A mum has insisted that she "doesn't care what people think" of her decision to name her baby daughter after the coronavirus lockdown. Jodi Cross, 36, had been trying to start a family for a year when she became pregnant in the lockdown of 2021.
Along with husband Rob, also 36, Jodi decided to name her baby after what was happening in the world at the time, Manchester Evening News reports. So, when the baby girl arrived at Bedford Hospital, Bedfordshire, on November 28 2021, weighting 5lbs 2oz, she was named Lockie - after lockdown.
The pair say the lockdown was the reason Jodi was able to get pregnant, as they had more time on their hands thanks to furlough. Hairdresser Jodi said that despite the pandemic, the lockdown was a "really good time" in their lives, so they wanted to name Lockie after it.
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Now, Jodi says she has "no regrets" over the choice of name. The mum-of-one from Wixams, Bedfordshire, said: "We had been trying for a year to get pregnant and lockdown meant I was furloughed and Rob was working less.
"I think we just relaxed a bit because we had so much more time than we normally would, and then we found out I was pregnant. When she was born there was the new strain of Covid coming about - Omicron - so we knew she'd be a lockdown baby.
"So we named her Lockie for lockdown - we really liked the name, and lockdown was a good time in our lives because it was so relaxing. People might not like the name, but I don't care what they think."
Jodi and Rob, an electrical business director, were at school together, but lost touch until meeting again on the dating app Tinder in 2019. They chatted for a while and then met at a local pub for a catch-up.
They soon struck up a romance and things were going well when the Coronavirus hit in March 2020. They were living separately at the time, but keen to be together, Rob - who has one child from a previous relationship - moved into Jodi's flat.
For the first year or so of trying for a baby, the couple had no luck. Jodi said it was only once they had stopped assuming it was going to happen that they got a happy surprise.
She said: "I ended up taking over a little salon during lockdown because I had been on furlough a long time. By this point we had been trying for a year and thought pregnancy wasn't going to happen so started to focus on work instead. A week later I found out I was pregnant."
Jodi and Rob were overjoyed and decided to surprise their families by getting married in secret in October 2021, when Jodi was seven months pregnant. Lockie was then born in November, and the couple wanted to name her after the time of her conception, during which Jodi said they "had the best time".
She added: "We know lots of people didn't enjoy lockdown but for us, it was a good time. We actually had the best time in lockdown. With both of us being home, we had no worries and found it really relaxing. We named her after a good time, not a bad one."
Some people might be surprised by the name, given it was a hard time for many, but Jodi says she doesn't care what people think. She said that not only does 'Lockie' remind her of a happy time, but that there were several coincidences leading up to the birth where the word kept appearing.
She said: "There was a girl who came into the salon whose surname was Lockey at the time we were considering names - and then we got married in Gretna Green in Scotland, where there are lots of lochs. The primary reason was definitely lockdown, but the name just felt right."
Jodi says that no one has ever said anything negative to her about the name to her face, although she accepts it's possible they might behind her back. She said: "People might not like the name, but I don't care what they think. You never know, other people might hear our story now - and next year it might be the most popular baby name."
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