The little stick turned blue and it became official. You're havin' a baby, which means the race is now on for choosing the best name possible. You hit the 'net, buy the books, and begin scrambling to assemble your list of potentials. The ground rules are clear - you each retain veto power to ensure your child doesn't get saddled with the name of that stalker you had in college or the stripper your husband frequented during his early-20s dry spell. You're both determined to pick the most perfect name ever for your little bundle of joy. But where do you start? How do you choose? A lot depends on how you and your significant other define yourselves.
Old School Parents
Old school parents possess a strong sense of tradition. They appreciate the tried and true names of history and the family that came before. The importance of honoring living and dead relatives by including their names on the birth certificate cannot be overstated. They would even be prepared to accept names like Edgar or Eunice if the relative was important enough. The likelihood that their children may posses a minimum of two middle names is high and jumping to as many as five is not out of the question. These are not mere names - they are unbreakable links to the past designed to influence the future.
Examples of old school names: David, Anne, Patrick, Victoria, Edward, Catherine, Robert, and Joseph
Hip Parents
Falling into the hip category usually causes the most problems due mainly to the basic definition of the term. "Hip" refers to beingfashionably current, which is fine when you're buying shoes or picking restaurants but can be brutal when it comes to choosing a name that's supposed to last a lifetime. The hip almost always grab the "name of the moment" that, while insanely popular during the year of the birth in question, almost always results in the child sharing that name with three of four other kids in their class (think mid-eighties and Jennifer). Consider this - like-named syndrome is often "cured" when peers attach descriptive additions such as Fat Lucy and New Lucy, or Tall Ted and Small Ted.
Examples of hip names: Aiden, Emma, Jacob, Sarah, Ethan, Emily, Tyler, and Ava
Counter Culture Parents
These folks walk the fine line between desperately attempting to avoid group-think and veering dangerously off into being different just for the sake of being different. Determined to up-end societal norms, you'll often find these frustratingly self-aware individuals going out of their way to choose names that broadcast their world view, incite debate, and subversively reveal the stupidity of the masses. It almost goes without saying that members of this group have very high opinions of themselves.
Examples of counter-culture names: Ziggy, Noam, Janis, Jimi, Stick, Revolution, Sage, Winston Smith (first and middle), Vishnu, and Nug.
Pop Culture Parents:
This group is interesting in that they try to choose names that best reflect their happiest moments in life. These are usually based in popular media or commercial interests that struck a nerve once-upon-a-time but can still cross the spectrum in style. The desire to honor that which gave them so much joy in their youth is beyond question. In many cases these names provide the very best, and most intensely personal, advertising known to man as they link people and products together forever.
Examples of pop culture names: Bo and Luke, Fred and Daphne, Tiffany, Lexus, Jager, Obama, Macy, and Carl Jr.
Artist Parents:
Of all the groups, this is the one that is almost completely free of even the softest grip on reality whatsoever. Their name choices go from the free-flowingly abstract to the outer reaches of hazy-crazy. There is little hard reason for choosing these names as they are often words, emotions, or even sounds that tweaked something, somewhere, sometime. For whatever reason, the parent feels it must be immortalized on a birth certificate. These names are usually constructed to achieve maximum attention (for the parents).
Artist name examples: Apple, Rain, Bloom, Tract, Patience, Dew, Whip, Fad, Folio, Cacti, and Beatrick.
Hopefully, most parents will recognize whatever category they fall into and either attempt to expand beyond it or, at the very least, soften their choice by employing a sensible middle name (PteroDavid Smith). At least the kid will have a couple of choices as he grows up.
Telling the world who you are is wonderful and inspiring, but remember that the most important needs belong to the small child biding its time in-utero. The name you pick is something they'll be stuck with for an awful long time, so going beyond your own chosen persona would be a nice gift to give your child. You remain free to pull a Johnny Cash (name your boy "Sue") or show-off your affection for jingoistic Cuban T-shirts by naming him Che. Whatever you choose, just remember that someday you're going to have to explain your reasons for doing so. Knowing that suggests you best choose wisely.
