5 Unexpected Places to Find Baby Names

Naming your baby is never easy. You might choose baby names by looking into your family history. Or perhaps you choose to name your baby right out of a book or a top 100 list of baby names. There is not a right or wrong answer. But there are some unusual places that you may not have thought of looking when it comes to a bevy of baby names.

1. Dictionaries
   So many names are coming straight from the dictionary. Some fall into the values category, like Faith, Charity, etc. There are also other names like Cadence, Melody, Harmony, Derby, Radiance, Kelvin, etc.

2. Obituaries & Cemeteries
   This is a great source of names that are older, lesser known and seldom used. Certainly you'll find your Johns and Marys, but you'll also find Imogene, Clara, Henry, and Caleb. Think of this as looking into someone else's family tree. If you are lucky enough to have a really old cemetery in your neck of the words, try looking for really old headstones with names that you like.

3. Online Baby Nurseries
   These can be local or no where near you. If you want to steer clear of popular local names, and the list from last year isn't current enough, check out your local baby nursery. If you simply are looking for naming trends in general, you can find those on any online baby nursery, like Growing Family, where you can search by zip code, hospital or a specific family name.

4. Geography
   It isn't really a recent phenomena to name babies after locations or places, though the trend does seem to have risen in recent years. Babies named Brooklyn, Madison, Paris and the like are popping up all over the place. You might choose a place that has a meaning to you, like where you got engaged, married or dreamed of traveling to...

5. Television & Movies
   While many current celebrities choose really wild or weird names for their babies it doesn't mean that you need to do that. In fact, just try skipping a generation or so to see what great names you can find. You can peruse through television, movies, plays, opera, music and more for a talent inspired name - character or actor.