Is it too weird? Or morbid?

Girl Names
1

I am not pregnant. Sadly. After more than two years of TTC I have yet to blessed but I have not given up hope and in the interim I stalk nameberry more than is healthy and dream about my future children. Lately I have been giving thought to a new name. I wonder what the wonderful berries here think and so I am here for advice, needed no less just because I am not yet expecting.

The name is Wight. Before you say that it is very surnamey or perhaps more suited to a boy let me explain, because for me the name has deep meaning and is entirely feminine. I grew up in [name]California[/name] and my favorite place used be the beach, usually late in the evening when it was nearly empty. My dog and I would go walk around sunset and it was quiet and peaceful and relaxing, just me and my baby love looking out at the horizon and into infinity. When I moved to [name]Colorado[/name] (mostly for my sister who was young and pregnant and who had moved here with my family to stay near the baby’s father who was from here) I lost “my spot” and [name]Colorado[/name] has never felt like home, the way [name]California[/name] does. But a couple years ago there was a cemetery I passed on my way to my old job. [name]One[/name] day I stopped there and I have been going ever since. It is my favorite place in the whole city. It is an old cemetery and the moment you drive through the gates it is like a blanket has been thrown over the outside world. It’s quiet, peaceful, beautiful. There are maples and evergreens, thick along the walkways and among the green fields, dotted with old monuments and ivy-covered crypts. It may seem morbid to visit a cemetery just because, but it a place where I find peace.

Deep in the center of the cemetery there is a family monument, most of the graves dating back to the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Behind the graves is a gently curved wall, benches on either side of the most beautiful angel I’ve ever seen, and carved beneath her feet, the name of the family resting there. Wight. I have never seen an angel or a madonna so beautiful, carved with such life I expect to see her breathe, but with such peace, such compassion on her face and in the gentleness of her hands and the fold of her wings, that the first time I saw her I cried. Now, when things are especially difficult, especially chaotic, when my thoughts are so loud they drown everything out, I go there. The angel who stands guard there rests her feet right above the name Wight and so I have long since taken to calling her the Wight [name]Angel[/name]. There, where I can hear nothing but the birds and the wind, with the solid stone of the angel against my back, and the sky vast and quiet above me, things seem less rushed, less harried, less unbearable. Inevitably, the knots that drove me there will unwind, my head will quiet, and I will finally find a stillness at the Wight [name]Angel[/name]'s feet that I have a hard time finding anywhere else.

For me the name is an association with the angel who brings me peace and tranquility in a world constantly rushing by, never slowing down, never quieting. Hours spent sitting at my angel’s feet mean that now, for me, Wight sounds like angels, and tranquility, and quiet sunsets, and stillness. I cannot stress how much the stillness means to me. The more peace I find there, the more I consider using the name Wight should I have a daughter.

Now assuming any of you like it (or find it useable even if it isn’t your style) the second part of my question is what middle names might go with it. [name]Even[/name] though it isn’t spelled like the color white, it still sounds that way which means word names (which I like a lot) will sound odd because it will sound like Wight is describing something but I have very few ideas about what could work with it otherwise.

2

Are you thinking about renaming yourself or asking for a future child?

Stories like these are what make names, and onomastics, so interesting. When I see Wight, I see a surname (or, more faintly, the evil spirits in Tolkien called barrow-wights, or the spirits of the dead in Song of Ice and [name]Fire[/name]. If it helps, in the original source Germanic mythology wights were helpful, and the class-word ‘wight’ actually meant ‘living being,’ much like your screen name the life spark). But for you, these lovely and deeply layered associations are conjured up.

Unless you’re asking for yourself, I think Wight is usable-- how many people are genuinely that immersed in epic fantasy or Germanic/ Anglo-[name]Saxon[/name] mythology and linguistics? I do think it skews masculine.

3

What @blade said.
I think I’d pair Wight with a family name or a slightly more traditional/classic name, probably something where the word white doesn’t merge with the second name to create an image. (for example: Wight [name]Lily[/name] sounds like a white lily and wight [name]Felicity[/name] sounds like white happiness - which is a little white pride for my liking) You could also look at the names of the Wight family and see if you like a name of one of the Wight family. [name]How[/name] about…
Wight [name]Annabel[/name]
Wight [name]Helena[/name]
Wight [name]Irene[/name] ([name]Irene[/name] means peace so this might be a nod to the [name]Angel[/name])

4

I think it’s a beautiful meaning behind the name…and one that someone bearing that name would be proud to tell for years to come… So even if it is a very offbeat name…it makes it beautiful…I like it.