What made you choose your baby's name?
Old School Parents
Old school parents possess a strong sense of tradition. They appreciate the tried and true names of history and the family that came before. The importance of honoring living and dead relatives by including their names on the birth certificate cannot be overstated. They would even be prepared to accept names like Edgar or Eunice if the relative was important enough. The likelihood that their children may posses a minimum of two middle names is high and jumping to as many as five is not out of the question. These are not mere names - they are unbreakable links to the past designed to influence the future.
Examples of old school names: David, Anne, Patrick, Victoria, Edward, Catherine, Robert, and Joseph
Hip Parents
Falling into the hip category usually causes the most problems due mainly to the basic definition of the term. "Hip" refers to beingfashionably current, which is fine when you're buying shoes or picking restaurants but can be brutal when it comes to choosing a name that's supposed to last a lifetime. The hip almost always grab the "name of the moment" that, while insanely popular during the year of the birth in question, almost always results in the child sharing that name with three of four other kids in their class (think mid-eighties and Jennifer). Consider this - like-named syndrome is often "cured" when peers attach descriptive additions such as Fat Lucy and New Lucy, or Tall Ted and Small Ted.
Examples of hip names: Aiden, Emma, Jacob, Sarah, Ethan, Emily, Tyler, and Ava
Counter Culture Parents
These folks walk the fine line between desperately attempting to avoid group-think and veering dangerously off into being different just for the sake of being different. Determined to up-end societal norms, you'll often find these frustratingly self-aware individuals going out of their way to choose names that broadcast their world view, incite debate, and subversively reveal the stupidity of the masses. It almost goes without saying that members of this group have very high opinions of themselves.
Examples of counter-culture names: Ziggy, Noam, Janis, Jimi, Stick, Revolution, Sage, Winston Smith (first and middle), Vishnu, and Nug.
Pop Culture Parents:
This group is interesting in that they try to choose names that best reflect their happiest moments in life. These are usually based in popular media or commercial interests that struck a nerve once-upon-a-time but can still cross the spectrum in style. The desire to honor that which gave them so much joy in their youth is beyond question. In many cases these names provide the very best, and most intensely personal, advertising known to man as they link people and products together forever.
Examples of pop culture names: Bo and Luke, Fred and Daphne, Tiffany, Lexus, Jager, Obama, Macy, and Carl Jr.
Artist Parents:
Of all the groups, this is the one that is almost completely free of even the softest grip on reality whatsoever. Their name choices go from the free-flowingly abstract to the outer reaches of hazy-crazy. There is little hard reason for choosing these names as they are often words, emotions, or even sounds that tweaked something, somewhere, sometime. For whatever reason, the parent feels it must be immortalized on a birth certificate. These names are usually constructed to achieve maximum attention (for the parents).
Artist name examples: Apple, Rain, Bloom, Tract, Patience, Dew, Whip, Fad, Folio, Cacti, and Beatrick.
Hopefully, most parents will recognize whatever category they fall into and either attempt to expand beyond it or, at the very least, soften their choice by employing a sensible middle name (PteroDavid Smith). At least the kid will have a couple of choices as he grows up.
Telling the world who you are is wonderful and inspiring, but remember that the most important needs belong to the small child biding its time in-utero. The name you pick is something they'll be stuck with for an awful long time, so going beyond your own chosen persona would be a nice gift to give your child. You remain free to pull a Johnny Cash (name your boy "Sue") or show-off your affection for jingoistic Cuban T-shirts by naming him Che. Whatever you choose, just remember that someday you're going to have to explain your reasons for doing so. Knowing that suggests you best choose wisely.
What made you choose your baby's name?
Information about the Author:
Michelle Brunetti from www.thecutekid.com/
, the most respected and fastest growing baby contest with over 1.7 million members. theCuteKid.com baby contest winners are picked by top modeling and talent scouts. Prizes equal to $100,000 annually - Do You Have a CuteKid?
