Getting Ready for Baby: Choosing Baby Names

Choosing a name for your baby is an important task and one that is likely to take some time. Fortunately, there are also many resources. In addition to baby naming books, you can find websites that will not only tell you what names mean and where they come from, but also how popular they are or have been in the past. Here are some things to consider when naming your baby.

Family Names   

Do you want to name your baby after someone? If you want to honor a relative or other special person, but don’t particularly like that person’s name, consider using it as a middle name, or just using the first letter.

First, Last and Initials  

Of course you will want a name that goes well with your last name, and you will want to make sure that the initials don’t spell out something unappealing. Isabel Charlotte King might be a great name if the initials didn’t spell ICK. Travis Taylor sounds nice too until you think about the first time a teacher writes his first name with his last initial – Travis T. You probably don’t want your child known as a travesty.

Name Meanings  

If name meanings matter to you, be sure and make sure you are choosing a good one. Cameron is a nice name, but it means “bent nose”. Mara sounds nice too, but that name means “bitter”.

The World Online  

Your parents never considered whether or not your name was “googleable” but in today’s world, you may want to. If you name your child John Smith, it will be challenging to find him on the net since he will be lost in a google sea of John Smiths. If you want your child to be findable online, give him or her an original name, or at least and original spelling. Watch out for nouns and verbs. Scout and Apple are interesting names, but again, hard to google.

The Weird Factor  

While you might want to give your child an original name, you may not want it to be completely out there. Off the wall spellings like Jaycup or Soos’n may seem cute, but condemn your child to a life of constantly having his or her name misspelled. Names also leave impressions, at least unconsciously. So unless you want your adult child living at home forever, give your baby a name that won’t look strange on a job application.

Some couple have their baby’s name picked out long before the baby is due while others wait until they have “met” their baby. Either way, your baby is sure to grow into his or her name.

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