Article Surfing Archive

Imagine. Your baby, now 4 years old, has just completed her first day at kindergarten. You're waiting anxiously for the return of the school bus, praying that she enjoyed her first day at school, that everything went well, that she'll be OK. She gets off the bus. You rush forward to hug her. And she's in tears. Through her sobbing, barely able to understand what she's saying, you desperately try to find out the cause of her meltdown. Gradually, between sobs, you hear little Apple mumble 'they made fun of my name. I'm never going back there. Never.'

Happily, this is not a true story. (As far as I know). But when you're trying to select your new baby's name, it's something you definitely want to avoid.

Picking a name for your baby, especially your first, is not easy. It can be difficult, time-consuming, and fraught with anxiety. These ten tips will help you successfully give your baby one of her most important lifelong gifts ' her name.

1. Start looking at baby names early. You are likely to change your mind often, so the more time you allow, the easier it will be.

2. Use the internet. There are lots of great resources online, from baby name lists, to articles about the meanings and origins of names, to forums.

3. Classic is classic for a reason. Classic means time-tested, well-loved. Classic names always work well.

4. Don't be too trendy or cool. For example, Brittany was # 3 on the popularity charts in 1990. Today, it doesn't make the top 50. Tastes and fashions change.

5. The pressure to use names that have been 'handed-down' for generations may be hard to resist. But you should try. Alfred isn't what it used to be.

6. Pay attention to what a name may mean, even if the meaning is obscure. The biblical name Helah, for example, actually means 'rust.' In this age of the internet, any meanings will be dug up by your child's middle school friends, so be sure to do a background check on names you are considering.

7. Don't make it too hard to pronounce. There's a reason why Caoimhe (pronounced 'kee-va') hasn't made it into the Top 100 yet.

8. Make sure it works with your surname. If your last name is Tree, don't name your son Ash or your daughter Jade. And if your last name is Johnson, please avoid John.

9. Consider the siblings, present or planned. If you already have a daughter named Caroline, it would be a little odd to name your son Flint.

10. Finally, be proud of the name you pick. If you've done your research, and agonized over it, you've done the best you can. And that's a special gift for your new baby.