Maybe using a long and interesting middle name would work?
I will try to think of some… I’m in a naming [name]Rut[/name] at the moment now though :slight_smile:

5

I think if you love the name, then use it. In the end, all that matters is that you are happy with the name. Wight is not my style, but honestly, I do not see it as something aweful. Its no different than using the names [name]Snow[/name] or [name]Gray[/name] (in my opinion). As for the middle names… do you have a naming style in particular? I think since the first name is not feminine, the middle name should be, that way your child has another option to use when she grows up if the Wight does not work out too well…But all in all, Wight is a nice name, here are some of my suggestions…

Wight [name]Alexandra[/name] / [name]Alessandra[/name]
Wight [name]Elizabeth[/name]
Wight [name]Elise[/name]
Wight [name]Francesca[/name]
Wight [name]Gabriella[/name]
Wight [name]Isabelle[/name] / [name]Isabel[/name] / [name]Isabella[/name]
Wight [name]Josephine[/name]
Wight [name]Jasmine[/name]
Wight [name]Kailea[/name]
Wight [name]Lorelei[/name]
Wight [name]Lilian[/name] / [name]Lily[/name] ( [name]Kinda[/name] cute :slight_smile: )
Wight [name]Mia[/name]
Wight [name]Meredith[/name]
Wight [name]Magdalene[/name]
Wight [name]Maisie[/name]
Wight [name]Maxine[/name]
Wight [name]Mariah[/name]
Wight Mylena
Wight [name]Nicole[/name]
Wight [name]Naomi[/name]
Wight [name]Olivia[/name] / [name]Olive[/name]
Wight [name]Paloma[/name] (this is super cute because [name]Paloma[/name] = dove , name would be like white dove :slight_smile:
Wight [name]Rhiannon[/name]
Wight [name]Rosalind[/name]
Wight [name]Thalia[/name]
Wight [name]Yasmine[/name]
Wight [name]Zahra[/name] / [name]Zara[/name]
Wight [name]Zinnia[/name]
Wight [name]Zoe[/name]

6

I love the meaning for you. I find peace in cemeteries as well, so I can completely relate to that. Cemeteries were not meant to be morbid and creepy. They were meant to be places of rest and remembrance.

Going purely off sound and look alone, I do think Wight is a little odd as a first name. I would be in full support of it as a middle name, but as a first name… I don’t know. You’ve come to associate the name Wight with this statue, but the Wight name obviously belonged to the family and not the angel. What do you know of the Wight family? Personally, if it were me, I would want to know something about the family whose surname I’m giving to my daughter.

7

I think thats a beautiful meaning, and your child will no doubt love hearing that story when they inevitably ask you why you choose the name you did for them :slight_smile:

I think its nice that you could use it for either a girl or boy, as after all, Angels can be equally male.

But if you’re asking purely for a girls middle name, I agree that something very feminine would work to balance it out.

I would suggest Wight [name]Alexandra[/name], Wight [name]Gabriella[/name], Wight [name]Isobel[/name], Wight [name]Arianna[/name], Wight [name]Angelica[/name] or something along those lines.

8

I love your story thanks so much for sharing. You shared it so beautifully, are you a writer? If not you should consider it :slight_smile: I love the significance of the name. I do not think its strange or morbid in the least. Im not sure if you mean to name yourself or a future child so I’m gonna answer for the child route. I have a hard time seeing it as a girls first name. I think it could work in a double barrel name though. Like: [name]Vera[/name] Wight, [name]Cora[/name] Wight, [name]Kate[/name] Wight, [name]Avia[/name] Wight etc. Although then it sounds like a last name that way. Hmmm. I feel like a lot of people will mistake the child’s name for the color white. I can see it more of a name for a boy, much more so. [name]Even[/name] a double barrel boy name with Wight as the first part would work best almost. You could also use [name]Dwight[/name] for a boy. I really think Wight would be better as a middle name. But here are some combos with Wight as a first name since I think that’s what you’re going for, if I’m not mistaken.
Boy:
Wight [name]Alexander[/name]
Wight [name]Leander[/name]
Wight [name]Rafferty[/name]
Wight [name]Xavier[/name]
Wight [name]Oliver[/name]
Wight [name]Lachlan[/name]

Girl:
Wight [name]Freya[/name]
Wight [name]Augusta[/name]
Wight [name]Alice[/name]
Wight [name]Cecily[/name]
Wight [name]Thea[/name]

9

Because two people have asked let me clarify I love my name, one of the few things I left of my father who named me and died when I was little. I would never change it. I am currently TTC as I have been for some time, and am thinking of names for when I am finally blessed with a child.

I’ve never bothered to look them up but what had originally caught me when I first visited the cemetery some years ago was that one of the Wight’s must have been a freemason. Under his name, dates, etc were the words [name]Knight[/name] [name]Templar[/name]. I was so intrigued I sat there contemplating that for a while finally looked up and saw the angel standing guard over them. I was there again tonight, after a particularly hard day. I’m sure many people would think Wight more masculine or maybe odd as a first name but for me, the association with the angel is so strong now that I couldn’t possibly name a boy Wight. Though I’m aware it may sound masculine to others it now sounds 100% feminine to me.

