Baby Names: The 7 Biggest Mistakes -- And What To Do Instead

There are few things more thrilling in life than having your first baby. But newbie baby namers are prone to making some mistakes that more experienced name choosers are able to avoid.

If you're choosing a baby name for the first time, don't make one of these seven common mistakes:

1. Believing that the names that were popular -- and creative -- when you were a kid still have the same status.

Name tastes have changed radically over the last decade or two. Goodbye, Jessica and Josh, hello Layla and Serenity, Landon and Tristan -- all top 100 names.

2. Thinking that the playground rules are the same as they were back in the day.

Kids no longer get teased for having names that are unique, androgynous, exotic or hard to pronounce or spell. Rather, name diversity is celebrated.

3. Letting your parents have too much say in the baby's name.

Baby names can undoubtedly be a fun topic of family conversation. But the person who changes the diapers at 3 a.m. gets to name the baby.

4. Clinging too tightly to the name you always swore you'd give your first child.

A lot of people -- let's face it: girls -- spend their childhoods coming up with fanciful names they want to give their children. But if that name you always loved has suddenly become uber-popular or clashes with your new last name, let it go.

5. Caring too much about how cool the name choice makes you look.

Sure, pregnancy is cooler than it used to be, with cuter clothes and celebrity role models. But putting a name's cool factor above all else won't make little Bronx's life very easy.

6. Not considering subsequent children's names.

First-time namers are likely to think about, well, their first child's name, but if you name Baby No. 1 Tallulah, then you pretty much rule out Lula, Lila, Delilah, Sula, Tally and maybe even Louis for subsequent children.

7. Not realizing that there's going to be a real live baby ... and child ... and, eventually, grownup on the other end of the naming decision.

We get it that it can seem like your pregnancy is all about you. Sometimes, it can almost come as a shock when an actual baby emerges in the delivery room, instantly asserting her own needs and personality. Try to keep that little (and eventually big) person in mind when you choose the name she'll live with forever.

Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz, founders of Nameberry.com, innovators of baby-name content on the Web. Got a name craving? Learn more about baby names at Nameberry.com.

Comments

[Pearl 18]

01:50 AM on 08/26/2011

I have a friend named Calvin and his brother's name is Kevin.

[Bigrcube]

12:18 PM on 08/23/2011

What, no Melvin Melvin or Robert Roberts?

[granola and oats]

12:27 PM on 08/22/2011

I had the unfortunate luck of being named Emma in the 90's. I am one of 6 in a school with only 200 students. It's terribly confusing.

[Dorothy Moody]

12:14 AM on 08/20/2011

Six years ago, I ordered the Disney personalized baby blanket for two friends -- both were for Madisons. I was hoping the trend would stop, but it has only gotten worse!

[peachpage01]

10:37 AM on 08/19/2011

Here's a word to the wise in choosing your child's name. I'm currently working with 2 preschoolers. In learning to spell their name, the less letters the better! Imagine being 4 years old and trying to write a name containing 4 vowels and 5 consonants. Eventually they'll get there yes, but the kids who have shorter names clearly have the advantage :)

[TimetoIMPEACH]

09:24 AM on 08/18/2011

On baby naming sites you see scores of women trying to find the most unique name for their baby. Most of them choose a name they like, then go after a tortured "unique" spelling. Unique is fine.

However:

No matter how you spell it, Katelyn / Kaitlin / Caytlynne / Caetlin / Kaytlyn / Qatelyn (you get my drift) is STILL kate-lin. And when the teacher call out 'kate-lin', your daughter will be one of the twelve 'kate-lin's in her class of 20! (And the rest are boys)

[Dorothy Moody]

11:48 PM on 08/19/2011

Yes!! I'm a teacher and we're going through the Madison epidemic right now. There's at least one in every class, if not two.

[zigyboo]

12:25 PM on 08/15/2011

Did you notice one of the tags: "crazy"? I think that number 2 is amazingly crazy. I mean, seriously????!!! Kids dont get made fun of for exotic, weird, or hard to pronounce names? Yes they do.
(note, A kid said this, I see it EVERY day at school.)

[Comicoffee]

05:44 PM on 08/13/2011

On naming girls: try each of these two introductions:
"Everyone, please rise for the Speaker of the House, [Name]"
"Now offering private dances in the Champagne Room, get out your wallets for [Name]"

Which one sounds more natural? If it's the second one, DON'T NAME YOUR KID THAT.

