How To Pick A Baby Name And Avoid Disagreements

Wondering how to pick a baby name without causing a war between you and your partner? Check out our tips to avoid those disagreements & choose a great name!

Wondering how to pick a baby name without causing an argument between you and your partner? You’re not alone! So many choices.  So many combinations.  Picking a name for your baby can be a very stressful thing to do!  After all, you are giving your child something he or she will have for the rest of his or her life (let that sink in).  Strong or cute?  Popular or uncommon?  Old or new?  If you and your partner are having a difficult time picking a name for your little bundle of joy, here are some ways to avoid arguments.

10 Best Free Android Smartphone Apps for Pregnancy

Pick a Baby Name without Causing Disagreements

Family Names: Start with family names when you pick a baby name.  Is there a name in either family, male or female, that either of you prefer and would like to pass on to your child?  Maybe a combination of 2, or if this doesn’t work, think about using a family name as a middle name.  For example, when I was pregnant with my daughter I knew I wanted her middle name to be Jean after my maternal grandmother’s middle name.  With our second, a boy, my husband wants to pass on the middle name both he and his father have.

Start With A Letter: Pick a letter you both like and want your child’s name to start with.  Now go your separate ways and come up with some names that start with that letter. See what you both have.  You might find you have one in common!

Choosing The Best Baby Swing For Your Baby

Popular or Uncommon: Making this choice can weed out many names and make it easier to agree.  I never liked my name growing up, it was different and I was the only one with it.  I had wished my mother had named me Laura or Samantha, something more common.  Fast forward a couple decades and there I was, doing the same thing to my daughter.  I did not want her to have a common name.  That was something we both agreed upon.  With our son, we decided we wanted to go with an old name, something we hadn’t heard in a long time.

Say It Out Loud: When you are suggesting names, use the last name as well.  Throw it around for a bit and write it down.  Does it go well with the last name?  Try to avoid first names that end if a vowel if your last name begins with one, the sound too mushed together.  For example, try to avoid names like ‘Maria Anderson’ where the “a’s” flow together.

Initials and Nicknames: Aside from making sure the name sounds good, you want to think about the initials (a guy in my high school grew up with the initials PMS).  Do they spell something?  Sometimes that is cute.  I was born with the initials TAB and then my last name was changed and I was TAP.  What is the name going to be shortened to?  My mother swore no one was going to call me Tab and only Tabatha, yet she was the first one to do so.  Our son will be Dexter and we plan to call him Dex.  Our first born is Kalise; she doesn’t have a nickname.

There certainly is a lot to think about when picking a name for your baby.  It can be one of the more stressful parts.  It doesn’t have to be!  Take into consideration what you have read and take away what you want.  Now grab a paper and pen and get to jotting down some suggestions to bring to your spouse!

Just for fun, check out the Social Security Administration’s countdown of the most popular baby names of 2013 (the most recent year with full data). It just might help you pick a baby name!

 

 What sort of things have you considered when you were trying to pick a baby name?  Post some suggestions below!

9 thoughts on “How To Pick A Baby Name And Avoid Disagreements”

  1. This is a must read for every expecting parent. We had such a hard time picking out our 2nd son’s name and my mom called it “BORING” after we told her what we had chosen. Geez.

  2. Really interesting article, thanks for pulling this all together! This really was a fun post to read. Truly fascinating!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *