Naming Tips

Picking your baby’s name is not easy. The experience can be joyful, emotional or even frustrating. We collected some tips for naming your baby, this list of baby naming tips could help to avoid common pitfalls, and to enjoy the process in a positive way.

Where to find a Name

Websites: This is the best place, you found this one, a great choice! There are lots of great resources online, from baby name lists, to articles about the meanings and origins of names, to forums. Movies: If you still can’t find a suitable name, watch the credits of movies, documentaries and TV shows for ideas. News paper: Have a look at the birth announcements that are put up in the hospital or published in the newspaper. Celebrity: Many baby names are chosen to honor a favorite relative, religious figure, hero, or sports star.

The last name

When searching for baby names remember to check if it fits with the last name. Saying the two names together should produce a nice combination. Feel free to say the name out loud over and over, to get a good feel for the baby name.
If you got a long last name, a short first name is easier to pronounce. James Witherspoon sounds better than Jeremiah Witherspoon. And Stephanie Ada is more pleasant to the ear than Eve Ada. Jane Gulbranson sounds better than Juanita Gulbranson. There are definitely exceptions to this rule, though. There’s nothing wrong with Brad Pitt!
Long baby names will often strike a balance with a short last name. Keanu Reeves rolls off the tongue much better than does Joe Reeves. Last names with two syllables typically sound good with any length first name.
The combination of the first and last name is also important. Beware of both names flowing together into one. The first and last name also have to sound good together. Think twice if you want to name your little girl ‘Ann’ and your last name is ‘Teak’. Or if you’re the Potters and you’d love to call your baby boy ‘Harry’. If your last name is Tree, don’t name your son Ash or your daughter Jade. And if your last name is Johnson, please avoid John. If a baby is going to have a last name that starts with a hard consonant, you may want to choose baby names that are ending in a vowel. The baby names wil sound better that way. News anchor Paula Zahn's name is much more pleasant than if she was named Liz Zahn.

Babynames initials

When choosing babynames, make sure to consider whether the baby name creates initials which are undesirable.
Some examples:
Steven O. Brian looks fine, until Steven gets his first monogrammed shirt, S.O.B. Peter Isaac Gasper sounds like a great name, but the initials spell out P.I.G.

Different stages in life

Babynames like 'Honey' may be fun for the baby's first years. Later in life, a name like 'Precious' on a resume may cost your child the chance for a once in a lifetime job.
۱۰ jears old: Schoolmates will try to make a nickname for your child on the schoolyard. Your baby will thank you for avoiding the babynames which are obvious for teasing. Naming your daughter 'April' or 'May' may cause teasing during those months.

Odd and unusual baby names

Think twice before choosing an odd baby name. It’s nice to pick a name that they don’t associate with anyone else, but kids with odd names are teased more and are less socialized. People with odd names are more likely to feel like the odd ones. Kids at school with an unusual name are a possible target for bullies. This has a negative effect on someone’s popularity.

Unique babynames

Unique names are often created because people combine two baby names. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a distinctive name, but babynames that are too unique could cause trouble when he or she getting older.
On the other hand it can convey a positive sense of independence and strength.

Popular names/ Common names

Common baby names can be a blessing or a curse. But you cannot go wrong with the popular baby names. On the other hand, your son or daughter will likely be unknown throughout life. The advantage is that it must be a good name, since all those parents that chose it must have done so for a reason. A popular name will be more readily accepted if he has a popular name than a difficult or complicated one. The disadvantage of a popular name is that there are, most likely, more children in your child’s circle of friends and acquaintances with whom he or she will have to share. With a common name our son or daughter will likely be known as Peter W. or Marco S. at school and throughout life.
If you want to know whether the name you’ve picked is popular or not, search out naming web sites for the twenty (or more) most popular names.

Meaning of babynames

You may want to consider the importance of the babynames meaning. Even if this is not important to you, it may be important to your child in the future. Most people don’t know the meaning of their name(s). Almost every name has meaning, or at least a origin. There’s a great variety in meanings.

International names

In the rapidly globalizing world in which we live, more people come into contact with friends, co-workers from other countries. This makes it important to think about the consequences for the baby with this name in other countries. Is the name easy to pronounce in foreign languages?
There are a lot of international names and derivations of them: Chris, Christy, Christa, Christina, Tina, Maria, Mary, Marlene, Mara, Rita, or the familiar John: Jahn, Jana, Jean, Janek, Janko, Giovanni. You’ll find Hebrew names the world over. Most English names come from Europe and their origins often go back to Greek and Roman Antiquity. Many new names have been created worldwide. A name van have an odd meaning in another language. For example, the internationally known name ‘Cerdo’ means ‘pig’ in Spanish. You wouldn’t want your child to be teased when he’s in a Spanish speaking country, would you? Dick is a normal dutch name, but in our American-English language ‘Dick’ means the male genital organ.

Celebrity names

A name can be considered attractive because of its associations with a special person: a beautiful singer, a movie star, or the main character in an exciting or touching book. In turn, you may envision a personality for your child. Dad may dream of playing basketball with a son that has the same name as his favorite player, for example. Dad, in this case, should consider that his newborn son may not grow up to be athletic at all. Perhaps he won’t even care for basketball. It is important that bestowing such a name is not expecting a child to be something that they might not be.
Some celebrities can become so much larger than life, their name becomes one you may not want to use for your baby name. Think about baby names like Robbie (Williams) or babynames like Marilyn (Monroe). We may never see many people naming their children Elvis, Cher or Adolph. You should realize, however, that people that are famous at the moment could suddenly become unpopular. They could make headlines in such a negative way that it could make your child’s life difficult. Naming your child after a celebrity who is still living involves a risk, since you don’t know what the future will bring for that person. Your kid may not be very happy with her namesake...OR her name!

Spelling variants

Spelling variants can be a stumbling block. Before you choose a name with alternate spellings, be sure you are willing to accept some confusion. Alicia, Alyssa, Alisha, and Elissa may all sound alike to some.

Double gender

Double gender names such as Corey, Brett, Dale, and so forth, while they may be perfectly good names, present risk. The risk is that over time, the name will become more male, or more female, leaving the losing gender with a potentially embarrassing name.

Scream out loud

If you’ve come up with a name but you still feel it sounds strange, say it out loud. Talk to and about your unborn child using that name. You will be able to tell for sure, this way, if it ‘fits’. It’s also nice to know that if your child doesn’t listen, it sounds great if you yell.

Find more names

It might happen that shortly before you give birth, a baby is born within your family or circle of friends that is given ‘your’ name exactly. Therefore, keep a few nice names in reserve.

Conclusion

If you think there is a perfect name, I’m sorry to tell, but there is no such thing. Be proud of the name you pick. If you’ve done your research and you’ve done the best you can. The name is a very special gift for your new baby.