Alright, we all love our [name]Emma[/name]'s, [name]Lily[/name]'s, [name]Henry[/name]'s and [name]Jacob[/name]'s, but what are your rules, personal and/or those you wish would sweep the nation?
Personally I think profession names ([name]Tyler[/name], [name]Carter[/name], Bricker, [name]Tanner[/name] ect.) should be outlawed!
I think subtle themes, or the flower themes are great for sib-sets!
I wish all the Duggers didn’t have J names!
If you name one daughter something frilly, don’t make the next one unisex!
Personal rules for myself are-
I don’t use unisex names.
I pair my names off in polar opposites, if one sounds hippy the mn is serious. If one is inventive the mn is classic and so on.
If the meaning is bad, the name is out the window!
So do you agree, am I crazy and what are your rules?
I have a rule that I will give my kids a quirky middle name with a more conventional first name. That way they can choose for themselves what kind of name they want.
Balance! Balance is everything in a name, in my opinion. Balance in the flow of the first, middle, and last names. Balance in the rhythm of the first name, alone. Balance in the composition of soft and hard sounds within the name. Balance in the masculinity and femininity of a name. Balance in the feel of the name, so that one is not overly whimsical or overly reserved. Balance is imperative!
No matching first letters or end sounds in a sibling set, if other great options are available. Yes, I believe I have a slight obsessive-compulsive personality disorder when it comes to naming - don’t judge! Ha! This just means that [name]Leona[/name], [name]Gwendolyn[/name], and [name]Jasper[/name] are a better sibling set than [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Reagan[/name], and [name]Harper[/name], in my opinion.
Sparkle! Quite simply, a name should sparkle, in whatever way that means for you. You don’t want a bland, boring name combination, do you? No, you want a name that exudes shine, color, and texture - it’s like the basic rules of putting together a good outfit, right? [name]Just[/name] applied to naming…
So, that’s that for me! As for the rest of the world, they can do as they please, but I wish parents would stop choosing misspelled name variants. So, don’t use Mackynzie as a substitute for [name]Mackenzie[/name], please. In general, if spell-check thinks it is wrong - except for [name]Rebecca[/name], which my spell-check thinks is wrong, and other ‘legitimate’ spellings - you might want to consider a different spelling…
Popular is bad, but still-dated is fine. I have to pay careful attention - many “dated” names that are on their way down are still much more common than many “trendy” names on their way up.
Ideally, a name should have as close as possible to the same pronunciation in different regional versions of English. This includes ruling out both names which can’t be pronounced the way I want in a given accent (Americans turning T into D) and pronunciations that are entirely different (American [name]Evelyn[/name] with a short E vs British [name]Evelyn[/name] with a long E). I haven’t thought about how much of my list would be ruled out by this, or if there will be any names left!
I disfavor using nicknames, though I have nothing against giving a traditional nickname as a full name. There are many names that don’t have easy nicknames, but I don’t want to have to limit myself to those. Again, I have not applied this rule yet. My list ignores nickname possibilities.
Personal rules so strong I’ve given them as advice:
Grammatically, a name is a noun. I avoid word names that aren’t nouns.
Also, don’t use more than one word in a name.
Rules I’d give as advice:
[name]Don[/name]'t give a name too quickly. Make a list long before a baby is due. You don’t want to give a name that’s part of a brief phase for you; you’ll have to say it a lot.
It’s alright to like and use a name you were drawn to by a fictional character. But be able to distinguish between liking a name because of a character and naming after a character. I often have trouble doing this.
Make sure you’re comfortable with your reasons for liking a name, and be sure they won’t be embarrassing to say if you’re asked!
Difficult spelling or pronunciation shouldn’t be deal breakers. As the US and [name]Canada[/name] rapidly approach “minority-majority”, people have to adapt to frequently asking how to spell and pronounce names.
I say as long as you like the name go for it. It isn’t my kid. LOL.
I think a lot of people who use popular names aren’t necessarily concerned with names in general. So they don’t think about if I name my daughter [name]Emma[/name] she will probably have to go by [name]Emma[/name] last initial throughout her entire elementary and high school career.
But even though I have a nonchalant attitude towards how other people name their kids these are the rules I have for myself.
No names that are too nicknamey.
Under no circumstance would I knowingly use a unisex name. [name]Even[/name] if it has more of an association to one gender.
