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The 7 Biggest Mistakes Newbie Baby Namers Make
Parent Dish ^ | Apr 7, 2011 | Pamela Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz

Posted on 04/16/2011 11:46:10 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby

There are few things more thrilling in life than having your first baby. But newbie baby namers are prone to making some mistakes that more experienced name choosers are able to avoid.

If you're choosing a baby name for the first time, don't make one of these seven common mistakes:

1. Believing that the names that were popular -- and creative -- when you were a kid still have the same status.

Name tastes have changed radically over the last decade or two. Goodbye, Jessica and Josh, hello Layla and Serenity, Landon and Tristan -- all top 100 names.

2. Thinking that the playground rules are the same as they were back in the day.

Kids no longer get teased for having names that are unique, androgynous, exotic or hard to pronounce or spell. Rather, name diversity is celebrated.

3. Letting your parents have too much say in the baby's name.

Baby names can undoubtedly be a fun topic of family conversation. But the person who changes the diapers at 3 a.m. gets to name the baby.

4. Clinging too tightly to the name you always swore you'd give your first child.

A lot of people -- let's face it: girls -- spend their childhoods coming up with fanciful names they want to give their children. But if that name you always loved has suddenly become uber-popular or clashes with your new last name, let it go.

5. Caring too much about how cool the name choice makes you look.

Sure, pregnancy is cooler than it used to be, with cuter clothes and celebrity role models. But putting a name's cool factor above all else won't make little Bronx's life very easy.

6. Not considering subsequent children's names.

First-time namers are likely to think about, well, their first child's name, but if you name Baby No. 1 Tallulah, then you pretty much rule out Lula, Lila, Delilah, Sula, Tally and maybe even Louis for subsequent children.

7. Not realizing that there's going to be a real live baby ... and child ... and, eventually, grownup on the other end of the naming decision.

We get it that it can seem like your pregnancy is all about you. Sometimes, it can almost come as a shock when an actual baby emerges in the delivery room, instantly asserting her own needs and personality. Try to keep that little (and eventually big) person in mind when you choose the name she'll live with forever.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Humor; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: babies; babynames; children; names; parenting; parents
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To: patriot08

I went to school with a Dick Mann. Seems a little redundant, no?


141 posted on 04/17/2011 8:11:21 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: shibumi

I finally noticed, when an adult, that my birth certificate has my middle name spelled as DeLaine. I spell it Delaine.


142 posted on 04/17/2011 8:19:53 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.)
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To: TheDingoAteMyBaby

Emyli??


143 posted on 04/17/2011 8:20:48 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.)
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To: driftless2

LOL


144 posted on 04/17/2011 8:23:32 AM PDT by Osage Orange (I knew what I was feeling, but what was I thinking!)
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To: Ophiucus

I’m with you - people with ‘made up’ names have a hard time getting a job or being taken seriously. Leave this crap to inner city Detroit. Notice the names of the women writing this article? Sane and traditional...


145 posted on 04/17/2011 8:24:05 AM PDT by GOPJ (Understanding the Koran: http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2009/05/terrifying-brilliance-of-islam.html)
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To: John Valentine

Black chick at work...Safonda Cox


146 posted on 04/17/2011 8:26:24 AM PDT by Slicksadick (Go out on a limb........Its where the fruit is.)
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To: mylife

LOL! Growing up, as one of six kids, whenever Dad spoke to me, I had anywhere from one to six names.


147 posted on 04/17/2011 8:28:33 AM PDT by bannie (( ))
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To: LukeL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E


148 posted on 04/17/2011 8:29:12 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.)
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To: bannie

Yup!


149 posted on 04/17/2011 8:31:34 AM PDT by mylife (OPINIONS ~ $ 1.00 HALFBAKED ~ 50c)
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To: TheDingoAteMyBaby

When they choose their babies name they should consider that the baby could choose their retirement home.


150 posted on 04/17/2011 8:32:45 AM PDT by ThomasThomas (I am still looking for that box I am supposed to think out of.)
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To: mmercier

I was born in the early 50’s. One year there were SIX Debbie’s in my class.


151 posted on 04/17/2011 8:36:28 AM PDT by bannie (( ))
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To: Yaelle

My uncle’s best friend was Harry Pitts.


152 posted on 04/17/2011 8:38:10 AM PDT by kalee (The offences we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: Gaffer

Bucky O’Hare!!!!!


153 posted on 04/17/2011 8:39:07 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.)
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To: dfwgator

Rich snot! LoL


154 posted on 04/17/2011 8:42:36 AM PDT by mylife (OPINIONS ~ $ 1.00 HALFBAKED ~ 50c)
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To: kalee

We had a family tradition—I think this used to be common—of naming a son after the maternal grandfather...first name=first name, last name=middle name.

Grandpa=Robert David Smith
Baby=Robert Smith Jones

Ours went for, at least four generations; but my daughter had no sons.


155 posted on 04/17/2011 8:44:32 AM PDT by bannie (( ))
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To: chopperman

Thanks, my first laugh of the day....


156 posted on 04/17/2011 8:52:51 AM PDT by goat granny
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To: mmercier

I keep reading your last line and bust out laughing again, thanks....


157 posted on 04/17/2011 9:00:04 AM PDT by goat granny
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To: bannie

I like family names. I think they inspire a sense of history, tradition and belonging.
My father died 2 years before my son was born. He would have loved my son and been proud that we named him after him. I knew the name came from my father’s mother’s family but did not know how long it had been in use until I did some genealogical research into her family. It goes back many generations all the way to the 1800’s in one combination, form or another.


158 posted on 04/17/2011 9:01:31 AM PDT by kalee (The offences we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: bannie; SeaDragon
LOL! Growing up, as one of six kids, whenever Dad spoke to me, I had anywhere from one to six names.

My grandmother, when she would be staring right at you, would go down list until she reached your name. And she would snap and point. LOL

Seadragon, Echo (dog), Muffin (also a dog), Rika!

ROFLOL

159 posted on 04/17/2011 9:04:51 AM PDT by RikaStrom (Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership.")
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To: Sporke

a bruised rib, for goodness sake, don’t sneeze, its worse than laughing..


160 posted on 04/17/2011 9:07:36 AM PDT by goat granny
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