Does it seem like something that would garner a lot of teasing? Or that people would just hate or be hard on her about? I mean, a lot of names are rather gender bending these days and surnames certainly seem to be more popular than they have been before…would it be so out of place then? I like the name and I really love the association I have from it. So many names are tainted by their associations. Plus, I enjoy that it’s different. My name is unique and although it wasn’t always easy as a child I’ve grown to love and appreciate my name.

But I don’t want to bestow a name upon my future daughter that it just outright awful, either. Would it be so bad?

[name]Edit[/name]: [name]Blade[/name] I really love that “wight” meant living being. A beautiful meaning that is appropriate to how I associate the name.

10

No, I don’t find it weird or morbid at all.

Wight is the Old English word for vættir. It actually means more than just ‘living being’, Wights [in the old Norse religion] were spirits that protected the land and the people who dwelled there [so it is interesting you associate it with the angel in the cemetery]. The Vikings used to remove the dragon prows from their longships so as to not scare the wights of their homeland. The Icelandic coat-of-arms and coins still depict four Wights protecting the island.

I do think it is usable. If it were me, I’d probably use it as a middle name, but it’s up to you.

11

While I appreciate the sentiment, I think this would make a much better middle name than first name.

12

I think its beautiful. As far as morbid goes, my little secret is that I look in the obituaries to see if I find any older names I haven’t heard of…so all this to say inspiration like you mentioned is beautiful and I love the story behind it.

13

I like the sentiment.

However the name is being used in popular culture, in Game of Thrones, Wight Walkers are essentially zombies. As the series has been rather popular and will probably continue for a few more seasons (based on the books, at least 4 more), that may be something you want to consider.

14

Your story is so lovely; thank you for taking the time to share it :slight_smile:

I think Wight would make a beautiful middle name for either a boy or girl (especially with the other historical/literary meanings that pps have brought up).

However, I think it would make a strange first name. If I met a Wight in person before seeing it on paper, I would be a bit put off or confused as I would likely think he or she said “white”. I feel like it would be a name that needs constant explaining.

15

I’m a bit surprised that more people haven’t talked about the color association – unless I’m pronouncing it wrong, the homonym of Wight is White, correct? Someone did touch on this, but as a color name, it also has pretty intense racial connotations which I do think would make it difficult as a first name. I am glad you found solace in this place and at this beautiful statue, and I can imagine very nicely using Wight as a middle name to commemorate that, though the meaning of a first name Wight may get lost in translation.

It’s curious to me that you said you haven’t “bothered” to look up the actual Wight family. I’d want to know more about the family I was considering naming a child after – unless what you want to honor isn’t Wight at all, but the angel, or art, or peace.

16

I think it has a lovely inspiration and sentiment, and I thank you for the beautiful story you told. However, I personally wouldn’t be able to use it in the first position (which is actually true of a few of my own favorite names, so nothing against them! I simply worry that they wouldn’t be wearable and it wouldn’t be fair to my child even though I have a personal reason to love it. In this case it is simply due to the “white” association, which is unfortunately what most people would think of even though it seems “Wight” has great connotations). That being said, I think it would be a Perfect middle name for any little girl, and especially yours. I can just picture that when she is young no matter what first name she has it will still probably sound like “[name]Snow[/name] White” to her and make her feel like a little princess. [name]How[/name] adorable! =]

17

You’ve got it there, [name]Pam[/name]. I wasn’t trying to honor the Wight family (though having a [name]Knight[/name] [name]Templar[/name] in the family is pretty cool) I associate Wight with the angel and it’s her I want to honor…if that’s the word I’m looking for here. It’s the sense of peace and tranquility she brings me. I have just long associated her with the name Wight because of the plot she stands over. I’ve called her the Wight [name]Angel[/name] for so long that the name has those associations for me now. I hadn’t thought the racial overtones though. I will definitely have to consider that. I don’t know how I missed that. To me, white is a color of innocence and purity so that the racial connotations weren’t something that had even crossed my mind.

18

The general consensus seems to be that it is okay for a middle name but not in the first name spot which it sort of saddening to me. I wanted the name that had a lot of meaning to be in the first spot but I don’t want to make things difficult for her either. I do like that you mentioned the [name]Snow[/name] White association with it being the middle. That is a lovely thought. Either way, first of middle spot, Wight isn’t exactly and easy name to pair up. I’m having a heck of a time and I’m feeling really down and dissapointed that it probably won’t work in the first name spot. I was getting really attached to it.

19

You could use it as a first name if you really wanted to, I was just saying if it were me, I’d be more apt to use it as a middle name.

As for trying to pair it up with another name, look for another name that has just as much meaning to you, or at least a meaning that goes along well with Wight.

20

Well yes but [name]Pam[/name] mentioned the racial connotations which I hadn’t thought of before and that worries me a little bit. I don’t want anyone thinking we’re a family of white supremacists or anything. On my short list of names I really like at the moment I have [name]Vesper[/name], [name]Winter[/name], [name]Stella[/name], and [name]Luna[/name]…there are others but those are my favorites at the moment. I like [name]Wren[/name], too, but there’s no way to make Wight and [name]Wren[/name] go well together.