Naming Your Baby

Carrying your baby inside you is a special time and many women have a pet name for their bump, such as peanut, beanie or even spud! Inevitably during those long nine months, thoughts turn to what the little one will be officially named once they make their way into the big, wide world. Although privately they may continue to be called Spud for some time.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

When it comes to picking names, women tend to be split into three camps.

Some mums-to-be know straight away what they want to call their baby and already have names for both a boy and a girl waiting. The only hurdle is persuading their other half to go along with them.

Other women start off with no clue and spend long hours during their pregnancy poring over baby-naming books or searching on the internet for a name with the right sound or meaning. Very often, the partner will also be involved in the quest, after all it is one area in which the father can be completely included, unlike so many other parts of pregnancy.

The final set of women come to a decision about the name one way or another, only to realise once Spud is born that he looks nothing like the name they have chosen. Often, to someone who has not yet had a baby the notion that a newborn can look like a name is a ridiculous concept but the number of women who change their mind once they stare into their babies eyes is surprisingly high.

And these days picking a name is a much more complicated business than in days gone by. Unusual names are very much in vogue with more and more parents opting for a more unusual moniker. However, there are many things to take into account when picking a name and it doesn't just come down to what you like. Certain names infer qualities on a child and anything too extreme could leave him or her vulnerable to playground bullies.

Of course, you also need to decide how to spell the name. Again, years ago this was less of an issue, but nowadays, even if parents plump for a more traditional name, many opt to give it a modern twist by deliberately misspelling it. While this may feel like a funky thing to do, it could mean condemning your child to a lifetime of having to patiently re-spell his name for others. Not to mention the difficulty in getting anything with your child's name on that is spelled correctly. But this doesn't mean that you shouldn't pick a unique name or adapt the spelling if it feels right for you. Just accept there will be some frustrations if you do.

Naming more than one at a time?

And for mums-to-be with double trouble or more, naming twins or triplets brings on a whole new set of questions. Do you name them to rhyme or match? Do you name them with the same starting initial? On the latter point, although it might sound cute to have babies with the same starting letter, it could prove a hindrance later on when trying to label items with just their initials, especially for same sex children.

Plenty of time

It is important not to feel rushed when picking your baby's name; it is a big decision and one that you want to feel comfortable with. You have six weeks to register the birth in the UK so having a few days - or longer - of Spud really won't do any psychological harm to the little one.

One of the strangest phenomena about pregnancy is that it is such an intimate time, when many changes happen to your body, yet the appearance of a bump, or even the mere mention of the baby can often provoke even passing strangers to ask the most probing of questions. Unlike more or less any other time in your life, everyone seems to assume you will wish to share every last details of your pregnancy. For many women, the chance to wax lyrical about their bump is very welcome.

However, some mums-to-be prefer to keep some things such as the name and gender of the baby private, which can be difficult for other people to understand. Rather than get into a full-blown debate into why you do not want to share all the details, or even risk offending family members, a good tactic is to claim you don't know what sex the baby is and will decide on a name once they are born.

When you are carrying your baby - or babies - picking the right name can seem like the most important thing in the world. But once all the excitement about their arrival is over and some time has passed, the significance of their name will pale compared to watching your baby smile for the first time, sit up and eventually take their first steps.

Don't forget to check out BabyNames.co.uk for great ideas.