Blake for a girl?

[CookieB]

I've had a lot of cats bum faces or "That's interesting!" with this name, it's not too weird is it? Or will my dd hate it when she grows up?

It's awful, sorry.

OP If it matters, Blake dosn't mean 'dark haired'.
According to this (normally very reliable) source, it comes from one of two Anglo-Saxon words: it's either related to modern 'black' or to modern 'bleach' and 'bleak' (= cold, hopeless, dreary, pale...).
www.behindthename.com/name/blake
see also:
dictionary.reference.com/browse/bleak

This is just my personal vire, but am not keen on surnames (which Blake is) as first names, except for family reasons. And, as others have said, it does remind me of 'bloke'.

But your baby, your choice, absolutely! And congratulations!

vire = should be 'view'!! Don't know what happened there...

It's not nice for a girl, sorry.

Yes congratulations! I didn't realise she was here already.

If you love it I wouldn't let your family put you off it: sounds like they do like to criticise whatever.

With so many lovely actual girl's names out there, why give her a random surname as first name?

I like it for a girl, it's horrible as a boys name IMO.

Trashy enough on a boy. Don't.

She'll get "Blay" as nickname, you realise.

Blake's 7 was huge in the 80s, which was over 30 years ago. So your child's grandparents' generation will recognise it, current parental generation not so much.

I like it.

I gave me daughter a name that's unisex as a first name and teamed it with a conventional girls name as a middle name.

Personally I found that the cool girls who I aspired to be had unisex names or nicknames which is why I gravitated towards them for my daughter. The conventional middle name was a get out clause that she could use if she didn't agree.

She double barrelled her first and second names for a while but now she likes her name and the flexibility it brings.

BigFootFiles - Most parents I know were born in the 70s. Our parents were born in the 50s.

I was born in the 70s. Blakes 7 aired from 1978-81. The box-sets are rated PG. The majority of people born in the 70s were too young to watch it.

That said The Tomorrow People, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica (all 70s have been remade for current audiences. Wikipedia says a remake keeps stalling - the rights were sold in 2000, currently with SyFy as of 2013. However, Starbuck was male in the original Battlestar and was successfully switched to a female role in the reboot so who knows.

But anyway - OP, once a name is attached to a baby, people tend to accept it. Your mistake is asking people instead of telling them.

Imo it's unisex, but I think it sounds a bit harsh, whether for a boy or a girl.

I also find Brook/e harsh sounding.

There are lots of names between 100 and 200 or further down the popularity lists that might sound nicer and would probably not become too popular.

I have to say, it's growing on me now.

Though in our family it would inevitably get shortened to Blakey, and then I would be tempted to add Lakey. And then I almost wouldn't be able resist saying "the sky has fallen down".

Don't mention Blakey, Tryingnottolaugh! Memories of the dreaded On The Buses.

I like it.

Oh yes! That too.

Going off it again now.

There were 10 girls ( and 100 boys) named Blake in Scotland n 2013. I thnk it is naff for a boy and striking for a girl. Lots of boys names have been taken as boys name, Lesley and Leigh spring to mind.

My dds name which is a very popular name on mn and is often suggested had 16 in scotland last year, so not many more.

I actually do think of it more as a girls name than as a boys name, but it's too harsh sounding for my liking, for either gender.