Choosing a baby's name
by Tash Hughes of
Word
Constructions
Having a
baby is exciting. Once the child is born, you’ll be
faced with a number of questions – is it a boy or a
girl, how big was it and what is the baby’s name.
You may
not have a lot of say in the gender or size of your
baby, but the name is totally up to you and your
partner. And it is a big decision to make for someone
else.
Getting
started
As soon as
you know you’re expecting, or even sooner if you are
planning children, you can start thinking about possible
baby names.
Initially,
there isn’t much pressure so you can just list every
acceptable name you think of – don’t write down any
names you hate, of course! You can find name ideas in
many places, such as:
-
The
credits for TV shows and movies
-
Characters in books, TV shows, movies, etc
-
Overheard conversations
-
Shop
assistants’ names
-
Look
up the name registry for names in Australia
-
Phone
lists for any clubs or organizations you belong to
-
Your
friends and acquaintances- and their friends and
acquaintances
-
Lists
of famous singers, authors, actors and so on
And that’s
without even mentioning the baby name books and websites
available now!
The
long list…
After a
while, you may have a pretty long list – or two long
lists if you write a list separately to your partner! So
it’s time to get a bit fussier by removing names that
are only ok or won’t work with your family name.
If you and
your partner do have separate lists, don’t forget to
swap them occasionally so you can each cross off any
names you hate from your partner’s list.
Time to
chose
Once you
have a list of only a few names you and your partner
agree on, the hard work starts.
Look at
each name separately and ask the following questions to
see if it will stand up to your family and your baby.
-
How
does it sound with your family name?
-
What
will be the baby’s initials
-
What
nicknames will the baby face? How do they go with
your family name?
-
Is the
name similar/the same as a family member? How will
other relatives react to that?
-
Would
you trust or respect an adult with that name?
-
Will
that name be very popular at your child’s school?
-
What
does the name mean?
And of
course, you will have to do all of this for two names
unless you know the sex of your baby already…
Really
stuck?
What
happens if you narrow it down to a couple of names and
you can’t decide between them? Well, maybe one name will
feel better than the other once you see the baby – many
parents have changed their minds once the baby arrives
and ‘doesn’t look like a Mary’.
Alternatively, one of the following techniques may work
for you…
-
Leave
it to fate. If baby is born before 12 noon, give it
one name, or give it the other name if born after
noon
-
Try
blending the names to make one. For instance, if you
can’t choose between Joan and Anne, maybe Joanne
will work for you
-
Use
one name as the middle name instead – experiment to
see which order sounds better
-
Ask
for others’ opinions if you are very brave! You
don’t necessarily need to go with the popular vote
but it may show you what responses the baby will get
later in life with a particular name
Remember
that you don’t have to register the baby’s name
immediately. Throughout Australia, you have until the
baby is 60 days old before you must register their birth
so you could take this time to get to know your baby and
choose a name.
Tash Hughes is a Melbourne mother of four. She is the
owner of
Word Constructions and assists businesses in
preparing all written documentation and web site
content. Tash also writes articles for magazines,
newsletter and websites. |