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
(http://www.americanbaby.com/babynames/index.jsp), 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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Patricia Bennett publishes a wealth of information on this
subject.
See http://www.freepregnancyresources.com
