Tips for Naming Your Baby

15 Things to Consider When You Name Your Baby - Part 1

1. Namesakes
Exact reproductions of a parent's name, even if followed by a Jr. or II, can be confusing to everyone involved. Parents may vary the middle name of a son who carries his father's first name and call the son by his middle name, but the potential for confusion still exists. What's worse, the child never gets the satisfaction of having a name and therefore an identity of his very own.

Namesakes can lead to unhappy choices of names for the child, too. Somehow, Mildred doesn't seem appropriate for a little girl, even though it suits 80-year-old Aunt Mildred perfectly. Generally, it is wiser to be certain a namesake's name is one you'd choose on its own merits, quite aprat from the good feelings you have for the person you're complimenting this way.

2. Nationality
If you choose a foreign-sounding name, be sure its not a burden to your child by being unpronounceable or unspellable. Multicultural combinations of names, like Francois Finklebaum, Coleen Kowalski, or Mario Murphy, may provoke smiles. So try out names with different ethnic roots on lots of people before making your final choice.

3. Religion
Some parents think it is important to follow religious traditions in naming a baby. Roman Catholics traditionally choose saints' names, sometimes using Mary as a first name for each daughter and pairing it with different middle names, like Mary Catherine and Mary Margaret. By tradition, Jews prefer biblical names, often the name of a deceased relative; Protestants prefer Old and New Testament names; and Black Muslims prefer Islamic names.

by Bruce Lansky

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