by Annemarie Garrett

Created on: January 15, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

You have a name in mind for your child. You have daydreamed about naming a child this particular name since you were twelve. Now the time is finally approaching. But wait: you are no longer twelve and probably you are no longer the only one dreaming but have to consider the input of the baby's father. Along with the father's preferences, there are a few other things you may want to consider when choosing a name for your baby.

1. How popular is it and do you care?
Some people are really bothered by the idea of running into another little munchkin sporting the same name as their own offspring. If this is you, you'll need to do your homework. "I've never heard of anyone with this name before" doesn't cut it, particularly if you don't often find yourself surrounded by babies and small children. I am convinced that there is a sort of collective consciousness whereby many first time mothers will decide completely independently that they all LOVE the same name. You can get a heads up by going to the social security administrations website (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) and looking up your name of choice. It will tell you how many children were given that name in the year that you enter. If you look at several years you can see whether the name is growing or declining in popularity. Another excellent tool for this purpose is baby naming celebrity Laura Wattenburg's Baby Name Voyager (http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/). Simply enter a name for a visual graph of its usage in the US. Be careful about names with multiple spellings. If it looks like "Hayleigh" is not a popular name, that's because the program does not recognize that "Haley", "Haylee", "Hailie", "Hayley" and etc. all sound the same.
2. Will people be able to pronounce it and spell it and do you care?
If it doesn't bother you to be constantly correcting people or spelling your child's name, then no sweat. Similarly, if a name has such special meaning to you that you're willing to put up with the hassle, then it likely will feel as special to your child and he or she won't mind either. However, if you feel you might be offended when the librarian at Story Time writes "Catherine" on your little girl Kathrynn's nametag, then you might want to consider choosing the most common spelling for a common name. Again, the SSA website can help you with that consideration.
Also, if you just think an outlandish name is "neat" or "cute" and it has so special meaning to you, you might want to think long and hard about whether you really want to explain little Laknanden's or Kaysheelee's name to everyone he or she comes in contact with. Also, you may consider pitying their future teachers... not to mention the children themselves.
3. Is this a name that will cause your child to be prejudged and do you care?
Most likely, if you name your child a distinctively ethnic name then it is not going to bother you if people assume that that ethnicity is associated with your child. However, those who have not named before may be surprised by the associations an intriguing number of people agree on for certain names. These are not always positive (the label "stripper names", which I have observed as a topic for more than one bulletin board discussion, comes to mind). If this is something that might bother you, consider checking out baby naming bulletin boards and forums online, where you can a get a feel for general opinion in the comfort of your own home and anonymity.
4. Is this a name that makes you and the baby's father smile?
A lot of strikes against a name can be resolved when it is spoken with joy, pride, and love. If you absolutely love it, chances are your baby will too.

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