by Bobby Brown

Created on: August 27, 2010   Last Updated: September 05, 2010

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.- Shakespeare  

Are names really that important in our society? Yes! Names last a lifetime and careful thought and consideration should be given before you bless or curse your child with one.  Everyone remembers the adorable, laughable character Gaylord Focker (played by Ben Stiller) from the movies "Meet the Parents" and its sequel, "Meet the Fockers", and few people would argue that Gaylord would probably be a bad choice for a first  name especially with a last name of Focker. Granted, Gaylord may have been a popular name a few decades ago but times have changed along with certain colloquialisms associated with them.

 
This brings me to my first point. Before giving a name make sure you are aware of any slang usage of the name. Names like Dick, Dickey, Peter, Doobie or Nina all have associated slang meanings. Enough said about that. Of course then there are names that are too close to being something else. The most famous example I can think of is the name Enis which was the name of Bill Cosby's only son. While I do admire Cosby and I don't believe that he was trying remind us of his comedic brilliance, I have to question the wisdom of giving a child a name that is one letter removed from the male appendage.

Potential nicknames may also be problematic. Consider all possible nicknames or ways in which a name might be shortened to see if that name is really going to work out. For example Candice can be shortened to Candy but if the last name is Sweet or Kane then maybe Candice is not a good choice. Alliterative nicknames or rhyming ones are also something to think about. I'm not saying that they should be avoided, but Robert Biggs might be a better match than Bob Biggs.
Picking an original name is great, but do keep in mind that your child (and everyone else) will need to learn how to spell the name. If the child's last name is already a mouthful then I would lean more toward a simpler first name. Also a unique name doesn't mean that the spelling has to be unique as well. India is a very unique and exotic name but N'dia, N-dia, and Ndya are a bit much. My wife told me that she knows a lot of girls with unusual names: D-nay (pronounced D-dash-nay), Abracadabra and Amagine (pronounced Imagine)-could they have picked those names because Frank Zappa had already picked Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin for his kids? And

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