[name_m]Hi[/name_m] all,
I recently came across [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] as a fn (or middle) and am falling for it. Hard. I’ve heard people say that it really feels like a surname, but I don’t have that- I think it has much more of a first name “feel,” since it sounds like a few established first names- [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Jacoby[/name_m], etc… Also, people have said that the [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] character in Sense and Sensibility ruined the name for them, but I haven’t read it so I have none of those associations. Also, there’s the nice, normal nn [name_m]Will[/name_m].
What do you think?
LL
I love [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u]. I would only use it as a middle name. [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] has an outdoorsy, adventurous feel. [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] is a surname name but so is [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Jacoby[/name_m], [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m], … The whole I am against surname names makes me chuckle. So many that are strongly against surname names actually have them in their signatures. I am guessing that most names were surnames at one point. There is nothing wrong with them. I am not fond of [name_m]Will[/name_m] as a nickname. For me [name_m]Will[/name_m] takes away the spunk and feel that [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] brings. I personally would not use a nickname or would find a nickname just as spunky, outdoorsy, adventurous, and fun as [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u].
I went to school with several kids from a family whose last name was [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u], and, I confess, they did nothing to endear the name to me. That family is my only association with it.
I think [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] works better as a middle name. I like it with shorter fn’s: [name_u]James[/name_u] [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u], [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] or looking at your signature, [name_u]Jude[/name_u] [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] (oh, I love this one!).
I think it is great as a first name- it sounds familiar, but fresh too. I also don’t think it will sound dated. Plus, it has the lovely [name_m]Will[/name_m] as a nn. I say go for it :).