How to choose the perfect baby name

Contains sponsored link¦ With a third royal baby on the way, baby names are a hot topic right now! Choosing your baby’s name is fun, but can also lead to some stressful moments! My husband and I didn’t do too badly, but I’ve heard of couples having full-blown arguments over choosing their unborn child’s name. Luckily, we only had a couple of minor disagreements.

My husband thought it was quite ridiculous at times where I sought baby name inspiration from. However, I think it’s good to take inspiration from all kinds of sources!

Baby name websites

Of course, you can do things the old fashioned way and look through a book of baby names. People often joke that parents of people named Aaron are lazy because it’s the first name in the book!

It’s the 21st century, so of course there are hundreds of websites and apps you can use! These are quite good, but there’s also about a million names that I’m sure nobody would use. There are some real gems though, you just have to do quite a lot of wading through.

 

Family history

It can be good to have a look back through your family tree to see if there are any names in there that you like. It can also be nice to give your child a middle name that nods to a relative. Autumn’s middle name both meets a family tradition and gives a nod to Dave’s late mum. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your family that inspires you for a classic name either! Censuses are a great source of inspiration – go to this website to get started.

The Royal Family

If you like quite traditional names like me, you might want to take a look through the family tree of Elizabeth II. There are some names in there which are quite unusual that you might not necessarily thought of, such as Eugenie. Royal names such as George and Harry are popular for boys.

I actually found Autumn’s name when I was looking through the royal family. Peter Phillips, the Queen’s eldest grandson, is married to a Canadian lady called Autumn Phillips.

The Bible

The Bible, or other religious books, can be a good place to look. Biblical boy’s names such as Noah and Jacob are very fashionable currently. Eva and Grace are beautiful choices for a little girl.

Books

Books are a great source of inspiration. I looked at the names of authors on the spines of my books, as well as thinking of character’s names. While I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, I disregarded Hermione, but Luna would be a lovely choice for a girl. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of my most favourite books. Atticus is an unusual name for a boy which has soared in popularity over the last few years. Likewise, Harper, the author’s name, has also seen a resurgence.

Credits

Whenever I watched TV or a film, I always watched the credits when I was pregnant. My husband thought it was silly, but I thought it was a great idea! So many people work on movies that of the hundreds of names listed, one is bound to please you.

Variety

I think it’s a good idea to line up a variety of names suitable for either a boy or a girl. Whilst scans are mostly accurate, I have heard of people having a baby that wasn’t the gender they were expecting! Sometimes you might also have a name in mind, but then when your bundle of joy arrives, you don’t feel as though they suit it.

Autumn was my husband and I’s top name for a girl and as soon as we saw her, we knew it suited her. In the afternoon, a midwife visited me and asked if I knew it was the first day of autumn (I didn’t). It was perfect timing – that was when I absolutely knew we had picked the right name.

Leave a comment