Congratulations on your expectation! The next exciting and enjoyable thing is to choose a name. For some parents, it is easy and straightforward when choosing a baby name. For others, this is a daunting task.
For example, some Asian Chinese families have predetermine a middle name for every generation to follow. For this case, the naming will be easy. When choosing a baby name, we want something we love calling. Imagining calling a name we do not like for 20, 30 years. On top of that, we probably looking for something with a good, positive meaning too. We also want a name that makes the child stand out, looking for a name for your baby that will show our heritage or a vision for our child.
So we will want to look for a name that could help our child get on in life, while avoiding one that could potentially embarrass or define him or her. And then there’s the difficulty of finding something that works with your surname.
If it is starting to worry you, we hope our tips will guide you through how to make the right choice. There are many elements to choosing a name, here are some pointers listed below.
What kind of name for your baby do you want?
When we are looking for something, it is always good to ask yourself some questions before starting. Very often, we subconsciously formulated a set of conditions. To help you out on this, ask yourself whether are you looking for something traditional, modern religious, exotic or unique. Do you want to find a baby name that reflects your heritage or perhaps name that resembles some famous person you wish to honor? For some, we also choose name using famous proverbs.
Are you going to use a middle name for your child?
Some Chinese may skip this entirely, keeping their name to just first name and last name. But for most, we still like to have a middle name. Adding a middle name can beautify or even glorify the name, enhancing its meaning behind.
Do the names sound good together?
After coming out with the name (i.e. first name, middle name, last name), read it aloud. Does it sound funny or resemble something if mispronounced unintentionally? Your kid could be laughed at throughout his or her life, as this may hurt the child’s self-esteem. In some cases, the first name and middle name simply do not sound right when read together, or do not go well with the surname. For Chinese, we usually choose our Chinese name first. Then we translate it back to English. Be mindful of your translation. A beautiful and meaningful Chinese name could be translated into something really funny.
Check the initials. Avoid embarrassing initials.
Names here are fictitious and only meant to highlight a point. Name such as, Tan Boon Chow will have initials formed up becoming ‘TBC’ or meaning ‘to be confirmed’. This is considering mild, bringing a bit of popularity to the kid when he laughed at. There are others that will really not be as nice to have, such as Pek I.G. (PIG), Wong T.S. (want to sell), or Wan T.F. (WTF).
Check out the meaning and associations.
After passing the test of sound by reading out loud on the baby name, ask yourself if there is a meaning behind the name. Names like Fabian means ‘bean’, while Brogan means ‘shoe’. What about associations? Ophelia is a beautiful Shakespearean name, but unfortunately the character went mad and committed suicide. On the other hand, Arwen, an elven princess from Tolkien’s novel ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a noble woman. Hence, the positive associations to the name. People remember name through association.
Look at the short forms.
Short form is another aspect that you might want to look at. Some baby name will land up with funny name in short form. For example, Catherine could be named ‘Cat’ in short form. One way to avoid having issue with this is to use short forms as name instead. Short forms are fashionable and easy to call. Short form names include Jack, Harry, and Ellie prove much more common than the formal version.
Will the name always be proper?
Choosing a name for your child is for life. Some parents forgot about this at the time of naming their child. Imagine your kid grown up as a famous inventor of the century with a name “Tooth Lee”. The point is try to come up with a baby name that will be well-suited for life. A name your child will be proud of.
Think carefully about using stand-out names.
Every child is unique. Parents will want their child in the limelight and grow to become a great person. However, giving a stand-out baby name can sometimes turn against the child. For example, if the parent love golfing and decided to name their newborn son ‘Tiger’. What if the child grown up working in the health industry? Doesn’t it sound funny? So think twice before giving your child a wacky name.
Is the baby name gender-specific?
These days, some parents love to use traditionally male names for girls (e.g. Jordan, Ashley, Cameron). Some Chinese, in the past, also love giving their baby girl a boy’s name, hoping their next child will be a male. If you are giving a gender-specific name, your child may end up correcting people she is a ‘Ms’ not a ‘Mr’ all her life.
Is the name easy to pronounce or spell?
Choosing a name like ‘Zephanaiah’, may help make the son stand-out for having such a unique name at nursery. But he may land up getting very few birthday cards with the correct spelling on the card and will have to get used to being introduced to people by the wrong name. Often, people facing such issue will land up being call ‘Z’ or whatever short forms or nickname instead.
Check the name’s popularity.
Finally, before making that final decision, do check on how popular that name is. It somehow very common for parents to think they came up with a very unique name that has not been heard of, but to find out their close friend’s child is also bearing that name. This is especially common if you search a name from a very popular book, website or you heard your friend mentioning the name before.
You do not need to follow all the pointers listed above. The above are mainly to highlight pointers that you may want to consider or avoid. Hope this article helps. Happy naming!
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