Lucia vs Maria

Lolita0816

We've narrowed down our choices to:

Lucia Marie and Maria Gabriela. I like Lucia a lot but I just wonder if pronunciation will be an issue. I like the pronunciation Lou-see-a, but I also know that Loo-sha and Lu-chee-a are other common ways to say it. I want to integrate Maria or Marie into the name in honor of my grandma, and lately I've been liking Maria more and more. Some family members say Maria sounds too old lady sounding. WDYT?

Helenahhandbasket

I love Maria-- we plan to hopefully use it in some form for a future DD. I don't think it sounds like an old lady name, but then again if someone told me that DD's name was an old lady name I would probably say thank you.

 I prefer Maria Gabriela to Lucia Marie, but both names are pretty.

PinkLillyLover

Maria all the way!

apc1929

Personally I love Lucia and pronounce it  loo-see-a      I much prefer it to Lucy.

I think its sweet to honor your grandmother but I prefer Marie/a as a mn

sunshinelove1

I love Maria - it's classic and pretty.

jane.says

I'll be honest, I didn't know there was another pronunciation other than lu-chee-a. If I heard someone pronounce it another way I would have assumed they were mispronouncing!

That said, I love the name Maria and think it's timeless. 

barnwife

Our niece is Lucia. She's almost 4. She is Loo-see-uh, like you want. This might depend on where you live, but I've never heard it said the other ways in reference to her.

It's a tough call between Lucia and Maria for me. Both are great names, but I think Maria has a slight edge because I know less of them.

thepretzelchick

I prn it in my head as Loo-sha. I think Maria Gabriela is beautiful.

Dr.Loretta

I love Maria, and it has way fewer pronunciation issues. My choir director (not an old lady) is Maria.

DaisyZH

Maria is currently our front-runner name, I think it sounds fresh and pretty.  My mom also things it's old-fashioned and too popular, but I think that's because there were more Marias in her generation whereas I know none my age or younger.  My pick would be Maria Gabriela : )

erb82

I like Lucia better, but Maria is beautiful too- and not old-ladyish at all in my opinion.  Is your last name Hispanic or Italian or neither?  If I saw a Lucia Martinez, I'd probably pronounce it Lu-see-a, but if I met a Lucia Martini, I'd probably guess Lu-chee-a.  If it was Lucia Smith, I'd ask before attempting. 

Lolita0816

 Thanks for the feedback, ladies.

 

erb82:

I like Lucia better, but Maria is beautiful too- and not old-ladyish at all in my opinion.  Is your last name Hispanic or Italian or neither?  If I saw a Lucia Martinez, I'd probably pronounce it Lu-see-a, but if I met a Lucia Martini, I'd probably guess Lu-chee-a.  If it was Lucia Smith, I'd ask before attempting. 

Although I am Hispanic, DH is Irish/Scottish so our last name is really Irish sounding. So I think we'd fall into the ambiguous category haha. That's why I think people might have trouble guessing our pronunciation if we chose Lucia.