Imagine. Your baby, now 4 years old, has just completed her
first day at kindergarten. You’re waiting anxiously for the
return of the school bus, praying that she enjoyed her first
day at school, that everything went well, that she’ll be OK.
She gets off the bus. You rush forward to hug her. And she’s in
tears. Through her sobbing, barely able to understand what she’s
saying, you desperately try to find out the cause of her
meltdown. Gradually, between sobs, you hear little Apple mumble
“they made fun of my name. I’m never going back there. Never.”

Happily, this is not a true story. (As far as I know). But when
you’re trying to select your new baby’s name, it’s something you
definitely want to avoid.

Picking a name for your baby, especially your first, is not
easy. It can be difficult, time-consuming, and fraught with
anxiety. These ten tips will help you successfully give your
baby one of her most important lifelong gifts – her name.

1. Start looking at baby names early. You are likely to change
your mind often, so the more time you allow, the easier it will
be.

2. Use the internet. There are lots of great resources online,
from baby name lists, to articles about the meanings and
origins of names, to forums.

3. Classic is classic for a reason. Classic means time-tested,
well-loved. Classic names always work well.

4. Don’t be too trendy or cool. For example, Brittany was # 3
on the popularity charts in 1990. Today, it doesn’t make the
top 50. Tastes and fashions change.

5. The pressure to use names that have been “handed-down” for
generations may be hard to resist. But you should try. Alfred
isn’t what it used to be.

6. Pay attention to what a name may mean, even if the meaning
is obscure. The biblical name Helah, for example, actually
means “rust.” In this age of the internet, any meanings will be
dug up by your child’s middle school friends, so be sure to do a
background check on names you are considering.

7. Don’t make it too hard to pronounce. There’s a reason why
Caoimhe (pronounced “kee-va”) hasn’t made it into the Top 100
yet.

8. Make sure it works with your surname. 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.

9. Consider the siblings, present or planned. If you already
have a daughter named Caroline, it would be a little odd to
name your son Flint.

10. Finally, be proud of the name you pick. If you’ve done your
research, and agonized over it, you’ve done the best you can.
And that’s a special gift for your new baby.


About The Author: Neil Street is co-owner of
http://www.babynamesgarden.com, a baby naming website. More
tips can be seen at http://www.babynamesgarden.com/tips.aspx.
For more
info, contact Neil Street.

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