Most parents today work hard to find the perfect name for their baby. But still, it's all too easy to fall into one of the top baby-naming traps. Here, the ten biggest mistakes we encounter talking to the parents who visit nameberry.
1. BYPASSING A NAME YOU LOVE JUST BECAUSE A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER DOESN'T LIKE IT. You'll soon find that everyone wants to get into the naming act with suggestions and (often negative) opinions, but you'll regret walking away from one of your favorites because someone else tries to convince you it's not attractive or stylish.
2. REJECTING A NAME YOU LOVE BECAUSE IT'S TOO HIGH ON THE NATIONAL POPULARITY LIST. Many parents today are obsessed with tracking names on the Social Security most popular list, discarding those they fear are getting overexposed. But truly loving a name is a more important factor in being content with your choice than its standing on any list.
3. BEING TOO CONCERNED WITH A NAME'S LITERAL MEANING. So what if it means "graceful" in Old German if it's clunky in Modern American?
4. NAMING YOUR CHILD AFTER A CAR OR A PERFUME OR A PUBLICATION. Naming a baby Porsche or Chanel or, yes, Huffington may be taking the idea of branding far too far.
5. BOWING TO FAMILY PRESSURE TO CHOOSE A TRADITIONAL NAME. A family favorite or a name that reflects your ethnic or religious heritage can be a wonderful gift to pass on to you child, providing it's YOUR choice and not your mother-in-law's.
6. NOT TALKING THROUGH THE NAME DECISION WITH A SPOUSE. Too often, couples get locked in battle over their name favorites rather than talking through the reasons they like the names they do-which would almost certainly lead them to a choice they can agree on.
7. BELIEVING A NAME IS UNUSUAL JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE. Trends change quickly and many names that were virtually unheard of by today's first-time parents-Jaden, Savannah, Kylie-are epidemic among children.
8. CHOOSING A NAME WITH A DIFFICULT SPELLING OR PRONUNCIATION. Spelling Riley Rylea or varying Aidan to Aedyn might seem creative to you, but it's sure to make life more complicated for your child.
9. THINKING YOU CAN CONTROL NICKNAMING. You may insist on Jacob, but the world is likely to insist on Jake- and the world is much bigger than you are.
10. NAMING A BABY, NOT THE CHILD OR ADULT HE OR SHE WILL BECOME. A diminutive like Jojo or an endearment like Precious might be cute for an infant or toddler, but it's better to choose a name that will serve your child on the more formal occasions of his or her future.
Chomondeleigh Featherstonehaugh St. John (if you know Brit names, this is pronounced "Chumley Fanshaw Sinjin")
Rotifer Stentor (both algae species names - I'm a biologist)
Mizithra Brie (both cheeses)
But when our kid was born, we went traditional. And she's thanked us ever since!
Seems to suggest a rule, but I'm not sure whether a pro or con one. Should one *not* name their child after well-loved literary characters, mythological figures and the like if those names have since been used to brand cars, sneakers, and other consumables? That is, do we avoid a name that might only have certain, rather crass connotations among the ignorant?
If it don't swing with "President" or "Doctor" in front of it -- drop it..
Brain (meant to be "Brian" but mispelled on the birth certificate--the horrible irony being that Brain was in a self-contained learning disabilities class)
Lemonjello (pronounced leh-manj-ello)
Pajama (pronounced pa-sha-ma)
she said she wanted to make sure her second son had a "non-thug" name.
interesting.
Names appear to more poetical these days and less interested in gender-communication.
Parents may obsess about boys wearing blue and girls having flowered wall paper but there are certainly a lot of girls with completely genderless names or boys with names that are spelled differently that even 10 years ago and are frequently not "strong masculine names."
And let it be said that many maybe even most African American families appear to be following certain rules about child naming that are not the norm for other communities producing an orgy of mispronunciation.
My own personal feeling is that I don't judge people based on having a certain name after several times meeting them, so I think naming your child something very unusual and optmistic like "Star" or "Delysihias" really is not going to produce self worth anymore than John or Mary. Read to your kid, volunteer with them, hug them, take them to church (if that is your thing), make them do their homework and say please and thank you. That will get them far.
I think it's a big decision for parents. You can't control the nose or if they get Grandma's ugly feet, but you can do something about that name. And it's subjective, what's a good name or a bad name. I've never been partial to suffixes and prefixes which result in LaNames and Name-ettes. I think you should be able to pronounce the names. So often today parents string together a whole bunch of things resulting in Natishabethanne Mariejaqueline. I feel sorry for their teachers during roll call.
I heard about one man with too many children who got tired of coming up with names. He named baby girl #10 "Female" pronuounce fem-a'-lee. But I suspect that's an urban myth. :-)