CookNaming.com
So What's Important in Choosing a Name?
Choosing a name for your baby is something that will be very personal to you as parents. It is not achieved by using a standard set of rules that applies to all parents all over the world. Each parent will have things that are important to them, specific reasons and criteria that they prefer to use for their own child's name. You have to consider all of the things that you want for your child, all of the things you want your child to be, and the pieces of your own life you want to share with your child when deciding their name.
What Should You Consider?
Parents usually know, from the very start, what is important to them in naming their child. Common criteria usually includes ethnicity or country of origin, family practices, religious practices, current trends in naming, and phonetic sound matching with their own last name. Some parents have an easy time naming their child, knowing sometimes before the child is ever even conceived what their child's name will be. But to other parents, this is entirely complicated, as they may have difficult last names to match, family to please, or a desire for something "different".
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Popular Vs. Common
Every parent seems to say, "I want to name my child something different, not a name that every kid in their classroom will have." So why are their so many Emilys and Jacobs? The simple reason is, because sometimes a name has a great meaning, sounds good and is widely recognized, making it transcend a parent's need to have a "different" name. Sometimes, a parent's last name is so difficult, that they may counter it with a common, easily understood name.
But there is a difference between common and popular (even though the words are often interchangeable). A common name usually means that it is widely used, ranking high on the Social Security Administration's list of Most Popular (note the word "popular"!) names. It often includes multiple spellings that make it even more common, and will often rank high for a few years in a row. A popular name usually isn't too common, maybe still ranking pretty high on the Most Popular list, but not so commonly used that there are more than 1 in a classroom. A popular name is easily spelled, easily pronounced, and widely recognized, even if not being so common. Usually these are older, established names.
Questions? Comments?
If you have an questions or comments, please do not hesitate to ask. You can contact us through one of the emails listed on this site for further information.
