Ideas On Choosing A Name For Your Baby
Katy Bivens
A name is one of the most precious things you will give to your baby. Sociologists, baby experts and teachers agree that your child's name impacts on his or her personality, baby's ability to interact with his or her peers, and how he or she is seen by total strangers. There are a number of things you should consider before deciding on a name.
- Being different: So many parents these days want to give their baby a unique name, either by changing the spelling of a traditional name or inventing a completely new one. If you mess about with the spelling all that will happen is that in later life few people will spell your child's name correctly - one friend of ours says the only ones to spell her name right are her mother and her husband.
- Made up names: Another way of giving baby a ?unique? name is to make one up. The problem is that many parents go overboard and choose really weird names for baby. Celebrities are renowned for this of course and, to some extent, their kids are insulated from the real world by wealth. Remember that your baby is going to grow into an adult and a cute name for a baby may not sound so good for a strapping six footer. We met twin babies recently called Porche and Mercedes! The cost of raising the twins will probably be similar to the cost of the cars, and maybe Daddy would have preferred the motors!
- Initials: Spell out the initials of baby's names in case these make an unfortunate word - it happens. Also, some surnames don't go well with certain initials - P Green for example. Children hate to be teased, don't give others in the playground the opportunity.
- Puns: Johnny Cash's song ?A Boy Named Sue? is amusing but in real life giving your baby a name, or combination of names, that will cause her embarrassment when she is older is cruel. Yet parents still do it, either on purpose or just by not thinking. Whilst in hospital I met a nurse with the name of Rosie Bottom. Readers in the UK will smile at that, others should substitute the last name for ?Butt? to join in the amusement. her name certainly made her patients laugh, but there must have been times when Rosie cursed her parents for their lack of thoughtfulness.
- Compatibility and Sound: According to the experts, first names that end in a vowel and last names that start with a vowel tend to sound like one name. Other advice is to choose a long first name if the last name is short, and vice versa.
- Meanings of Names: Maybe you have compiled a short-list but can't decide on names for baby? Try looking up the meanings of the names, it may help you to decide. You probably wish to give baby two names, so how about names that mean the same, or have opposite meanings. Kevin and Alan both mean ?Handsome?; Lucy and Phoebe both mean ?Light?, whereas ?Melanie means ?Dark?.
- Naming Twins: Deciding on a name for one baby can be difficult, but two?! The idea in the last paragraph about using name meanings to help choose names is worth further examination. Tammy and Tasmin both mean ?Twins?; Sadie, Sarah and Zara all mean ?Princess?; Archie and Patrick both mean ?Noble?; and Kevin and Alan both mean ?Handsome?. Or use anagrams: Amy and May; Aidan and Nadia; and Mary and Myra are all anagrams.
The names you give to your baby are perhaps the most important thing apart from life itself, so spend time choosing the names and avoid the more obvious pitfalls.
Find more suggestions on choosing http://www.allabout-babynames.co.uk/) baby names. There you will also find lists of http://www.allabout-babynames.co.uk/name_meanings.html baby name meanings, lists of the most popular names for babies, and the personality traits of babies born during the next Chinese Year.
|
Categories 
