Totally Choosing a Baby Name…badly.

Recently in a conversation with a friend the subject of baby names came up.  Now I know that is not something you would expect a fellow like me to think about but I have done it three times in the past for myself and also chipped in a couple of suggestions for others.  So why this posting?

Aside from a fun little read I decided to do a quick browse for ‘choosing baby names’ and came across this video.  To me this is an example of a poor way of choosing names for your children.  Have a watch.  The first mother chooses something that will cause endless confusion for her daughter (but not to worry it makes her sound edgy and trendy..well for at least a year as nothing changes like trends!), the second something traditional (after suffering a bit of brain death beforehand) and the third…well she is the best of all.  The third will not tell you the name of the child for ‘internet security reasons’ thereby making her whole appearance on the video pointless (incidentally I found her and the name in less than two minutes online so bang up security job there self promoter!).

My idle muse on this is actually quite simple.  When you have the joy and honour to choose a name for a child do it with kindness and care.  It is the biggest choice you will ever make for that baby, toddler, child, teen, adult, parent before you.  Ignore trends, ignore your friends, choose wisely and choose fittingly too.  That name will benefit or hinder them for their entire life.

I followed my own grandmother’s rules, you might find them amusing or useful:

1. Choose something you are not afraid to shout out loud in the street.

2. Never choose anything beginning with the same letter as your surname (alliteration is not cool!).  Simon Syme anyone?

3. Avoid the names of children of your friends or the friends themselves.  Also give each child a different starting letter in their names, avoids you accidentally calling the child their siblings name!

4. Find out the most common regional names where you live and do not use them (in South Ayrshire it is James and Claire for my generation).

5. Trends change and celebrities are vapid.  Have integrity and give the chosen name time to solidify in your mind before committing to it.

GBS