Help! How do I choose a baby name?

How to wade through the masses of baby names and choose the baby name that most suits your little on.

As every parent knows, choosing a name for your baby is often quite a challenge. A name is something that stays with us our entire lives. It identifies us and sometimes even defines us. Deciding on what to name our little ones is thus an important stage in the parenthood process. If the question “How do I choose a baby name?” crosses your mind, take a look at some of our tips:
Think of the future
When choosing your child’s name, be considerate of your child. Don’t choose a name that may cause him problems later in life. Consider these factors before choosing a name:

Originality

Many parents prefer choosing a name that is unique and uncommon; while this can be a positive and refreshing way of thinking, it can also go to the extreme. It is important to remember that when we are naming our child, we do not really ask for his opinion, and extremely bizarre names might pose a burden for the child later in life.

Baby Gender

Choosing a name suitable for both a male and female, may cause some confusion, especially among official circuits.

Spelling and pronunciation

If you choose a name which has a unique way of spelling, your child might have to provide the correct spelling whenever he gives his name to anyone. Having a name which is difficult for most people to pronounce, may be equally if not more problematic for your child.

Insults

If your child’s name sounds funny or can be rhymed with an offensive word, your child might suffer insults from other children at school.

Personal favorites

We all have favorite names in mind. Those names might not necessarily be meaningful, but they are pretty and that is good enough.

Suggestions for choosing your child’s name

Named after…

A lot of people do not simply choose a random name for their child. Often, a child will be named after a late relative, or even after a favorite character from a book, a movie or a song.
Religion, tradition, and culture
Another effective way of choosing a name is by thinking about names or words that have a connection with religious or traditional stories with which you relate. For example, if your baby was born on a certain holiday, the name of a character from the story the holiday is based on would be very meaningful.
You may also consider giving your baby a name befitting your cultural roots. For example, if you are Italian in origin, you may consider naming your baby girl Marcella or your baby boy Giovanni. There are plenty of sources, especially book and online sources, catering specifically to cultural names.

Baby Name Sources

Baby names are a hot topic. From books to websites, you can find many hundreds of thousands of sources for baby names. Some of these sources cover meanings of baby names, others may simply provide lists of names. You can also turn to trusted friends or relatives for suggestions. The key is to decide on what is most important for you in a name – the sound of the name, the meaning of the name, the person who the name honors, or respecting your cultural roots. From there, finding an appropriate source of inspiration will be less problematic.