma's last name was Podorewski (not a great one to try and manipulate). Her married name was not any better. My cousin's last name is De La Hoya.

[confusedasusual]

Originally Posted by StarryEyedSurprise

Since it's three syllables, I'd likely stick with a one to two syllable first name. Considering her preferences... Grace, Ava, Claire, though those are growing in popularity. Rose, Giselle, Elise, Leila - not in the top 100 at least.

Of these, she likes Rose. But her husband has an Aunt Rose, who he does not get along with.