Now, style and preference are of course personal, but are their any ‘rules’ that would be good to consider when trying to pick out a name? Like…a certain number of syllables go better with one syllable/four syllable last names…or.names ending with certain sounds are nicer with ____…anything like that?
Of course, even these rules are just technically suggestions, but I would love to have some insight to help me get started? As for me, I’ve got a 4 syllable, consonant heavy, fairly ethnic sounding last name, starts w/ a B : )
These were all made to be broken, well except 3, but here are some thoughts:
- You wouldnt want a first name that ends in B if your last name starts with B, the two will tend to run together when said aloud.
- A mix of syllable numbers is usually nicer sounding than all the same (although I dont always follow that one) for example a 2 syllable first name, 1 syllable middle, and 4 syllable last. 1-2-4, 3-2-4, 3-1-4 would all sound better than 4-4-4 (although in this case that would also be the longest name ever!!)
- Watch for initials that spell not so nice words.
- If your last name is fairly ethnic sounding, you may not want a first name that screams another ethnicity (unless you truly are those two ethnicities! Example, if your last name is very strongly [name]German[/name], you may not want a daughter [name]Francesca[/name] unless you truly are [name]German[/name] and Italian)
Good luck!
Any “rules” are the ones you (and your partner, you’ve got one) decide upon. You make the decision as to what restrictions or boundaries you want to have when choosing a name. In our case, these are our “rules”:
- No “weird” or “make-up” names. This means no Kaydyn, [name]Baylie[/name], [name]Blu[/name], [name]Greyson[/name], or Blanket, etc. All names should be easily recognizable and spelled traditionally.
- None of the [name]Aiden[/name]-[name]Braden[/name]-[name]Caden[/name]-[name]Jaden[/name] names for boys (or girls where applicable). My DH gets mad just thinking about those.
- None of the [name]Makayla[/name]-[name]Mackenzie[/name] names for girls (or boys where applicable).
- No names after relatives or friends, dead or alive.
But that’s our list. Everyone is different. Some people are much “no matchy names”, meaning no “[name]Allison[/name] [name]Adams[/name]” or “[name]John[/name] Jacobson”, etc. Some people like to pair shorter first names with longer, multi-syllable last names. Others feel that you shouldn’t use an ethnic-sounding name unless you are of that ethnicity. It really depends on you. Browse through the top 200 or 300 names and pick out ones you like. That will give you an idea of your naming style and then you can adjust your parameters based on that. Good luck!