Choosing a Name Before The Baby is Born

Among the most important tasks that you will have during the course of your pregnancy is that of choosing the name of your future baby.  Be kind to your baby and choose a name that he or she will be able to love and feel comfortable with, not a name that he or she will hate and which will make him/her the object of ridicule during childhood.  There are several important factors to consider when it comes to choosing a name for your future child:

ORIGIN

A particular name`s origin is among the factors that will come into play when deciding which name is right for your child.  Depending on your family`s heritage, you may want to choose a name which honors that background (for example, a Greek name if your ancestors came over from Greece will mean a great deal to them) It also serves to make your child more aware of his particular heritage, and to see it as something to be proud of.  But don`t feel like you have to limit yourself to only ethnic names.  Another option may be right for your child even if it does not denote his/her heritage.

HOW THE NAME SOUNDS:

The name must be one that is easy to pronounce, not only for others, but for him or her in particular.  Do not choose a name which you are going to have difficulty pronouncing, try for a second to imagine how difficult it is going to be for your child to learn his or her own name if you do.  You also should choose a name which your child will not find difficult to spell.  In other words, we suggest staying away from names which are composed of twenty or more different letters.  How many different children in Preschool do you know who could spell a name like that?  Don`t be selfish and put your child`s welfare before your own wishes.  This does not imply that you can`t choose a unique name, just be mindful that it is not a name which is going to somehow handicap your son or daughter in the future.

THE MEANING OF THE NAME

This can be an additional factor to consider when it comes time to choose a name.  Learn what a specific name means before you make your decision.  You might want the name to signify something which you hold dear, such as “pure hope”, which might also turn out to be something which means a great deal to your son or daughter in the years to come.  By choosing something with a very positive meaning, you are ensuring that it will be the first association made with your child from the moment that he or she is born.

GENDER-SPECIFIC NAMES:

This is another issue of considerable importance.  The name you end up going with in the end must simply “sound” like a boy or a girl`s name, whichever happens to be your case.  There are also a few names out there which can be appropriate for either boys or girls, for example, Sam or Erin,

NICKNAMES:

Also keep in mind that there are nicknames out there for some of the more common names which your child may end up tagged with, whether he or she likes it or not.  If this is not something which you want to have happen, then your best bet is to choose a name which cannot be shortened.   On the other hand, you may want to choose a name which has a commonly associated nickname to it, if it is one that you are comfortable with and, more importantly, if it is a nick-name which you believe you son or daughter will end up enjoying.