how to choose a baby name?

On our recent baby dribble podcast, we talked about everything baby names. There is a lot that can influence baby names so we thought we’d delve into some hints and tips for when choosing a name.

Our inspiration for this podcast topic came to us due to the recent anticipation of the new royal baby name which was due to be announced and of course we are talking about Harry and Meghan’s new bundle of joy. Just two days ago they introduced us to Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, a name which we love here at Sweet Dreamers. So, let’s get started with some things to think about for your prince or princess…

Family names

Do as the royals do and think about family names, as the royals often like to look backwards to names for inspiration. Look at mums, dads, grandads, grandmothers, aunties or uncle’s names as this is a great way to find inspiration and is a great way of honouring someone close to you.

Exotic names

Look at exotic names, as names from other countries are great inspiration if you are looking for something a little different. An example of this could be Sienna, which of course is Italian.

Historical names

Historical names are always a great place to start, names such as Winston, Henry and Noah are great examples of looking back for name ideas.

Popular culture

You can look at favorite actors/singers/celebrities. Also, favourite characters for example Hagrid, Luna or Severus, basically anything Harry Potter inspired for us here at Sweet Dreamers.

Trends

A lot of celebrities use places to inspire their baby names, probably the most famous being Brooklyn Beckham. However, more recent place inspired names such as Rome and Florence have now become popular.

What to think about?

Name meanings, for example Bella means beautiful or Matilda which means strong in battle.
Initials, think about what they spell out.
Names that age well. Think about how the name might sound when the baby is older, possibly in a work setting.
Think of possible nicknames.
Consider siblings names. There are a few websites you can use to put a name in and it gives you popular sibling names, you just have to pick your favourite.

Middle names, why do we have them?

Historically middle names were used to honour a family name, as first names were used to honour a saint’s name. It hasn’t differed all that much in today’s modern world, as a lot of parents use the middle name to honour a family name without having to use this as the first name. Alternatively, you could use it for a name that didn’t quite make the cut for the first name.

Recent top 5 baby names from 2018

We thought it might be nice to look back at the most current popular names; we have the top five below for boys and girls, are your little ones on the list?

Girls

1) Amelia
2) Olivia
3) Isla
4) Emily
5) Poppy

Boys

1) Oliver
2) Jack
3) Harry
4) Jacob
5) Charlie

Instagram poll

We would normally ask our Instagram followers to vote on some myth busting questions however, there aren’t that many myths about names so we thought we’d get your opinion on baby names to see what influenced our followers with their names. so here we go…

Were your baby names chosen before you became pregnant?

43% Yes / 57% No

Did you change your baby name once your child was born?

19% Yes / 81% No

Did you use the middle name to honour a family member?

71% Yes / 29% No

Were you in agreement with your other half over the baby name?

80% Yes / 20% No

Would you change your baby’s name now if you could?

8% Yes / 92% No

Thank you for everyone who voted. Well that’s it for this week’s podcast and we hope we’ve provided some helpful tips to choosing a name.