Friday, April 12, 2013

Every Day is Wednesday!

Well, I think it might be time to tell the internet the not-so-secret secret name we've picked out for our daughter. I'm about 33 weeks along and so it is getting harder and harder not to talk about in mixed company! I have been calling her Bubble because ... she looks like a bubble from the outside, right? Brandon calls her WEOH which is the acronym for her initials and it's fun to shout out-loud or sing with the melody of your favorite song. Okay, I'll give you a few hints ... ready?





Confused yet? It's Wednesday, her name is Wednesday. ♥

Since no decision of ours is made lightly, I'll give you a bit of history. Brandon and I have a unique kinship to the band QUEEN, more specifically Freddie, that dates back to the night we met and a t-shirt that I didn't buy at Hot Topic. So, we've always talked about naming a child Freddie or the like. Well, when we found out it was a girl [yay!] we thought about Winnifred and calling her Freddie. Alas, I could not let go of Wednesday, a name that I've loved since I first saw the Addams Family years ago. It's just so unique! 

There is a precedent, calendar names have been used for hundreds of years ... surely you know an April, May, June, Autumn, Summer, or maybe one of each! Other popular calendar names are currently gaining popularity such as Sunday and Winter, so I'm not reaching too far. As we mulled it over, we kept going back and forth between Winnifred and Wednesday, it occurred to me that they both would use Winnie as a nickname, one that I think is precious and would work if you're 8 or 80. [and explains Winifred Sanderson's appearance in the picture line-up.] After doing a bit of research, it turns out that Wednesday is a Germanic translation of a Latin word from the 2nd century meaning "day of Mercury." Oh, like Freddie Mercury! Beyond that, Mercury is the ruling planet of Geminis; the sign of which she and I are both ascribed, astrologically. As for the old man pictured above, Wednesday is considered Odin's Day. Odin is a Norse god, who represents victory and death, but also magic, shamanism, poetry and wisdom.

Our only rules for naming were that we didn't want anything made up, we wanted a bit of history to the name [or word], and we wanted it to be unique. Well ... jackpot, right? If you don't like it ... you'll be in the company of 67% of people we've told, including our family. However, I promise it will grow on you. Spoiler alert ... her name is crazy long and involves two middle names that we'll announce later. Gotta save something for her birthday, right? 


5 comments:

  1. I'm going to guess Wednesday Emerson Ophelia?

    I love the comment about the shirt you didn't get at Hot Topic. I'm sad that there's a store in existence that sells Bieber, Queen & Cannibal Corpse items in the same place. But..I guess for that BiebQueeCannCor fan that's probably out there somewhere, they only have to go to one place to get all their fan stuff? Me, I just stole my Queen shirt from my dad when I was in Jr. High:)

    BTW, I absolutely LOVE the name Wednesday. It's perfect for your little Bubble!

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    1. Thank you! We're so in love with it.

      I love Ophelia, and it was on the short list, but that isn't it! And I don't agree with naming girls "son" names ... it doesn't make sense to me, etymologically.

      I love "O" names and "W" names!

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  2. It's unusal, but great that you have a personal link to the name and for those who don't like it, well everyone gets a nickname or shortened name, or use their middle name (my family tree research so confusing, people changing names left right and centre- or repeating them generation after generation).

    Thinking magic/history link - Emrys (as in Merlin?)

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    1. Yes, I do a lot of genealogy work myself and it is hard when everyone passes names down! That is actually part of the reason we didn't give her a family name. Generations from now, our kids' kids will look up info on their great-aunt Wednesday and know they have the right one.

      My family hasn't warmed up to it, yet ... but, they will! I like that everyone is guessing the middle names. Emrys is beautiful! But, no cigar. :)

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  3. Have you ever read American Gods by Neil Gaiman? There are a lot of references to Wednesday/Oden and I think it's wonderful.

    After our chat that day at lunch, I decided to stick to my guns about our names as well (which I also plan on holding off revealing this time around!)

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