Do Not Make These 3 Baby Name Mistakes
Picking the perfect baby name is something many parents start talking and thinking about the moment they find out that they're going to have a baby.
If you're reading this you're no doubt trying to decide what to name your little girl or boy - and in this article you'll learn about 3 common mistakes parents make when they pick a name for their baby.
1. Rythm
Picking a great baby name is more about the last name (and middle name) than you may think. Many parents make the mistake of picking a name that sounds good but doesn't have a nice rythm with the middle and last name.
Start with your last name. What is your last name? Johnson? That's a 2 syllable name, so as a rule of thumb you should stay away from all baby names with 2 syllables.
Instead, pick a 3 syllable baby name.
Also, stay away from baby names that start with the same letter as the end of the last name. Example: Daniella Adams. Read it out loud. You can't tell the two apart. It sounds like one name. You'll have to pause between the first and last name to tell 'em apart. Daniella. Adams. That's not
very rhythmic. Another rule of thumb: If the last name ends with a vowel, the first name shouldn't if you want to avoid one long confused mishmash.
2. Think popular names are unique (and vice versa)
Think David is still a popular name? It's a "common" name because it's been around for long -- but it peaked in popularity in the 60s and have been loosing popularity ever since. In fact, less than 1 in 130 baby boys were given that name in 2012.
So... if you want to give your baby boy a unique name; David is actually less common than Elijah, Aiden or Noah. Our advice: Check if the name you think is common still is. Same goes for "unique" names.
Additionally many parents check the national top 100 list but forget checking what's popular where they live. Let's take the name Noah: It's currently the 4th most popular boy name on the national chart, but rank #1 in New Mexico and on position #24 in Utah.
In Utah the name Noah was given to 1 in 162 boys, while in New Mexico it was given to 1 in 76 -- making it twice as common. Our advice: Check out the baby name charts where you live. You can view girls here, and boys here.
3. Forget that the baby at some point will grow up
Believe it or not -- but your baby will at some point be a grown up person. He or she will go to school, apply for a job and perhaps be the next president (or more likely a successful doctor, lawyer or business man/woman)
Sure; you may think Zeppelin, Elmo, Rihanna or Denim sound cool - but it's really selfish (and childish) to pick a cool name for your baby that could potentially make his or hers life as a grown up hard.
Not saying that there's anything wrong with those names - they are really cool, but they also have strong associations to popular culture that may or may not be completely irrelevant 20 years from now.
Our advice: Ask yourself if the name would look funny on a business card. Would you go to a doctor or lawyer with this name? I know I wouldn't be comfortable paying Dr Elmo a visit. Neither would I hire Mr Zeppelin to be my lawyer. Ask yourself. If the answer is no perhaps you should consider another name.
