Don't worry about anyone else
- With my first pregnancy (a girl) I was very hurt when my suggestions were instantly criticized by family members and eventually my husband and I learned we needed to make a decision on our own before we talked to anyone else and this time around (a boy) we picked out names ahead of time and never discussed them with family until we found out what we were having and then we simply said "this is his name" and avoided all the unneeded input!
- —Guest Dyan
If they don't like it, oh well...
- I am Wiccan, and Cherokee/Irish, and my hubby is a mutt. I chose nature names, because I love the sound of them: Crystal, Violet , Autumn and Winter. The last three girls have the middle name of Rose, which is a family name. I told people, if they didn't like the names, oh well... My baby, my choice. Hubby chose the middle name and I chose the first. I also had a list of names for him to choose from, because he had never had any experience with naming a baby before and was totally clueless. I am glad I had girls, because if I had had a boy, I would not have liked the name given: Eric, Jr. I wanted Ethan, or Alyx, and he wanted the baby named after him, so in that regard, I am tickled to have girls!
- —Guest Tina
Name your child by rational compromise.
- For each of our 4 children, my wife and I discussed various names; however, we could not agree even though we liked some of the names that each put forth. So, we each made a list in the order of our preferred names. Then we compared lists and chose the name that was the first duplication on each of our lists. To the best of my recollection, it only took about 4-6 names down each of our lists before we got a duplication and had a match! Marriage and child naming work best with rational compromise.
- —Guest Wayne
You can only do your best!
- No matter how hard you try to have a perfect name, someone else's child will mess with it as soon as your child hits school! I chose Bart (short, manly and easily said) and next thing I knew he was Bart the Fart? Then along came Bart Simpson! I still love the name and my son has had fun with it for sure.
- —susnp25
Good enough for royalty
- When I named my 2nd son Henry Charles, my then mother in law was very negative about it, as my then sister-in-law. A few months after he was born, Princess Diana named her second little prince: Henry Charles. I guess if the royalty of England felt it was a good name then....
- —aliceJena
What Gender is that Name???
- Lesley, Shirley, Kelli/Kelly, Ashley, Taylor - Nice names but what gender? Think about what your child will spend the rest of his or her adult life doing with that first name, please! Kelli is a horrible name for a boy - everyone will assume he is a girl at first glance. And what is up with Lesley, Shirley, & Ashley...again, soon-to-be-parents, these are now considered primarily girl names so please don't stick your little boy with them...it's not 1865 any longer, so don't do it! Boys have a hard enough time becoming well-adjusted men without their classmates turning their lives into hell with an unfortunate first name choice. I know a man named Shirley and a woman named Aaron ...can you imagine how tired they must be of correcting their gender? So, please, don't be cute with those supposed unisex names. Don't kid yourselves! They really aren't unisex and never will be. Girls are girls and boys are boys; enjoy their gender difference and give them gender appropriate names!
- —acmeannie
Anagrams
- We chose our son's name by taking the first letter of everyone's name in the family. It prevented anyone being hurt by not choosing their name and everyone felt close to him. We called him Carl Martin, C for his brother Christopher, A for his brother Anthony, R for his Uncle Robert, L for my name, M for his eldest brother Michael, A for his Grandad Albert, R for his brothers middle name Robert, T for Thelma his Gran's name, I for Ian his Dad's name and N for Nan after his other Grandmother. He is a bit of everyone after all!
- —Guest Lyn
Dont's
- Parents have to think about their kids before naming them. They have to think if the kid will like the name. Not because you like it, it means your kid will like it. Don't rhyme last names with names like my parents did! Don't give them a name that sounds funny with the surname. Don't make up names, and if you do, try for it to sound normal. Also watch second names. Don't name your baby girl Hannah Mya just because those are her grandparents names. Try to be creative, but not crazy.
- —Guest Gayle Hale
Make it interesting!
- When I was expecting and people would ask what I planned to name my baby I told them in a very sweet voice if it was a girl I was going to name her Tahlula and if it was a boy his name would be JD Hog. People finially stopped asking me. And everyone was very happy with the real names of my children.
- —Guest Linda
How About The Flow
- My mother and grandmother always said if the last name has an even number of syllables, the first name should have an odd number of syllables, or vice versa. By having different number of syllables, the full name flows much smoother.
- —LollyKay
Think it through
- When thinking of a name, we lived out in the country, and I would stand in the yard and YELL! the name to see if it sounded right. It only took a few times to tell if we liked the name. I realize most people can't (or won't) do this, but it was over 30 years ago that we had a name problem.
- —Guest Patty
Names
- Resist the temptation to use an "ordinary" name with a quirky spelling....the kid will spend a lifetime correcting people, it is very irksome. Been there done that. An example: Byll for Bill.
- —breadmaker4
Baby names
- Knew a family by the name of Butts, named their boy Harry.
- —Guest Ray Hamerly
Fake names and the real thing
- We used Buck for a boy and Polly...Esther for a girl whenever asked! In the end, our now 22 year old daughter was the only Kristen/Kristy in her class, and our sons the only Jack (really!) and the only Jay. Common names that no one else had at the time.
- —Guest leamm
Give your baby a suitable name
- My husband and I had always a name for a baby girl, even before I got pregnant. When we found out that was boy, we found a name that it's suitable and easy for everyone to pronounce and spell and also that he is not going to get bullied for his name. We are both from different countries, cultures and religions and we live here in UK, so we thought of a name that is suitable and known in all the 3 countries and we are telling everyone his name.
- —Guest Silvia
