Naming the Next Family Member is a Critical Decision

Naming the Next Family Member is a Critical Decision

What’s in a name? If you have a name you like, you may enjoy introducing yourself at parties and social occasions. If you don’t like your name, you might dread telling people, or you may come up with a nickname and use that. You may even go by your middle name instead.

Names matter, and as a parent, you should think carefully about the name you come up with for your child. If you give them an unusual name, they must carry that with them for the rest of their life unless they decide changing it makes the most sense to them.

We’ll talk about the baby naming process some more in the following article.

• You Might Want to Research Trending Baby Names

Researching trending baby names might be one way to go if you can’t come up with some good choices on your own. As a parent, you can visit trending baby name websites and see what names are popular in different countries or areas. You can also see what names do well each year and which ones are losing popularity.

Trendy names might inspire you if you want to name your child something popular or to help you if you want to avoid the most common names. You might look and see what celebrities name their kids or you may also look at popular TV shows or movies for inspiration. Maybe you have a favorite character from a book or comic book that you would like to name your child after. You can also think about sports stars who you love. Maybe you grew up watching Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, or Lebron James. You can take a name from a sports hero and give your child that same moniker.

• Get Input from Family Members

You can also talk to other family members and involve them if they show interest. Maybe you can let your kids pick a few names and add them to the list. You can have them choose some girl and boy names and some gender-neutral names too.

You might narrow down the list or even put some finalists in a hat and have a family member choose one. If you involve the other kids in your family, that might help them feel better about the new baby if they seem jealous or anxious about things changing when the child comes.

• How Else Might You Choose a Name?

Maybe you don’t care about what’s trending, and you don’t have sports heroes or musical icons that inspire you to take their name and make it part of your family. Instead, you might examine your own family’s history instead.

Many times, families have beloved figures who have passed on. Maybe you have a mother or father who you love and miss. Perhaps you have a beloved uncle, aunt, or grandparent.

You might take one of those names and keep it in the family. When you do, you honor the past. Remember, though, if you have a beloved relative from an earlier era, their name might seem hopelessly outdated. The kids at school might say unkind things if you name your child Mortimer or Priscilla.

• Don’t Take This Decision Lightly

You can involve the family or pick a name on your own. As a parent, you will ultimately decide what you’ll call the newest family addition.

Just remember you shouldn’t pick the name frivolously. You might name a cat or dog something silly, but they won’t know what their name means or attach any significance to it. Your newest family member will.

If you can’t think up a name before the baby arrives, you might even choose to wait until their birth. At that point, the pressure’s on, so you must decide quickly when you meet this latest family member.

You might pick a name when you’re holding the child, and you look into their eyes. The name might occur like a lightning flash. Perhaps you’ll decide something right then that seems fitting and obvious.

• A Child’s Name Will Shape Their Life

Try to think of a lucky or inspirational name, but if you can’t, at least avoid awkward or unfortunate ones. Try avoiding names that have negative historical connotations.

Naming a child isn’t always easy, but when in doubt, go with something traditional. When your child grows a bit, you’ll probably find yourself yelling that name across the neighborhood for years to come when dinner time rolls around. If you can picture yourself doing that, maybe you’ve found a suitable choice.  

Guest Article.