Parenting & Family

Choosing your Baby’s Name – Important Tips for Picking the Best Baby Name

A name, it is everything and nothing. To borrow an idea from William Shakespeare “A Rose would be sweet no matter what it was called” and so too with our children – name choice is important, however, it is not worth fighting about, the feelings that the name will generate are evolutionary and the result of the individual and their actions.

Some parents choose to surround themselves with volumes of baby name books; others prefer to visit a quality website such as namestobe.com. There is no doubt that readings names with your partner and laughing and creating your shortlist is fun and a sweet way to anticipate the birth of your offspring. The secret that you share when you have selected the name and choose to wait for the imminent birth before revealing it can also be amusing. The teasing with family members as you ask them about their parent’s names and favourite names can be interesting too.

BABY NAMING TIPS

Take Your Time The worst thing you could do when choosing a baby name is to rush into it. Settling for second best may affect you and your child for a lifetime! Don’t commit yourself to the first name that you fancy. Keep searching until you find a name that you are 110% happy with. And don’t forget that you don’t need to choose a name for your baby before birth. Some parents have been known to wait 2 or 3 weeks before choosing a baby name that they are content with.

What Does it Mean? Some parents don’t really care for the meaning of their baby’s name, where as others base their decision solely around it. However, in our opinion a quick check could not hurt. Do you really want your big strong boy to have a name that means “pretty flower”? If you have a meaning in mind, but don’t know what names contain that meaning then click here.

Spelling Try to make sure you don’t choose a name that ends with the same letter that your last name begins with. This can sometimes make pronunciation a challenge. There are some exceptions to this rule, but in general, it is best to keep this in mind when choosing a baby name. Try it for yourself and you’ll see what we mean. Letters like “L” and “S” are especially bad.

Say it Out Loud Instead of referring to your unborn baby as he or she or “the baby”, try using one of the names that you like for a week or so. Saying it aloud and using it in common sentences will give you a better idea of how much you really like the name. Don’t forget, some names look great when written on paper, but sound terrible.

Initials There have been some embarrassing mistakes made when choosing baby names in the past. One of these is the uncanny chance of initials forming some undesirable abbreviation. ‘I P Daily’ is just one classic that springs to mind. Always double check what the initials of your baby name choice are.

Nicknames We live in a lazy age, everything is shortened, and even if you don’t want it, people will shorten your child’s beautiful, carefully chosen name. Think about what the possible nicknames will be. You may love the name Robert, but hate the names Bob, Bobby, Rob or Robby. When it’s time for your child to start going to school, there is a 99.9% chance that he will be known as Rob or Robby instead of Robert.

Middle Names Middle Names are often regarded as an opportunity to honour relatives whose names are outdated – make it the middle name…….it is present but not technically active. Be cautious with this approach if you are naming the child after your self or you partner as you will probably end up referring to the child by its middle name to avoid confusion.

Choosing a baby name can be broken down into two processes. Choose a name that you think your child will enjoy and choosing a name that both parents love. Stay true to yourselves and remember that it is impossible to please everyone and ultimately the most important people to please are you the parents.