How to Choose the Right Baby Name
Hints for Choosing a Name Your Baby will Love as a Teen
Apr 7, 2009
Choosing a name for anew baby is fun, frustrating – and scary! After all, psychologists have spent decades telling parents how the wrong name can scar a child for life. It's not surprising that new parents find themselves teetering on the brink of nervous breakdown when choosing baby names.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Baby Name
According to conventional wisdom the wrong baby name can make the new bundle of joy the butt of classroom jokes, affect the way that other people perceive him – even affect the way that teachers grade his work. Who wouldn't be intimidated by the task? Take heart! Choosing a baby name isn't rocket science, just common sense and personal preference.
Baby Naming "Rules"
Unless the baby was born in one of the few countries that publishes lists of approved baby names, there are absolutely no restrictions on the name parents choose for their new baby. A parent could conceivably draw a bunch of random tiles from the Scrabble box, toss them on a table and use them as a baby name.
Chances are though, that they'd be breaking one of the cardinal rules of naming a baby. most people don't know that there are rules and technically speaking, there aren't, but if a breaks one of these rules, the child will end up paying the consequences – and probably hating his name.
- Choose a baby name that is easy to pronounce. A child can only correct a teacher's pronunciation of his name so many times before he starts hating the name that subjects him to the ordeal.
- Resist the temptation to be "cutesy". Save punny moments for things that won't have a lifelong effect on someone else's life. No parent really wants his child to go through life with a name that sounds like the punch line to a joke.
- Choose baby names that sound good together. Say the whole name out loud a few times to see how the sounds flow into each other, and pay attention to sounds that are difficult to say next to each other.
- Avoid names with negative connotations. Not long ago, a family was catapulted into the national headlines because they'd named their young son "Adolf Hitler". Be aware of the names that have acquired negative connotations and try to avoid them.
Parents Should Choose a Baby Name That They Love
Most importantly, parents should choose a name that they love, and as the child grows up be sure that he knows just how special that name is. Perhaps it was his grandfather's name and mom loved her grandfather more than anything else in the world. Maybe it's a name that has been in the family for generations, and Dad is proud to hand it on to his child.
Whatever the reason that parents chose a baby's name, they should share it with the child as he or she grows up. There's no better way to be sure that he'll love and cherish the name that his parents chose, even when he's a contrary teenager who hates everything!
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