Choosing the Right Name

hoosing the right name can seem daunting these days, with so many choices to sift through, so much new information about the importance of names, such creative baby naming in Hollywood and on the Web. How can you tell if a name is too popular or not mainstream enough, wonderfully creative or just plain weird?

How can you find the name that is perfect for you and your baby?

AIM TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A NAME
Remember falling in love with your partner? Swooning the first time you heard your baby’s heartbeat? That’s the kind of emotional reaction you should go for with a name, too. Look for one that you love so much it makes your heart pound, that you can’t stop thinking about, that you keep loving no matter what anybody says.

DON'T PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
It’s a lot of fun talking about names with your spouse, your friends, your family. Everyone’s going to ask which names you’re considering – and then they’re going to do their best to convince you that those names are stupid, ugly, ridiculous choices, and that you should pick the names they like instead. The problem is, these people are only giving their subjective opinions. Your parents’ ideas are several decades out of style, your childless friends are clueless, and the grocer and the mail carrier – yes, everyone wants to get into the act – know even less. Talk about it if you like. Then tune out all those other opinions and make the big decision by yourself, with your partner.

REMEMBER, IT'S MORE ABOUT YOUR CHILD THAN ABOUT YOU
Love aside, it’s important to keep in mind that your child is the one who’s going to live with your name choice – not just when he’s a baby, oblivious in your arms, but on the playground and in the high school cafeteria and on job interviews and at his fortieth birthday party and as an old man. The point is, it doesn’t matter whether your friends think a name is cool or what kind of attention you get on your favorite baby-naming bulletin board for your ideas. Your kid is going to be the one sweating in his interview suit or hobbling around the nursing home, thinking, “Dang! Why did they have to name me Harley?”

NAMES HAVE CHANGED IN A BIG WAY
[So] know that Harley isn’t the same name it was when you were a kid. Names have changed in a big way, so that the names that would have been considered strange or that would have gotten you teased on the playground when you were in school are now accepted as completely normal. Interchangeable names for boys and girls? Totally standard – though you still don’t want to name your son Sue. (You probably don’t want to name your daughter Sue either, but for different reasons.) Ethnic names? Found in the most all-American towns. Unconventional spellings and invented names? Often, the traditional spelling is now the exception, and the girl down the block is more likely to be named Nevaeh than Nancy. It’s a whole new baby-naming world out there