Having a child is of course a tremendous joy and responsibility and one of the most difficult things to do is to decide on a name for a new addition to the family.
Sometimes, relatives want to get into the act and lobby for naming your soon to be bundle of joy after them or some other relative, but the decision is the responsibility of the parents, plain and simple, and both parents should agree 100 % on a child’s name, unless you have made a deal where you get to take turns, lets say where the husband names the boys and the wife names the girls. Not recommended!
Your baby won’t care about its name at first but names are incredibly important. Some religions even have strict rules, as in the Jewish faith, which is not the topic of this article, but in general, the same rules of common sense apply to naming all children.
Remember one thing. Children can be incredibly cruel. We don’t know where they get it from, it’s probably part of being human, left over from caveman days, establishing a pecking order in the classroom and the playground and schoolyard, and if your child has a name that can easily be made fun of, you can guarantee that it will be.
Also, avoid “cutesy” names, or “oddball” names. Many of us loved Frank Zappa’s music, but frown upon him having given his children names like Moon Unit, Diva, Dweezil, and Ahmet Rodan. Maybe it’s okay if you’re rich and you can get away with it, but it’s too much like the sad story told in the Johnny Cash hit written by Shel Silverstein, “A Boy Named Sue.”
Also, consider your child’s middle name too. And especially, his or her initials. True story, this writer’s first name is William, and when I was on a bowling team in a Saturday league as a youngster, everyone had their initials on their bowling ball, and when I got my own ball I asked for my initials on it and my mother said, “No.”
Why no? My initials are W.O.P. and we lived in an Italian neighborhood.
True story. We compromised and I got BOP inscribed, for Bill.
What were famed baseball pitcher Randy Johnson’s parent’s thinking when they named him? Or legendary race car driver’s Dick Trickle’s?
We think it’s nice for a child to have a name that sounds good when used in full and that also has built in or natural nicknames.
Michael is Mike, Susan is Sue, mundane but safe. Exotic and offbeat names that express the parents’ political or social views are cruel to a child. Your name forms your identity to a certain extent.
It’s lovely to name a child after a cherished ancestor and often this is a good way to compromise for parents with strong opinions about first names. This is where taking turns is okay. And don’t use the middle name to honor a deceased relative if it can be mocked, because it will be.
