Monday, July 2, 2012

My dos and don'ts of Baby Naming:

Dos: 
-Pair a short first/middle name with a long first/middle name. 
i.e. Eli Theodore or Nathaniel Eli 

-When using unisex names, such as Avery and Dylan/Dillon pair it with a name that is for their gender. 
i.e. Avery Elizabeth, Avery Josephine, Avery Noelle. Dylan Nicole, Dylan Noelle, Dylan Renee. Dillon Joseph, Dillon Robert, Dillon Matthew. 
(You don't want the name to come off to unisex-y. Even if you don't find out the gender and want to use Avery for both, pick Avery with a girls name and a boys name:)

-When picking out a name, picture yourself yelling that name in Target or a store when you need the child's attention.
i.e. "Stella Josephine, get back here this instant!" 

-Have options when the child is born, don't be stuck on one name because he or she may be born and then you decide their name doesn't fit them. So what I recommend is having two or three names, and when he or she is born decide, unless you are 1000 percent sure you want that. 
i.e. In Friends when Ross and Rachel had Emma, they had two names picked out and neither one Rachel thought fit her daughter, until Monica told them her names she had picked out, and fell in love with Emma, which Monica graciously gave to her best friend :)

Don'ts: 
-Pick an extremely popular name for one child and then an extremely uncommon name for the other. 
i.e. Chloe and Alaric (Even though that sounds cute, it looks weird when one is the top 1000 and the other is not)

-Make up an alternative spelling! They are not pretty and for the rest of that child's life they will have to spell his or her name!
i.e. Cara/Kara spelled Careah. Caden/Kayden spelled Kaedyn or Kaidyn. Preston spelled Prestin, Presten, Prestyn. Michaela spelled M'Kayla (I adore my cousin, but this is seriously a little ridiculous)

-Put Y's or I's in places where they should not be! It is not cute, it doesn't make the child more of an individual then they already are. 
i.e. (Even though I completely adore my best friend) Maryssa. She hates having to spell her name. 

-When having multiples, pick names that are extremely matchy. 
i.e. Heaven/Neveah, Madison and Mason, Jayden/Jaden and Jayde/Jade or Jayda/Jada. 

-Sibsets like multiples that are too matchy. 
i.e. Grey & Reid (However work amazingly as middle names together), Violet and Lily/Lilly. 

-A name that is too big for the child (like the meaning or whatever)
i.e. Symphony. Symphony's are huge, big and complex, and if naming your daughter that it's like setting her up to be this huge thing and it's a little hard to live to a Symphony, because they change all the time. 

For right now that's all I can think of I'm pretty sure there's probably more, but I can't think of them. 

SJ