Baby Names

Family Baby Names

The easy choice for the name of a child is naming it after someone in your family. Children have long been named after fathers, grandfathers or grandmothers. It has also been popular in the past to make a child’s middle name his or her mother’s maiden name.

There are positives and negatives to using a family name. Preserving family history is a big positive; you will likely share a lot of stories with the child about the person for whom he or she is named, and the child will likewise pass on those stories as he or she tells the story of where their name came from.

If the child is named after a parent, this could create some confusion in the family, but this is often avoided by calling the father by one name and the son by a nickname. Sometimes children will be upset that they don’t have their own name because they were named for someone else. Older kids might see their name as pressure to turn out like their namesake if that person is quite successful. None of these are reason enough not to name your child after a family member if that’s really what you want to do.

Naming names

If you don’t want to name your child after a family member and you don’t know where to start coming up with potential baby names, the simplest way to start is with a list of names. You can buy a baby book, look at one of the many online sites that help you choose names, or simply begin a list of your own with all the names you can think of.

You can still start with family names, then add names of friends, people you grew up with, teachers, names you’ve heard on television or read in books, made up names, anything that comes to mind. Think about character and personality traits, place names that are meaningful to you, like where you went on your honeymoon, somewhere you used to live, etc. Consider place names from your heritage as well, or look for names that fit your ancestry. Add the month your baby will be born, the season, the days of the week, its astrological sign.

Think about the names of flowers, trees, celebrities, athletes, authors past and present, last names that could become first names, names from mythology, names of gemstones, colors, the sky is really the limit. Get crazy, come up with all the names you can possibly think of.

Paring down the list

Set your list aside for at least a day. Then sit down with your spouse and read through the list.

Read each name out loud and gauge both of your reactions. If either of you laughs or groans, it’s probably not a good name for your baby. Make a fresh list of names you like and names you think are OK.

As you go through the list, think about whether each name is too popular or too obscure, to difficult to pronounce or spell, how it will sound with your last name and what nicknames might be derived from this name.

Consider, too, any reactions you have to a name, positive or negative. You probably won’t want to name your little darling the same name as the person who kicked the back of your chair the whole year in second grade, or the name of your husband’s first girlfriend.

At this point you can also start to consider how you might like to spell a name. There are many variant spellings for a lot of common names these days, so you’ll have to give some thought to exactly how you’d like to spell Ashley (Ashlee, Ashly, Ashely) for example, or if you want a Skyler or Skylar.

The final choice

Keep working with this list until you’ve gotten down to 10 or so names each (or just boy names or girl names if you’re certain the sex of the child). Consider again the above-mentioned criteria. You’ll also want to think about the actual meaning of the name, which you can find in a book or any number of places online, such as Baby Names.

Think about a middle name that could go with each first name, or how you might combine two of your favorites into a full name that you like. Look at those names with your last name. Do the initials spell anything? Are you OK with that? Do you want your children to all have the same initials or do you want variety?

If there are other children in the family, you can include them in this process if you like, so they will feel like they had a part in this big step toward welcoming their baby sibling into the world.

Still stumped?

If you still can’t come up with a name you like or would like even more options for baby names, head to a baby book or the Internet. Baby Center has a baby name suggestion tool, where you can provide the chosen origin of the name, the letter it starts or ends with, even the number of syllables.

This will give you lots of choices that may not be popular but are certainly interesting and meaningful. You can also try Baby Names Garden which has a lot of lists, such as Top Names of the 20th century, Victorian Names, unique baby names and so forth.

If all else fails, make up a name. Just because you’ve never heard of a child named a certain thing before doesn’t mean it’s wrong. A baby’s name is, in a way, reflective of your personality as parents, what you want for your child and how you view that baby. Yes, it’s a tough decision, but if you name the child with love and thoughtfulness, you’re sure to pick the perfect name.

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