You think naming your child Should be easy. Simple. Hassle free. Nope! If your not one of those parents who have been holding onto a name since the 6th grade there are a few things you might want to consider when officially labeling your child for the rest of their lives. That is basically what your doing. Here is how to name your baby plus checklist.
CONSIDER YOUR CHILD
First be considerate of your child. This should go without saying but I’m saying it because you would be surprised how many parents don’t think their chosen name through.
And by through, I mean through middle school. Like the poor boy named Chelsea in my 7th grade class. It was his grandfather’s name which made is sentimental to his parents. Chelsea did not share their sentiment.
When I make a list of possible names I like to make them as bully proof as possible. So even though Kal-El (Superman) is your favorite super hero’s name make sure you’ve thought it through middle school.
I don’t think a child should have to “grow thick skin” when it comes to their name. Life will hand them plenty of opportunities to learn resilience.
The other half of being considerate of your child when you choose their forever label is the spelling. I’m not the only one that thinks the spelling of names has gotten out of hand…am I?
Some are cute and make phonetical sense. And by make sense, I mean you can still sound out the name. I promise every teacher your child will ever have will thank you.
That being said my youngest’s name is spelled Chyler the “CH“ making the hard “C” sound like Chris or Chloe. 50% get it right and 50% don’t. Sorry baby.
I love unique names. Unique names can be good because you know there won’t be 15 other kids with the same name in their class. But naming your child after food is less creative and more a reflection of your pregnancy cravings. Now Rosemary works Apple…not so much.
Now I want you to imagine your 5 year old trying to spell out their name and if that image is painful then the extra vowels need to go. You don’t get extra marks for creativity so keep it simple.
SURVIVING THE OPINIONATED
Of course we couldn’t leave this subject without considering everyone else and their dog’s opinions. Even strangers may feel the need to comment on your child’s name, not to mention every family member ever.
Take it all with a grain of salt. If you have a name that you just love you may want to consider keeping it to yourself. Not kidding. You may think that no matter anyone’s opinion you will still love that name but people have a way of pulling out the rug from beneath you.
For example I love the name Kai. I told a few very opinionated people who managed to taint the name for me. Needless to say I do not have a son named Kai.
Loving grandparents will chime in with
“I knew a Jameson is school, he wasn’t very smart.”
Or my favorite comment,
“Are you sure you want to name him that forever?”
Sometimes it just might be best if you hand them a birth announcement with the name in black and white ink. They will be too excited about the new baby to comment on the name that has already been issued a social security number.
A FEW MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER
You may also want to avoid close similarities with other family members. Let me share a story. I was pregnant with our second child. And If it was a girl her name was going to be Cadence. Cadence was a boy. So we decided to name him Caden.
My nephew’s name is Hayden. Can you see where I’m going with this? Yep they rhyme. And when you say them fast enough in a room full of people you really can’t tell the difference. And neither can they.
I love his name but, well, I got a lot of comments (like every family get together) on the subject but In all fairness my family did try to warn me.
I have four boys every single one of them starts with a “C.” Did we plan this from the start. Nope. “C” names just happened to be the only ones my husband and I could agree on. Pretty soon it was too late to turn back. We painted ourselves into a corner. A very tight corner. More food for thought.
Agreeing on a name with your spouse, easy! Not! There may be need for compromise…and a prayer. Just be fair and open to change. In the end the child becomes the name and the name becomes the child and you love your child…right?
I love my family’s tradition of giving meaningful middle names after family members. We did our best to keep it balanced between both my husband’s and my family.
Traditions can be wonderful and meaningful but that doesn’t mean you have to adhere to them perfectly. If every first born son in your family is named John that doesn’t mean that bouncing baby boy in your arms is a John.
HOW TO NAME YOUR BABY CHECKLIST
So here is your fool proof check list according to me.
- Can a reasonable person read and pronounce the name correctly?
- Is the name bully proof (doesn’t rhyme with lame is a good start)?
- Will your poor preschooler be able to spell their own name?
- Do you need your families approval of the name? If not consider keeping the name to yourself until he or she is born.
- Actually Just error on the side of caution and keep the name to yourself.
- Consider family traditions and what they mean to you and your spouse.
- Are you holding onto a name for dear life that your spouse hates? Find a new name.
- Avoid naming your child after pregnancy cravings.
- Does your baby’s name-to-be rhyme or painful similar to a close relatives name that will often share physical space with said baby? If yes, find a new name.
And there you are, a fool proof way to name your child! Good luck! Please comment with stories about your own naming experiences that will make us laugh together!