- Can the name sound presidential, artistic, academic and athletic?
- No kre8tive spellings.
- No need to confuse a child when they're learning their name and make them justify your choice for the rest of their life.
- Only exception is if it is to honor someone you know
- Try not to choose a (first) name in the Top 100.
- Having never met someone with my name, I loved being the only Aria and not Aria L.
- ETA: Personal significance trumps popularity concerns.
- No rhyming first names.
- Stay away from names that sound like family members' names
- Taylor & Tyler, Aaron & Erin, Aiden & Avery, Olivia and Oliver, Emma & Ella, Addison & Madison, etc.
- If you're going to have a theme, make it subtle:
- # of letters in name
- Spread-out alphabetical (Brian, Elaine, Laura, Paul)
- Letter in common: Abigail, Sebastian, Lucas, Isabel)
- Last letter becomes first letter: Michael, Lauren, Nora, Aaron)
- Genre of name (classical, hipster, trendy (please no), vintage, eccentric, etc.)
- Origin of names (Irish, Japanese, Italian, etc.)
- No gender bending with given names.
- Nick names? Fine. Don't write it on the birth certificate. This applies to both genders.
- No unisex names.
- When a teacher looks at her class roster, she should know definitively whether a child is a boy or girl by his or her name.
- If that's out of the question, something about the name should indicate gender.
- Absolutely never in a million years use a virtue name.
- No kid needs the pressure of living up to the name Patience, Chastity, Bravery, Rebel, Temperance, etc his or her entire life.
- Do not make up a name or blend you or your husband's names together.
- You aren't being creative. You're saddling your child with the question, "What?" following them introducing themselves.
- Know what your child's name means._
- Even if meaning doesn't matter to you. You may want to reconsider if your child names "unwanted", "hassle" or "accident". Otherwise, you can be the judge.
- Middle names, I feel should mean something.
- Whether you're honoring a family member or just like what the name means/represents, put some thought into it. Otherwise, what's the point in having one?
- Each name should sound distinct and have its own identity.
- If using more than one name with the same letter, make sure they their own sound. Heath, Holden and Harper is much better than Carson, Carter and Carly.
- Initials cannot spell anything negative.
- Try not to use the name of a pop star.
- Jennifer, fine. Elvis? Not so much.
- Be careful around ethnic sounding names.
- Unless you or your partner have ties to a certain heritage, be careful about using these names.
- Ex. Matteo, Yuki, Aoife, etc.
- No name stealing from family or friends.
- If you know someone loves it, talk it out. If you're not brave enough to talk it out, you shouldn't be brave enough to use it. Nuff said.
- No running together of first last name.
- Make sure the name can suit a baby, kid, teenager and adult.
- Lulu is only going to be cute for so long...then she's going to grow up.
- Ultimately, if you love it, then use it.
jul 3 2013 ∞
jul 27 2016 +