No trendy names, the ONLY alternate spelling I like is Aalis (alice) and I wouldn’t even name my daughter [name]Alice[/name]. So I think I’m safe from using trendy names. I really believe that changing the spelling of the name kind of takes away from it.
No naming children names that start with the same letter. [name]Michele[/name] and [name]Jim[/name]-[name]Bob[/name] I am looking at you. I think it is even worse with a big family like the duggar’s and with twins especially. Because they have to share so much, even with siblings they have to share their parents. So why make them share their names too? Let them have at least one thing that is unique to them. [name]Even[/name] if you name them [name]Jacob[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Chloe[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]William[/name], etc.
For boys I like strong names, girls I like girly feminine kind of princessy but not too over the top names.
I REALLY like the idea of personal naming rules that may not necessarily apply for everyone. I’ve started several blogs on naming rules and usually scrap them because they feel too heavy-handed and negative. One person’s never is another person’s always…
My personal number one naming rule is go with what you love. If you love the name [name]Emma[/name], but it’s super popular, don’t go with [name]Beatrice[/name] just because it’s less popular. You’ll probably beat yourself up over it later when you see your daughter and say “she really could have been an [name]Emma[/name].” Also, if you love a name and there are a few other people in your lives who don’t, keep their opinions out. You wouldn’t base your decisions on what to wear, who to be friends with, or what job to have based solely off other people’s feelings.
My second naming rule is that you must ask yourself if you would like to have the name you want to impart on your child. For awhile I loved the name [name]Persephone[/name]. While it’s a great name I don’t think I personally would want it to be my name. Therefore I’ll never name my child that.
Basically other than that I don’t have real naming rules. [name]Every[/name] name, sibset and person is different and deserves to be thought through individually. Personally I don’t love alliteration in sibsets, confusing spellings or unisex names, but then again I can break all my own rules by loving [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Edward[/name] together, loving [name]Blythe[/name] but not [name]Blithe[/name] and having a thing for [name]Emerson[/name] on a girl.
So I guess I have more name [name]Do[/name]'s than name [name]Don[/name]'ts. My do’s are:
Strive for balance and flow of sounds and syllables.
Use a name that has personal attachment or meaning to you.
Know the history and cultural background of the name.
Be able to say the name hundreds of times and not get bored with it.
[name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] it.
My husband has to really love the first name. Hopefully he loves the middle name, too.
At least one name has to be after someone in my family or my husband’s family.
At least one name has to be from the bible.
It’s great when one name is from my family and from the bible, so that I can go crazy with the other name. [name]Sebastian[/name] was my crazy, quirky name for my son. My daughter didn’t get a crazy, quirky name because my husband chose her first name. So her middle name [name]Elizabeth[/name] satisfied my family/bible rule. Oh, actually [name]Laura[/name]'s first name is a family name from [name]Kent[/name]'s side - it’s his grandmother’s name.
My preference is that the middle name is quirky.
The first and middle name start with different letters.
The initials of all three names don’t make a weird word.
I would never get tired of the first name.
The first and last name sound good together.
I have tons of rules, but I will have to see if I can remember them.
The name must be out of the Top 100, my oldest’s name is [name]Henry[/name] which is uber popular now but it was #136 the year he was born.
No rhyming names. No Aidens/Braydens/Cadens.
If its not a name I would want for myself, I don’t bestow it upon my baby.
No initials that spell something, even if its not bad.
Respectable nns are a must
No obvious themes: Same last letters, same first letters, same initials, popular flower names, etc.
Absolutely no unisex names, which sucked because it seemed like a lot of the boys names I was picking for awhile were unisex. My sil picked all unisex names for her kids and people get so confused when they meet them.
[name]Lemon[/name], I love you, a namer after my own heart- [name]Gwendolyn[/name] and [name]Jasper[/name] will be sibs in my household! The others will be [name]Evangeline[/name], Tigerlilly, [name]Benjamin[/name], [name]Elaney[/name]-[name]Rose[/name] possibly [name]Ireland[/name], [name]Rhett[/name], [name]Carston[/name], Diella, Siren, [name]Cammeo[/name], [name]Vincent[/name] and [name]Kelvin[/name]. [name]Hope[/name] you love!
Idealy I would like all the names to start with a different first letter. If they could end in a different letter that would be a bonus.
The names need to have personal meaning to us. Pasing on family names is more important that just putting together a combo you love.
