re: How to choose a baby name

Quoting nick:“ There's no obvious method for choosing the perfect name for your child, so we've reserved this space ... [snip!] ... rhyme is good thing: long first names go well with short last names and vice versa. Got some good tips? Then post them here!”

Coming back to the original question on how to choose a name, well, given that there are something like 20,000 names and variants to choose from, everyone's gotta start somewhere.

From my research, here's what I've found out:

A good way to start is by narrowing down the name by:
- meaning
- language of origin
- style (traditional, modern, country and western etc..)
- impression (that the name creates when you mention the name)
- popularity (in the USA, the SSA publishes statistics on how popular a name is)
- Or even by alphabet

It's important to know that the Meaning of a name is entirely different from the Impression it creates. For example, the name "Brad" gives the Impression of a cool, good looking guy (thanks mostly to Brad Pitt), but its actual Meaning is "Wide meadow".

Then of course, some of us like to stick to names used within the family, or names which are related/rhyme with the names of our family members. There are websites that will help you choose names that are related to the names of your family members, based on computerised criteria. For example, Bronson could be in the same name group as Brad. (same style, language etc...)

Hope this helps!

Let me first state a caveat: My husband and I are not going to find out what we are having, we're not talking with our families about names because we want it to be our choice, and we're going to have several names ready and only pick one when we meet our baby.

That being said, we've started to look at names, and I want to remind everyone that "older" names are really becoming beautiful again, but not everyone considers them. My friend just named her baby Eleanor - which I thought was an "older" name, until I started thinking about how beautiful it really is. One of the names we are considering if we have a girl is Evelyn - never thought I would like these types of "older" names until my husband suggested a few, and they are really beautiful. I think people stayed away from these names for a while because everyone knew someone or had someone in their family with these "older" names and they didn't want to name their child after them, but they really are beautiful names. I just wanted to remind everyone that these names are out there, they are very pretty, and it may be a way to give your child a unique name without making up a name that people will have a hard time pronouncing or spelling (trust me from experience - this can be very frustrating for a child).

When you say "older" names, are you referring to traditional names like Arthur, Chester and other traditional baby names
or are you talking about stuff way back from the old cowboy days like Cody, Dillon Bill and other country and western style baby names

Older, traditional names. I guess I'm thinking more of girls' names. Boys' names tend to be more similar over time, so the more traditional names don't get lost as easily.

Quoting ryelei_sheilds012407:“ how does ryelei sound for a lil girls name? too much? what about kelton for a lil boy?”

kelton sounds like a kind of fish

Quoting Air:“ I have to DISAGREE!!! Frankly I have to say this is only my opinion as much as what you said was only ... [snip!] ... ASH if ASHLEY IS YOUR NAME ( WHICH I'M GUESSING IT IS ) ASHLEY STARTED AS A BOY'S NAME BEFORE IT WAS EVER A GIRLS!!!!!!!”

ALSO, may I add.. that the African thing is WAY off base.. I am a white woman with a black man.. what "heritage" should I give my son?

what about the name
Isabella May?
or
Taylen Ann?

Spelling variations are good, it's just to make the names unique and creative. If I have a girl I'm naming her Jasmyn Christianna (after Jasmine, my sister that died an hour after she was born, and my fiancee chose Christianna) As most of you know, Jasmine is the traditional spelling but I changed the "i..e" it "y" because it's different. It will most likely be pronounced the same unless they place emphasis in the "y" saying "Jasmeen" but thats not terrible.
Richard Thomas (Jr.)if it's a boy anyways, no variations on that one tho, it's his daddys name  
But as far as boy vs girl names, as was said by several people, you can spell a name differently and make a boys name look femenine or a girls look masculine. There are of course some names you might not want to use for the other gender, but that's all up to you. As far as chosing your baby's name you have 9 months (most of you) so don't fret about it. Maybe the name of someone thats very important to you, and add the variation like I did (Jasmine - Jasmyn).
Origin and Meaning you might also want to look into. Pick out a few names you like and do some research. Doesn't have to be a name of your heritage, I didn't with my name (Jasmine is Persian, I am white). That's all I'm gonna say for now, starting to feel sick. Good luck naming your children  

Quoting DrMeg:“ Older, traditional names. I guess I'm thinking more of girls' names. Boys' names tend to be more similar over time, so the more traditional names don't get lost as easily.”

What do you think of the name Evelin ? May I offer it as a suggestion - I think it's absolutely elegant!

Quoting keikie:“ AIR, YOU SAID IT ALL IN YOUR REPLY TO "SPECS06" IGNORANT VIEWPOINT! WOW! I AM OFFENDED BY HER COMMENT ... [snip!] ... I HOPE YOUR CHILD, LITTLE 'SALLY' OR WHATEVER, FARES WELL IN LIFE WITH HER NAME THAT 5 OTHER KIDS IN HER CLASS WILL HAVE.”

Just in defense of "Air" I dont think she was implying the race statement it sort of sounded like "Specs06" was pullin the race card but I could be wrong.

My only thing with baby naming is

Make sure that it is a name that can be used in any job or lifestyle.

Names that I liked growing up especially for girls were.... Gwendolyn (Gwen)...Rosanna.(Rose,Rosey)..Morgan...Page.... Joy....Amelia.(Leah).. and Sophia (Sophie)and I used to like Hannah and Madisonuntil everyone started naming their child Hannah and Madison... The names are still cute but I think overused.
Boys are harder I think ..... Took me months to figure out my sons name. And His name is Vincent Daniel D. The middle name came from my husbands uncle who had passed away that year.... I still debate on wheather i should change it.

Quoting Lindsay Mamma:“ My only thing with baby naming is Make sure that it is a name that can be used in any job or lifestyle. ... [snip!] ... D. The middle name came from my husbands uncle who had passed away that year.... I still debate on wheather i should change it.”

It meaning the middle name not the first..

Quoting Lindsay Mamma:“His name is Vincent Daniel D. The middle name came from my husbands uncle who had passed away that year.... I still debate on wheather i should change it.”

Nooo, don't change it!!


Personally I love both names and think they go really well together.  

im more into the classic/traditional names, and even though i do like some "trendy" names like Aaden.

i had twins july 14th, and we named them
Thomas Rien - Thomas meaning Twin, and its a such a nice classic first name, and Rien, is just a different form of Ryan, we liked that spelling better, and my best friend in highschools last name was O'Brien, and she passed away a couple years ago.
William Link - William is for William Shakespeare, im a huge english fanatic, and a huge fan. Link, we both just fell in love with it automatically, even though we didn't decide on Link until we saw him. he was supposed to be William Reid
and our 1 year old son name is Benjamin Mikeal - Benjamin after my deceased brother, he was a stillborn, and Mikeal is my husbands middle name

if they were girls their names would've been
Benjamin mikeal would've been - Stella Amora
Thomas Rien = Megan Seraphina
William Link = Juliet Summer

Quoting tigerlily:“ Nooo, don't change it!! Personally I love both names and think they go really well together.  ”

Thankyou! I love his first name, but the idea of naming his middle name after a dead uncle seems somewhat morbid to me.. maybe i'm just being silly. The middle name was my idea also haha but i still think of changing it... What names are you thinking of for your baby?