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We recently had our first child and finding a name for him was extremely difficult. We tried using books and apps but they weren't that helpful. Part of the pr
by regus 5y ago
We recently had our first child and finding a name for him was extremely difficult. We tried using books and apps but they weren't that helpful.
Part of the problem was that we wanted a name that would work in both english and spanish, and wasn't too popular or trendy.
I found that I hated most boy names, especially the ones that are trendy today (Aiden, Jaiden, Zaiden).
Feel free to name your kids whatever you want, but here is my advice to anyone who is trying to name a child:
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1. Do not tell anyone what the name will be before the child is born. They will try to talk you out of it.
2. If your family is not a native speaker of your language then present them with a list of a bunch of names that also includes the ones you want. Then ask them to pronounce all the names. That will let you know if your family will be able to accurately pronounce the name.
3. If you are going to give them a middle name make sure that their initials don't spell out something embarrassing like Carl Otis Winslow.
4. Do a google search of your child's first and last name so you don't accidentally name them after a serial killer or some other controversial person. Also google their initials so you don't accidentally name them after a company or a chemical.
5. Consider how their first name can used against them by other kids. Does it rhyme with something? Is there some famous fictional character with the same name?
6. Try to delay giving your child a name for as long as you can before leaving the hospital. This will give you time to decide which name best fits this person who is now in the world. (I thought I would name my son one thing, but decided that he didn't 'look' like some one with that name)
7. Do not leave the hospital without naming the child (unless you have a good reason to do this). I know some one who waited a month to name their child and they wouldn't recommend doing this.
8. Consider how popular the name is. Most of the names in the top 10 are popular for a reason, they tend to be good names, but do you want your kid to have a unique name, or just another kid among the other 10 Liams and Olivias in their class?
9. People are going to give your kid a nickname the instant they are born, whether you like it or not. Are you okay with people calling your kid Bobby, Danny, Mikey, etc? If not then consider a different name.
- comprev 5y agoThe impact of the name on the child/teen/adult is often overlooked. Great to see you've considered the negatives, especially how the name/initials could be used against them.
- com2kid 5y ago> The impact of the name on the child/teen/adult is often overlooked. And confusing! Having my name as a kid was horrible! I was constantly harassed and made fun of for it. As an adult, it rocks! Close enough to other names to be familiar, but different enough to be memorable.
- russdill 5y agoIf you choose a common name and your kid has an allergy or something, I guarantee you will pick him up from day care and he'll be eating snacks brought by the parent of one of the other children with the same first name.
- quartz 5y agoThis is a good list! I do disagree with #8 and #9 though... #8: "just another kid among the other 10..." always seemed weird to me. There are tons of notable Peter's, John's, Anne's, and Olivia's in the world. The converse is of course the mistaken idea that a remarkable or unique name makes a remarkable or unique person and at least anecdotally in my life I've seen more young people find difficulty in the attention given to their uncommon name than I have people finding difficulty being unnoticed for having a common one. #9: As parents you actually have a ton of control over nicknames when the child is small. I know a number of Jonathans who don't go by Jon, Joshuas who don't go by Josh, Daniels who don't go by Danny, etc. You 100% can't manage the names people use to TEASE your child (as you addressed in earlier points) but you can teach your child and those around them that initially you and then ultimately your child does have ownership of how their name is used. Agree with the rest of your list, just wanted to give my 2c on those two!
- cooperadymas 5y agoI wish that were remotely true. We continually have to ask people not to shorten our toddler's name from Jacqueline to Jac or JacJac, and I'm pretty confident that once we leave the room they go right back to Jac. I have a somewhat unusual name that's related to a common name. Think Jeremiah. Even though I have that as my email address and sign off as Jeremiah, people frequently reply to me as Jeremy or Jerry or even Jer. Yeah you sort of have ownership of your name, but people are still going to butcher it or abuse it if there's opportunity.
- prawn 5y agoAgree on 9. We have a Fox and a Scout. If they get called Foxy or Scouty, they get politely asked not to early on before it becomes habit. That’s worked without being overbearing.
- kayodelycaon 5y agoKind of wish I had done a google search before choosing Kayodé for my online persona. Kayode (no accent) is from Africa. I’m white. Oops. Also Lycaon is short for Lycaon pictus… African Wild Dog. Double oops on the first name.
- aspaviento 5y ago> 3. If you are going to give them a middle name... Just don't do it. Nobody is going to use it and it will mess up when you have to fill forms.
- hamaluik 5y agoMy dad didn't have a middle name. In Canada that caused more problems than anything; forms would constantly be denied / sent back / whatever because whoever processed them would think he forgot to fully fill it out.
- whimsicalism 5y agoThis - please don't burden your child with a middle name or even worse, two middle names.
- pbhjpbhj 5y agoWe have used middle names to place our kids within their family, they are in some sense family names. Common uses of middle names in the UK include to give a child a name of a God-parent or other significant non-family person, or to record the mother's maiden name, or to give an alternative name a child can use (if they prefer that name) later in life without having to change their name, or to disambiguate (John Frederick Smith, son of John David Smith, son of John James Smith -- they might all go by John outside of the family and be Freddy, Dai, and Jim at home, for example). Middle names (especially unusual ones) make name collisions much less likely.
- jquery 5y ago> give an alternative name a child can use (if they prefer that name) later in life without having to change their name This is an underrated reason for a middle name.
- swilliamsio 5y agoAs someone with a middle name, it has never caused me any problem when filling out forms and the like.
- 5y ago
- donkarma 5y agoOn the contrary I would not mind if my child was named after a controversial figure due to the fact it would obscure people trying to find them
- whimsicalism 5y agoLittle Adolf is so cute!
- jeffwass 5y agoYour list reminds me of this SNL skit of nearly 30 years ago : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goPerp_BWvs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goPerp_BWvs