The names shouldnt be in the top 100. However, this really only goes for girls names. [name]Ive[/name] learned that boys seem not to care if their first name is common, infact they seem to prefer it. That is why Im not taking [name]Julian[/name] off our list no matter how common it gets.
Nothing unisex.
I must love it and be able to say it a 1000 times a day and not get sick of it.
I need to be able to picture the name on my child. There are many names I love but I cant picture them on my toe headed children. I always like to look at a name and see if I could picture it on myself or my partner. If the name doesnt fit out appearances chances are it wont fit our kids either.
I’m another one who doesn’t really mind what other parents name their children, unless they will have serious trouble spelling it or even living with it, like the boy who was named [name]Adolf[/name] Hitler.
My rules:
No names within the top hundred.
I would like the first and/ or middle name(s) to have some sort of personal significance.
No obvious themes like, all children’s names starting/ ending with the same sound or letter.
No big syllable gaps, I couldn’t have a [name]Fern[/name] and a [name]Kerensa[/name], although I love both names I just don’t think it seems fair, so no more than one syllable difference I think.
Nothing that could be confused too easily with another name, [name]Olive[/name]-[name]Olivia[/name], [name]Mireia[/name]-[name]Maria[/name], [name]Noemi[/name]-[name]Naomi[/name], although I think those could just be me being silly.
Nothing too serious, I just can’t see myself with a baby [name]Anne[/name] or [name]Mary[/name] (not that I dislike either name at all)
For me Unisex names are fine, as long as they are established as unisex names.
I don’t like tryndee spellings…a name should be honored not destroyed!
Themes shouldn’t be too obvious unless you’re planning a family band or circus troup.
Actually being a male myself, I would not like to have a super-common name (especially one that’s been so popular for so long that it’s essentially non-descript) like [name]Michael[/name] or [name]William[/name]. Something like [name]Julian[/name] (which you mentioned) with its current ranking would be good for me though (although I may change my mind on that one if it hits the top 10 or so). I guess being a “name nerd” I am more sensitive to name popularity than the average guy.
There are far fewer girls’ names that have reached that “non-descript” status for me since their popularities tend to change more over time. [name]Mary[/name] is one which is that way for me though; [name]Elizabeth[/name] is still one I’d consider though since its popularity has been diffused somewhat by the varied use of its nicknames. Nonentheless, I’d be less likely to use a currently very popular and/or trendy name for either gender (although I still like [name]Isabella[/name]; the highest-ranking boy’s name that is “more than okay” for me likings is either [name]Ryan[/name] or [name]Gabriel[/name] depending on what my mood is). On the other hand, the top names are given to a smaller percentage of babies than names with the same rankings when I was growing up, so having a popular name might not be like it was back then.
Edited to remove some stray words/letters at the end.
Actually being a male myself, I would not like to have a super-common name (especially one that’s been so popular for so long that it’s essentially non-descript) like [name]Michael[/name] or [name]William[/name]. Something like [name]Julian[/name] (which you mentioned) with its current ranking would be good for me though (although I may change my mind on that one if it hits the top 10 or so). I guess being a “name nerd” I am more sensitive to name popularity than the average guy.
There are far fewer girls’ names that have reached that “non-descript” status for me since their popularities tend to change more over time. [name]Mary[/name] is one which is that way for me though; [name]Elizabeth[/name] is still one I’d consider though since its popularity has been diffused somewhat by the varied use of its nicknames. Nonentheless, I’d be less likely to use a currently very popular and/or trendy name for either gender (although I still like [name]Isabella[/name]; the highest-ranking boy’s name that is “more than okay” for me likings is either [name]Ryan[/name] or [name]Gabriel[/name] depending on what my mood is). On the other hand, the top names are given to a smaller percentage of babies than names with the same rankings when I was growing up, so having a popular name might not be like it was back then. Despite its p[/quote]
It is nice to meet a male name nerd! The world could use some more of you that is for sure. I say boys dont care as much because from my own personal experiences that is what [name]Ive[/name] observed. My nephew is [name]Jacob[/name]. He loves his name and actually thinks its cool that it is so popular. He is the only [name]Jacob[/name] in his class also. My partners name is [name]Zachary[/name], which was popular in the 80s and 90s. He doesnt seem to mind the popularity. However, he does want our kids to have more distinct names. I totally agree with you about there being more non-descript boys names. [name]John[/name], [name]Michael[/name], and [name]Robert[/name] literally do nothing for me. I still find [name]William[/name] and [name]James[/name] to be quite handsome though.
