The name game

Chooing a name for your baby is a very personal decison. It can seem a very daunting prospect with the vast amount of options available today and the idea that your chosen moniker will be with your child for the rest of its life.

There are some who have a name picked out long before a baby is due. I must admit to picking my daughter’s name when I was about 14 years old after (don’t laugh) watching an episode of Aussie soap Home and Away! Luckily my husband was in agreement when the time actually came to name our baby girl – and Megan Elizabeth she is. However, when our son was born it had taken hours of thumbing through name books, talking to friends and family and many heated discussions, before we settled on Lucas – I had wanted Luca, so it was a compromise!

If you really have no idea, most people start by looking through some of the many baby name books on the market and making a list of the ones they like. You can also do a search for the most popular names of the moment to give you inspiration.

Baby names website babynames.co.uk has recently published the most popular boys’ and girls’ names for the first quarter of 2013. Judging by the 80 entries, traditional names are making something of a comeback. Ava sits proudly at the top of the girls’ list with other so-called ‘old-fashioned’ names Florence, Rose, Violet, Evelyn and Beatrice making the top 40. Likewise for the boys, classic royal names James, Harry, William and Charles seem to be favoured amongst new parents. There may also be a resurgence of biblical names as Noah takes first position in the boys’ list, closely followed in the top ten by Isaac, Jacob and Ethan. To see the full list visit www.babynames.co.uk/blog/the-top-40-boys-and-top-40-girls-from-2013-so-far

The media has also had a big impact in the last few years with more and more parents being influenced by television and film characters, celebrity babies and literary works. Another baby name website Nameberry.com has gauged that Thor and Marnie are proving to be the hot choices of 2013, thanks to the success of the Avengers film and American TV series Girls. In addition singer Lily Allen and actress Tamzin Outhwaite both chose to name their daughters born at the beginning of the year, Marnie. The names Christian and Anna have also seen a surge in popularity as a result of bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey, and the 16th century playwright Christopher Marlow has been the namesake behind the daughters of actress Sienna Miller, actor Jason Shwartzman and Kings of Leon member Nathan Followill.

However, not all celebrity baby names are well-received. A recent poll by Bounty.com showed that Mark Owen’s daughter, Fox India, son of Billie Piper, Eugene, and Chantelle Houghton and Alex Reid’s Dolly were voted the worst baby names of last year. I don’t think there will be many Rainbows about either.

But, if these weird and wonderful names are a bit too much, then why not pick one with a special meaning or association? I was always keen to pick a Celtic name for at least one of my children due to my Welsh heritage. Don’t tell my husband, but I have Seren, which means ‘star’ in Welsh, ready and waiting, just in case we have another!

And just in case you thought you’d heard it all, it was reported on the Mail Online in February that an expectant mum from Los Angeles, USA, has agreed to have the name of her unborn child decided by public vote, but this is quite an extreme way to combat such indecision.

If all else fails you can always look to your newest family member for help. Just by holding your precious newborn in your arms and gazing adoringly into their eyes, all may suddenly become clear.