[Inannawhimsey]

04:39 PM on 08/13/2011

I say another thing to consider is: this name is going to be, ostensibly, your child's identifier for their entire life so why not choose something unique instead of bland?

[Catriona]

08:57 PM on 08/17/2011

Oh brilliant. Like my Scottish parents named the ONLY member of the family to be born in the US in Scots Gaelic: Catriona. (BTW: It's pronounced Katreena, like the hurricane.) No one has ever pronounced it properly.

Nope. Even though I'm now in Scotland, I'll choose common names in English: Helen over Eilidh.

Now how would you pronounce 'Eilidh'?

[Inannawhimsey]

09:21 PM on 08/17/2011

*chuckle* That's awe-some :3

Good thing you're standing up for your US culture against the normative Scottish culture around you. It can be difficult being an iconoclast :3

I'd guess that 'Eilidh' is pronounced differently depending on which Scottish village one is currently at.

[Dorothy Moody]

12:06 AM on 08/20/2011

Helen is my middle name -- great choice! It's old-fashioned, but my first name is as well. The great part is that I know few other Dorothys.

[Eha]

07:20 AM on 08/13/2011

I suppose any measurable degree of intelligence and sensitivity might keep most adults from naming a child, say, "Souffle" after their affection for whipped eggs and cheese. But I wouldn't 100% rule out the possibility of someone having done exactly that.

[Dorothy Moody]

12:07 AM on 08/20/2011

I guess I'll be naming a child Red Velvet. Or Filet Mignon, Medium Rare.

[SrAN]

04:37 AM on 08/13/2011

I just had a little girl and named her Zoey Jane. Now I get from people all the time, "Did you know that there is a Staind song called Zoe Jane?" Yes I am aware, I like the song very much but I liked the name Zoey before even hearing the song and Jane is a middle name commonly used in my family.

[JMullen3]

01:36 AM on 08/12/2011

I like #5, caring too much. My wife and I worked hard to choose names we thought meaningful yet unique. Turned out that all three of our children's names were in the top ten. Let it go, have fun with it and enjoy in the creativity. We were looking for names that started with an S for our third child. Late one night, deep into the third trimester, we were both awake at 3 in the morning, and we started to rattle off S names, Saddam, Spartacus, Satan - we went with Samantha.

[Dorothy Moody]

12:07 AM on 08/20/2011

Samantha is timeless.

[Evelyn Garver]

11:52 AM on 08/11/2011

Literary names can be great. And no, TWILIGHT is not literature. It has ruined Edward, my favorite boys' name. Consider sources like Dickens, Shakespeare, Edith Wharton, and Henry James. Our daughter's name is Nell Rebecca. In this age of Dakota and Jaden, we run into people who have never heard the name Nell. It is, of course the diminutive of Elinor or Helen. It dates from the 12th century. Other old fashioned names that have not yet made a popular comeback: Cora, Irene,Margaret, Ruth, Dorothy, Mae.

[Inannawhimsey]

04:38 PM on 08/13/2011

My wife has a friend named Frodo (and not from the book) :3

[Jessica36]

10:37 AM on 08/19/2011

I've heard Nell before but it always makes me think of that Jodie Foster movie. "Tay in the win!." Still a pretty name but I just remember everyone joking about that when the movie came out.

[Pinkasaurus]

06:34 PM on 08/10/2011

"1. Believing that the names that were popular -- and creative -- when you were a kid still have the same status." Why does it matter if the name is "popular" now? I actually think it is better if the name is not popular or trendy, because then the child will not have 4 other kiddos with the same name in his or her class at school. When I was born, Melissa and Amanda were the "in" names, and there were 4 of each in my class.

[Joscasta]

02:11 PM on 08/10/2011

Don't forget to consider the initials of the child... make sure that it doesn't spell out anything... my cousin made a huge mistake in this when she had her daughter. That poor girl came home crying from kindergarten one day.. and asked her mom why her initials were SAD? My cousin had a ton of explaining to do.

[Bethanese]

11:14 AM on 08/11/2011

Excellent point. Mine were BAG. My mother bought me one of those L.L. Bean monogrammed backpacks. I had a bag that said BAG. Yeah, that was fun, especially when people thought I was being a smart@$$. Now I'm BAM; a little better, but I still swear that I will not name my child anything that spells out a word, even if it is a cute one...

[Pearl 18]

02:04 AM on 08/26/2011

My initials were PP. Thank goodness they changed when I got married