Babies on the brain

[dcrachel.livejournal.com]

I just found out I'm preggers! And though it is too early to tell real people, I somehow feel fine posting it to a bunch of strangers! I never said I was rational... On top of my own pregnancy, two of my good friends from high school are pregnant and my sister-in-law just announced she is pregnant. It's like the year of a million babies.

So my husband and I have our favorites, but recently we've added a new one. It's one of those names that you are just throwing around, it comes out almost as a joke. You laugh about how silly it is, but then...it starts to grow on you. It's one of those names you don't think you could really use, but you still really like it.

The name is Wakefield.

Just putting it out there. For what it's worth, the Chinese lunar calendar says I'll be having a girl. I'm sure that's completely accurate. :)

Comments

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Wakefield as a first name?

I did a double take. It's veeeery last name to me, after the Sweet Valley twins and all.

I can't see it on a boy, much less a girl, sorry.

Btw, according to the chinese calendar I should have a wee-wee, but I totally don't :)

[museofmyself.livejournal.com]

Of course I immediately thought of the Sweet Valley High books. Ah, the nostalgia. ;) I could sort of see the name Wakefield on a boy, but I think it's way too surnamey for a girl.

And I'm sure you know the Chinese calendar isn't often accurate. My *daughter* is proof of that!

[after-the-ashes.livejournal.com]

Wakefield? Sounds like a last name or two words stuck together, hippy style. It's silly plain and simple. Plus, there's no way to shorten it well... Just, no... sorry. Congrats on the pregnancy!

[drunkontea.livejournal.com]

I wasn't very into Sweet Valley, so I didn't make that association. I like it, but for a boy... not so much a girl.

[plaidpineapple.livejournal.com]

I think it's interesting. For a boy, though, not for a girl.

(FWIW, I read several Sweet Valley books as a kid and didn't make the association until I saw others make it.)

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

I completely adore it. It reminds me of the fall... apple cider, comfy oversized sweaters, frosty mornings, and football games. ^_^ And just by the name alone, I would think that she'll leave a good, lasting impression on those she meets.

Use it. Seriously.

[thejoysofjess.livejournal.com]

Wakefield is a definite last name to me, also because of Sweet Valley Twins. I think a lot of people around my age (20s) are going to make the same connection. If that doesn't matter to you, go for it. Personally, I am not a fan of the whole surname-as-firstname movement.

And congrats from a random stranger. ;)

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Definitely a last name. It would sound kind of absurd as a first name.

[samaside.livejournal.com]

I like Wakefield as a first name for a boy. But I like last names as first names.

[kandeekiss.livejournal.com]

Congrats on your pregnancy! I'm not too keen on Wakefield, though.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

It's a last name, and it's not really a last name that can work for both a first and a last like Thatcher, Thomas, Harris, etc. I don't like it at all, either; it doesn't really have any nicknames that could really make it a go-by-able first name like "Wally" for Wallace or something.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

Oh, and for a girl, it's awful. It would be somewhat tolerable on a boy, but it is much much much too masculine for a girl's name.

[laurakirstine.livejournal.com]

Also from Boston, also had the same thought!

[missmaxattax.livejournal.com]

I like it.

[missmaxattax.livejournal.com]

My son is further proof. =)

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm doing this thinking-it-over bit, and my brain is STILL coming up with "awkward to say and means field of a wake".


... so no.

[xpaniic.livejournal.com]

Isn't there a band named Wakefield?

[http://users.livejournal.com/____tonightt/]

Congrats! I think if I ever found out I was pregnant I would so tell everyone online first then my real friends.

I like the idea of the name wakefield but since I am a red sox fan I could never use it.

[juniorfan29.livejournal.com]

I like some surnames as first names, but not Wakefield. PLUS, like several others...my first thought was of Jessica and Elizabeth.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

I read the Sweet Valley books, but didn't remember that was the girls' last name until seeing everyone else mention it.

My first thought is that it sounds like a name for a mental hospital. I don't really like it much, but congratulations on the pregnancy!

[traezer.livejournal.com]

I went to school with a girl named Ahnawake, and she went by Wakey. It was cute. Thought maybe not on a boy.

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

I live near a town called Wakefield, so it's a place name to me, and I'm not a big fan of place names as names.
If I try to forget that I know it's a place for a second, I'm still not keen on it, as it just sounds too harsh for a first name, especially on a girl.
If your baby turns out to be a boy, and you and your husband still really like it when he's born, I suppose you could use it as middle name, depending on what you went with for a first name.