Things To Consider When Choosing Your Baby's Name
Naming a child is an extremely serious affair. A
name stays forever and, if the child hates his name
during his growing years, it can adversely affect his
mind and psychology. Therefore, it is very important
for parents to give their child a name that he will
not find embarrassing when he grows up. Here's one
example of disastrous child naming - Bruce Willis has
named his daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout. This is
a clear case of forcing a personal choice down the
throats of children who have no worldly experience of
knowing what is right or wrong for them.
So, lesson number one: parents must think from the
child's angle and ask themselves this
* Will my child be proud of his name or will he be
embarrassed by it?
* Will the name give a chance to potential leg-pullers
to make life miserable for my child during his
growing-up years?
Once you are clear that you have to think from the
child's point of view, here's what you must do:
1. The basics of naming a child are that the name must
sound positive and must conform to the child's gender.
This goes without saying, and we're sure you'll be up
to it.
2. If you are bound either by religion or tradition
when it comes to naming, then the buck stops there, as
you have to select the name from a given set of names.
In this case, you must make a list of the traditional
or religious names and shortlist the names that you
like the most. After that it boils down to choosing
the name you think suits your child the best.
3. If you're looking beyond religion and tradition,
then you can really get creative: you can base your
child's name on his physical traits or on his
personality. For example, if your child has a strong
bone structure, you can choose a "strength" name for
him; if he appears creative to you, you can go in for
an "arty" name, and so on. Maybe you can name your
baby after your interests, but whatever you choose to
do, remember not to make the name sound weird or
complicated. There's this website, AmericanBaby.com,
which is a favorite for name seekers – try it out, it
may give you a whole lot of ideas.
4. You can also choose to name your child after your
favorite singer or actor. However, you must remember
that many such celebrities are law-breakers, do not
have much ethical sense, and are into abusing
substances such as drugs and what not. Be careful to
base your child's name on a celebrity who stands on a
high moral ground.
5. You must also analyze how the name will sound when
the last name is added to it. This is important
because the child will be known by his full name once
he begins his schooling.
6. Here is a small list of DON'Ts:
(i) The initials of your child's full name (first,
middle and last) may sometimes make a word. For
example: Billy Uriah Balboa makes BUB. So, if the name
you have chosen ends up making an offensive word out
of the initials, avoid it.
(ii) The spelling must not be too complicated and the
name should be easily pronounceable.
(iii) Avoid very long names!
Once you have made a list of your favorite names, go
ahead and choose, and remember to choose well because
that name will be stuck to your child for whole life.
Make sure to see that your child is proud of your
superior choice. We wish you all the luck in the
world.
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