Baby on the Way?

Baby Naming Tips and Considerations
by Teri Hanson

Choosing the name for your baby will probably be one of the most important, exciting and fun things you will do during your pregnancy. Throughout the pregnancy, many hours will be spent on choosing the baby's name. Friends, relatives, and even strangers will give you their opinions. You will probably consider many names and name combinations before you finally come to a decision. The following are considerations and tips that will help to get you started to find the perfect name for your baby.

Consider what the baby's surname will be. Does the first name you have chosen go well with the surname? Do the names sound good together when said out loud?

Consider what the initials will spell out when first, middle and surname are initialized and avoid unpleasant initials. For example, Robert Allen Thomas when initialized spells RAT. Think about possible teasing from other children as your child grows up.

Some expectant parents feel the need and/or pressure from family members to use precedent family names. Family names are great and give your baby a rich heritage, but if you do not care for the name and the name is not what you want to call the child, consider using the family name as a middle name, or plan to call the child by the middle name of your choice.

Remember that children must live with the name you choose for them the rest of their lives, so while unique names and spellings are very interesting and favorable, consider the fact that the child could always have their name mispronounced or misspelled. This can be very frustrating for a child.

Consider names that are of ethnic origin. They don't even have to be your own ethnic origin. Ethnic names sound beautiful and are very unique.

Choose a name based upon it's meaning. Sometimes the meaning of a name can steer you away from the name, or draw you closer to it. Positive meanings are your best guide. You can find many possibilities for baby names, their meanings and their origins at BabyChatter.com.

Consider the possible nicknames that could arise from your baby's name. Do you like the nicknames that could possibly be derived from it?

Say the entire name out loud many times. Does it sound right? Does it rhyme? If it rhymes, does the rhyme sound good?

Consider popularity. Names that are popular today, may not be popular 20 years from now when your child is 20. Consider the trendiness of the name today.

If you are stuck on 2 names, consider combining the two. An example: If you are stuck on Carla and Leigh, consider combining the two names to form Carly (or Carleigh)

If you are going to use a suffix, for example, John Charles Carter, III, you may want to consider calling the baby by his middle name (Charles) if there are other family members already being called John, or consider calling the baby by his initials, such as J.C. This will help to avoid confusion. Above all else, this is the name that YOU choose and are proud of, so choose what YOU like.

* Article by Teri Hanson of Babychatter.com. Copyright, 2000. Visit http://www.babychatter. com for baby names, meanings, origins, baby freebies and coupons. Subscribe to their free newsletter for site and freebie updates: http://babychatter.listbot. com/

You can reach her at teri@babychatter.com

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