TriadMommies.com: From Piedmont Parent: What's in a Name?

Friday, December 9, 2011

From Piedmont Parent: What's in a Name?

8:10 AM | Posted by TriadMommies |

How did you decide what to name your child? Did you choose a family name? Something biblical? Maybe the name you had for your favorite doll growing up that you said you'd always name your little girl?

Apparently, this year the trend leaned toward naming kids after celebrities, whether it's reality TV stars, names that celebrities chose for their own babies (think Harper, the Beckhams' daughter's name), or even news personalities. Anderson and Cooper were two top names.

Babycenter.com just released its list of the top baby names of 2011, and as always, the ones that came to the top were interesting and really not all that surprising. Sophia and Aiden are in the number one spots, and there is one of each in my son's preschool!

It's always interesting to see the top baby names. This partly because I think as parents, many of us want our kids to have a special name, one that they won't share with half the class (Jennifer, anyone?). So it's funny that after agonizing over what to name your child, you might be very likely to have picked one that ends up on this list!

There are so many factors that go into choosing a name. And things parents think of now might be different than a few generations ago. It used to be the norm to name your kids after yourself, but that's not happening as much anymore. We seem to be more worried about making sure we pick a name that won't get the kid made fun of on the playground, or one that can't be easily turned into a nickname. Some parents are even vetting the names on Google to make sure they're not a stripper name, or have some bad reputation behind them. And then the choice you make follows your kid for the rest of his life, maybe affecting what type of job he will get as an adult!

It's a big choice, but not one of the biggest you'll make in your parenting career. So if you're pregnant now, have fun thinking about the decision, but try not to stress too much. And luckily, there are plenty of places to go for help finding ideas! Here are just a few:

Nameberry.com

BabyNames.com

BabyNameGuide.com

— Karen M. Alley, Web Editor, Piedmont Parent Magazine