Choosing a Name
Overall, the majority of expectant parents
find out the gender of their baby before birth. They contend that it reduces
the number of names to consider, and helps direct the theme of the
nursery.
Other expectant parents choose
to revel in one of nature’s few remaining surprises.
In the end, it really does not matter at all, and the
decision is wholly up to you.
A few words
of advice for choosing names:
- If you don’t know the gender, have mom
and dad make a list of your favorite boy and girl names.
- Some couples want to stay within a theme like 'biblical names' or 'names that are within the family of relatives.'
- Have
each person say the names and let
the other one eliminate the names that are just not agreeable. For
example, one of you may have had an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend with that
name and it just doesn't feel right. Or it could be that one of you
knew a child in school or camp who you can't help but picture when you
hear the name.
- Hopefully a few names survive the
‘elimination’ contest and you can start working from that group along with
variations of the names [e.g. Marybeth, Elizabeth, Beth, Bethanny, etc.]
- Names
are very important. At the same time, so is compromise. Many parents
who yield on a name
change end up loving the name that they thought would not work and
later on, could not imagine the baby having any other name.
