What Is In A Baby Name?

I'm just about at the Four-Month Mark...a milestone I guess....technically I have 24 more weeks to go! Sounds like a lot, but really there is a lot to do before the baby comes...there are baby names to decide upon!  Perhaps the one thing most soon-to-be parents put the most time into is choosing a baby name. Do you go traditional or modern? A more common name that a lot of children have, or one that is possibly harder for others to remember (or spell?) How about naming a child the same name as a famous celebrity, or their own celebrity children? A baby's name is very important, knowing in most circumstances this is the one thing your child will carry with them forever.

So where do you look for baby names? Of course there are plenty of books and websites that list every name every imagined. With the world becoming so "worldly" the simple baby names of years ago have given way to names with more international flair. If you are of Irish heritage, it is very possible you might take a close look at Irish baby names such as Caleb or Meghan...if Grandma is German you might be considering Henrietta or Heidi.  Perhaps you are into nature and want to consider such baby names River or Autumn. As you can see your sources are endless, which makes finding the perfect baby name a long journey.

Something to keep in mind is you want your baby name to complement your child, not become a hindrance in life. If you or your husband have a very masculine family you will need to be careful with naming your son a wish-washy name. And if you belong to family with girlie-girls they might be hoping you name her after a Disney princess! It is important to think down the road...when your child is in school will that name be appropriate? When your child hits high school will they be teased simply because of their name? How about if they get married, can you imagine their name on a wedding invitation? And finally as they enter their twilight years how will Britney sound? Granted in 80 years there will likely be a lot of Britney's out there, so she'll be in good company!

This brings up another point, with the rise of popularity comes the potential decline of popularity. Take Tiger for example. When Tiger Woods rose to his star status the popularity of his name for babies also increased, however with the latest events in his life, the name has also taken a nosedive. If you name your child after a celebrity be prepared for everyone to ask if you named them after said celebrity and be equally prepared for the child to face some wrath if that celebrity is in the news for unpopular reasons.

I for one have always placed a high importance in selecting the right name for anything. My pets all have well thought out names based upon their heritage...you will not find "Fluffy" or "Spot" in my household! With the week or so it takes me to select a pet name you can imagine the amount of time I will put into selecting my child's name.

While conservative in nature, the names I select are hardly common. I want to name my child a name that your rarely hear and everyone comments on how nice a name it is. I want it to stand the test of time from the younger years until they are old enough to have grandchildren. I remember as a child being disappointed when going to stores that have personalize items to find that they only had SARAH and never SARA on the items! I only hope they come up with a better way to get your kid's name on a bicycle license plate or pencils, otherwise they'll surely feel left out.