HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight Watchers®.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


How to Pick the Best Name for Your Baby


Expectant parents spend hours preparing the nursery, poring over pregnancy and delivery books and going to childbirth classes. Yet surprisingly, many decide their child's given name within a matter of minutes, often spending more time selecting the right car seat or stroller.

What should parents-to-be consider when choosing a baby name? All About Baby, a personalized children's products company that has seen all types of name combinations, has come up with helpful tips to make the process interesting, fun and successful.

First, start with the experts. The choices today are staggering with more than 50,000 common names and spelling variations. Begin with some basic homework by buying a few baby-name books or a baby-name software program. Check online for the best buys.

You can also use the internet by tapping into dozens of internet sites that list popular baby names, some websites even offer customized search programs, complete with the meaning and origin of the names.

Somewhere during the middle of your pregnancy, start jotting down some of your favorite selections.

Next, begin mixing and matching the first and middle names along with the baby's last name to see how you like various combinations. How do the names sound together? How do they look on paper? This is the time to ask others for their opinion, so keep an open mind and have a little fun considering a wide range of names for your little one.

At the same time, keep in mind that names often bring up a myriad of emotions, and sometimes parents can have very different reactions to their partner's favorite choices. So we advise being respectful of your partner's feelings.

Trendy names are really in fashion -- especially with celebrities. However, there is always something to be said for the old standards that have endured the test of time. For instance, Bambi Nevada might seem like a cool choice today, but consider what is the best selection for an entire lifetime. What will this name look like decades later on a business card?

Along these same lines are exotic spellings and invented names, which are also in wide use today. Remember that kids can sometimes be cruel and a highly unusual name could be fodder for playground teasing.

As an adult, just think how many times during an average week you give and spell your name. Do you want to give your child a name that he or she could really resent later?

If you absolutely love a name, but can't tolerate the nickname that often goes with it, then think twice.

For example, I have a friend who named her son Michael, even though she hates the nickname, 'Mikey'. Now the mom spends far too much time and energy correcting kids, teachers and other parents who refer to him by the dreaded nickname. It's just not worth it.

Since ultrasound tests are not always interpreted correctly, All About Baby recommends choosing names for both sexes. Even when you think the gender is a certainty, it is still a good idea to have a back up name. Why? Sometimes the name that seemed perfect during your pregnancy just isn't the right match when the new baby finally arrives.

This actually happened to another mom that I know, who was having her second son, a boy. They learned the sex of the baby during pregnancy and planned for months to name their new son, Cameron Michael.

However, when I visited their home a few days after the baby's birth, I learned the parents had named him Matthew John. His mother's explanation was that after his birth, they all realized 'he just didn't look like a Cameron.' And you know, she was right, he looked like a Matthew John!

Everyone seems to have an opinion when it comes to baby names, and family members can be especially outspoken. While it's fun to hear suggestions, especially during the first part of your name search, keep in mind that ultimately your child's name is your decision. It is impossible to make everyone happy.

Naming your infant is one of the most important tasks you will ever undertake. A person's name is truly a lifetime gift, and it helps define your child -- within the family, to friends, at school and to the outside world. If you consider the options carefully and select with love, you really can't go wrong.

For a complete list of 20 Helpful Baby-Naming Tips as well as a wide variety of other interesting child-related content, visit http://www.allbaby.com.

About The Author

Nancy Wurtzel is the owner and founder of All About Baby, an ecommerce site located at http://www.allbaby.com. All About Baby specializes in personalized and memorable gifts for children as well as interesting and helpful child-related site content. Ms. Wurtzel has over 20 years of marketing and communications experience. She consults with small businesses seeking to enter the marketplace or grow their existing ecommerce business.

For a complete list of 20 Helpful Baby-Naming Tips as well as a wide variety of other interesting child-related content, visit http://www.allbaby.com.

nancy@allbaby.com


MORE RESOURCES:

MP flags drop box for unwanted babies
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 1 hour ago
By Catherine Best VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby says he's open to the idea of a drop box to allow people to legally abandon their unwanted babies. ...
Brumby open to 'baby drop' The Age
all 20 news articles


Sydney Morning Herald

Aussie IVF babies celebrate milestone
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - Jul 24, 2008
As one of the world's first IVF babies, the 25-year-old Sydney woman is no stranger to the big deal made of her birthday milestones - but this week she's ...
IVF turns 30 Sydney Morning Herald
all 137 news articles


Buffon Full Of Praise For Juve Babies
Goal.com, Switzerland - 6 minutes ago
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has hailed the Bianconeri’s array of young stars and he believes they will all show their mettle and become great ...


BBC News

Researchers Find Breast-Feeding Mother's Diets Influences Babies ...
AHN - 1 hour ago
Copenhagen, Denmark (AHN) - The types of foods mothers eat an hour before breast-feeding their baby greatly influence children's preferences later on, ...
Health: Breastfed babies more receptive to tastes, say food ... guardian.co.uk
Breastfed babies get a taste for good food News-Medical.net
Breastfeeding could make babies more likely to try new foods Telegraph.co.uk
Daily Mail - TheMedGuru
all 34 news articles


Fitch Affirms Toys 'R' Us' IDR at 'B-'; Outlook Stable
MarketWatch - 19 hours ago
This strategy involves the conversion of existing Toys 'R' Us stores into Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us side-by-side stores, building new stores in this ...
Fitch Affirms TMPA's $37.68MM Revenue Rfdg Bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable MarketWatch
Fitch Affirms Nicor Inc. and Nicor Gas; Outlook Stable MarketWatch
all 23 news articles


Simple Cooling Blanket Saving Babies' Lives
Boston Channel.com,  USA - 13 hours ago
BOSTON -- Delivering babies might seem routine for hospitals, but for every 1000 babies born, one or two will have a brain injury because of a lack of ...
WEEI's Ordway Shares Battle To Save Baby Boston Channel.com
all 2 news articles


ABC News

Chosen Two Outed As Test Tube Babies
Defamer Australia, Australia - 4 hours ago
... that Jolie has sped far ahead of post-pregnancy slim fast stars Jessica Alba and J. Lo in shedding her tent-dress-requiring baby weight already? ...
Brad Pitt Throws Furious Giganto-Strop Over Secret Baby Photos hecklerspray
BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE MAY HAVE HAD IVF TREATMENT Holy Moly
Angelina Jolie used vitro fertilization to conceive twins: report South Asian Women's Forum
2SNAPS.TV - Entertainmentwise
all 258 news articles


Krasnodar Convinces Women to Keep Their Unborn Babies
Moscow News, Russia - 15 hours ago
... across the country - the local Health Department held a "Week without Abortions" this month, advising clinics to talk women into keeping their babies. ...


Woman fought desire to kill babies for months
Daily Gleaner, Canada - 1 hour ago
GUELPH, Ont. - An Ontario woman who has admitted to killing two of her babies said in an interview with police that she considered killing her two-month-old ...


New York Daily News

30 years of test-tube babies
New York Daily News, NY - Jul 24, 2008
The world's first test-tube baby turns 30 Friday -Â and the British-born woman isn't the only one with reason to rejoice. Louise Joy Brown's birth on July ...
GREGORY PENCE: Free-market baby making thrives Fresno Bee (subscription)
Experts say reproductive tourism a growing worry Reuters
World's First Test-Tube Baby Turns 30 AHN
all 70 news articles

babies - Google News