List of Baby Names
Choosing the Identity

Of course, your little baby is the most wonderful and sweetest bundle of joy that deserves the name more suitable to his/her personality and spirituality, and that identifies his/her existence in this life.

But keep in mind that you are choosing the name for your baby that has not been born yet. You do not know if your baby will like his/her name. Probably during the first five years of life it will be indifferent for your child if is named Joseph, Michael, or John.

Maybe when your child starts going to school will realize if his/her name likes it or not. Who knows what your child will think about it. It is possible that you are condemning your child to a lifetime of problems because of his/her name.

For example, I read that a Chinese couple named their child "Saddam Sars" to mark the current world events at the time of the birth! I just hope it means something nice in Mandarin, or Cantonese!

This probably wouldn't have happened in Germany, where names can only be registered if they are recognizable that do not ridicule the child and are gender specific. Perhaps there is at least one Chinese child in the world, who will grow up wishing he/she were German!

Definitely a list of baby names will help you to choose a unique name. You may want to know as well the meaning of baby names in order to get a deep insight of the name, right?

This task is very important during your pregnancy, and very exciting at the same time. It will also be a tired task, since you will have available a huge list of names. You may want to consider suggestions from your family, relatives, or even friends. However my personal opinion is to keep it simple between you and your husband.

The more information you have of baby girl names, and baby boy names, the better will be your selection to give your baby a unique name that will identify him/her for the rest of his/her life. Here I give you some tips to make your selection easier, independently the origin of the name you are considering.

Keep in mind these simple tips:

• Meaning of baby names:
  Here comes a reason to have available a list of baby names. It is important to know what’s behind the name. Commonly, the meaning of the name comes from characters from the past that have made history, in that way the name of your baby will have an analogy with that character.

  On the other hand it is always gratifying to know that your baby's name means: Love, hope, joy, life, tolerance, peace…

• Uniqueness:
  Consider a name that is not so common. Wherever you go, school, work, even within the family, you may always find common names like John, Peter. It does not mean they are not nice names, just they are not unique.

  However, you have to avoid names so complicated that nobody can spell or write. This will be frustrating for your child.

• Nickname:
  You should consider the nickname associated to your baby’s name. It is possible that you like the name and it has a nice meaning, but the sound of the nickname is disgusting for you. It is quite possible that everyone will call your child with the nickname, and all efforts on finding a nice name can be thrown away.

  You may want to reconsider your decision and look at again a list of baby names.

• Sound of the name:
  The sound of your baby’s name is important, especially when it is pronounced in combination with the middle name or surname. In practical terms the combination of the name and last name should sound fluent and you should listen with certain softness and sweetness.

  Avoid names that end with the same letter as your surname begins, for example: the following names tend to merge together: "Alexis Smith" or "Erik Kramer".

• Father’s name:
  In some countries it is common to name their first baby with the name of his father. The reason behind this is that parents want to preserve the name in the family tree. There is nothing wrong with that, on the contrary, sometimes parents feel proud that his first son has his name.
• Initials of name, middle name and surname:
  Once you have at least a couple of names that you like, check the initials, you may be surprised because of the meaning of the initials, for example: RIP, SOS, SAD, NIL. So be careful before deciding your baby’s name.

The name is a gift that you will give to your baby; it is worth to spend some time on finding the most appropriated baby name.

Look at different web sites for a list of baby names, do your research, do it together with your partner. Once you have decided on a specific name, pronounce it all day. You have to be convinced that the name is the one you like and the one that will fit to your baby.

A perfect time to start looking for a list of baby names is when you announce your pregnancy.

Look at some of my favorite baby name resources.