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Let
Your Children Name the New Baby
By Barbara Freedman-DeVito
Choosing a baby name is
an important job, so make your children feel important by
letting them help you name the new baby. After all, you're not
the only one who's having a baby - your whole family is ! Use
the process of naming the baby as an opportunity to get your
other children involved in and excited about their new brother
or sister, and make the process fun. Try a little humor, with
wild list-making sessions that may eventually
lead you to the perfect baby name that will fill that vacant
space on your family tree.
Here are some of the points, both serious and silly, that you
can encourage your children to consider when sifting through
the thousands of possible baby names that are floating around
out there. I've added a few sample names, from appropriate to
absurd, to make your children laugh and enjoy the name
choosing process, and to get your whole family thinking.
First of all, don't choose a first name that is SO odd and
unusual that, as your child grows up, his or her friends will
endlessly make fun of it. Perhaps "Sassafras" or
"Tintinabulation" are not the best name choices. On
the other hand, you may not want a name that is SO common that
every third child in the playground has it, too. Of course,
what is "too common" changes every few years. When I
was a child in the early 1960s, every other kid
answered if someone called out "Bobby" or
"Joey."
You might also want to avoid a baby name that is so
up-to-the-minute and trendy that it may sound ridiculous by
the time your child hits kindergarten. I'd think twice before
naming a baby "Megabyte" or "Bloggy." Then
again, if the name is VERY old
fashioned, that can also lead to taunting by other children.
How would you like to be in the third grade and be named
"Horatio Cornelius" ? Other old fashioned names,
though, such as Rachel and Sarah, never seem to go out of
style.
Sometimes a name sounds really cute on a tiny baby, but
inappropriate on a mature adult. Should anyone have to go
through life as "Dimples" or "Pinky" or
"Bitsy" ? Still, there are other names that may suit
a serious bank executive, but sound
too somber for a toddler - take "Harold Thaddeus" or
"Mildred Hortense," for instance. Shoot for some
sort of middle ground between cutesy-pie babyish and dour
fuddy-duddy.
You may also want to avoid names, or combinations of first and
middle name, that have a very strong negative association with
a particular person or event in history, like "John
Wilkes" or "Lee Harvey."
Consider the spelling of any baby name that you and your
children like. Will it be so difficult to spell or to
pronounce that your child will be condemned to a lifetime of
seeing and hearing people mangle his or her name and having to
endlessly correct
them ? As a case in point, I might have been named
"Ides" (pronounced "Ee-dess") but, luckily
for me, my parents dropped the idea for fear that I might wind
up being called "Ides" (as in "Beware the Ides
of March").
After all of the "don'ts" I've mentioned, how about
some "dos" for your kids to ponder. Maybe you'd like
to name the baby in honor of a special relative, past or
present, or a close friend of the
family. Think about all the people in your life who've been
dear to you. You may even choose to show respect for a famous
person you really admire.
Another possibility is to celebrate your ethnic roots by
choosing a current or traditional name that comes from your
family's cultural heritage, or some branch of it, if your
lineage blends several different ethnic backgrounds.
How about naming the baby for a book or movie character that
you and your children love ? Perhaps a little
"Harry" or "Dorothy" is waiting to be
born. (Possibly a tiny "Pinocchio" or "Thumbelina,"
although those may be a bit extreme.)
The meanings of baby names are a popular element to consider.
You could begin with a special meaning, like
"beloved" or "gentle" or
"courageous," and then see what names stem
from those words. Different languages and cultures can lead
you to various name choices, all with the same specific
meanings. If you want to avoid negative meanings, however, I
suppose that
"Picklepussia" would be out of the running.
You may want to use a particular letter of the alphabet as
your starting point. If you're expecting a baby girl you
might, for example, list every girl's name that you can think
of that begins with the letter V - Valerie, Victoria,
Veronica, Violet, and so
forth. For a more novel approach, how about drawing from all
the first names that contain six letters - Joseph, Daniel,
Joshua... or seven - Matthew, Malcolm, William...
If you find a first name that you all like, consider its
variant forms, too. For example, Christine might also lead you
to Kirsten, Christina, Kristen, or Crystal. A potential baby
Mary might wind up being named Miriam, Marion, Maryanne,
Marie, Maria, Marilyn, or Marlene.
For any name that you all like, try it on for size and live
with it for a while. If you name the baby Melissa, will she
end up being called "Missy" or "Mel" ?
Think of all the nicknames that any given name might spawn and
be sure that you can live with the nicknames, as well as the
full version of the name. Avoid inadvertently negative
nickname-producing names. Don't name the baby
"Smellonius" if you don't want him to be called
"Smelly" by his schoolmates.
Once you've arrived at a short list of first names that you,
your spouse and your children can all agree upon, look at each
name within the context of the full name that it will be a
part of. Find a
first and middle name that suit and go nicely with each other,
and with the sound of your last name. "Ernesto Casimir
Jones" might not create the most pleasing effect and
"Calliope Bathsheba Schmidt" may not quite roll off
the tongue.
Test lots of combinations of your family's favorite name
choices until you hit upon the perfect one. Then be sure to
examine the resulting set of initials. You don't want to give
your baby a
beautiful and well thought out full name, only to later
discover that the monogrammed handkerchiefs will read "P.I.G"
or "Y.U.K." or "D.U.M." So avoid the likes
of "Philip Ian Green" (alias "Pig") or
"Yelburton Uriah Keep" (commonly called
"Yuck") or "Doris Ursulla Martin" (a.k.a.
"Dumb").
If your favorite name passes that test, next imagine it as it
will be used by different people on different occasions. Using
John Q. Public as an example, let's look at all of its forms:
John Quincy
Public, John Q. Public, John Public, J. Q. Public, Johnny P.,
J.Q.P., J.Q., and even "J.P. loves S.A." carved on a
tree. Explore every possibility for any inadvertent gaffs.
Picture your chosen name as it will appear in various real
life situations: how will it look on a school register ? on a
diploma ? on a resumé ? in the oval office ? What impression
will it create
? Will it sound dignified ? snobbish ? flakey ? classy ?
friendly ? pretentious ? dumb ? What would you like to shoot
for - interesting and harmonious, but neither too weird nor
too dull ?
Once you've found a combination of names that can pass muster
and meet every criteria set forth, and that you're all just
crazy about, there's one more factor to consider. How does
this new name go with those of your other children ? Imagine
shouting down the street to call your kids in for dinner, or
listing your children's names on a government form, or signing
a holiday card. Do you really want that birthday card to your
favorite
aunt to read "Happy Birthday, Aunt Emma ! Love Terry,
Jason and Tondaleo" ?
If you can jump over this final hurdle you've done it ! You've
found the perfect baby name for that little someone who's soon
to be a part of your family, and your children will be more
enthused about the baby's arrival if they've helped you choose
that name. It will truly be THEIR baby, too.
Make the process as lively and amusing as you can to get them
into the spirit of it. For each point that I've mentioned,
encourage your kids to draw up long lists of possibilities,
including silly lists. Let them have fun and get all of their
wildest name
suggestions out of their systems, too. Create your own
"name the baby" games, such as "What would we
name the baby if we were Martians ?" "What if we'd
lived 300 years ago ?" "What if the name had to end
with the letter 'a' ?" Use your imagination, and your
kids will be sure to use theirs, too. That perfect name is out
there somewhere, you just need to find it.
Have fun !
Visit Barbara Freedman-DeVito's website at
http://www.childrensclothingbabyclothes.com
for baby clothes, children's clothing, matching family
clothing, and gift items decorated with her colorful and
amusing artwork for kids. Barbara is a professional
storyteller, teacher and artist.
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