Picking the Perfect Name for Your Baby

    LOS ANGELES, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Choosing your new baby's name is a
 task fraught with tension for most expectant parents. Will the name be too
 common in popularity, or too rare? Will it tie negative associations to the
 child? (There's a reason the name "Adolph" has fallen out of favor the last
 half-century.) Will the name grow with the child, or sound frivolous during
 adulthood?
 
     Jennifer Moss, a Los Angeles-based baby-name consultant who advises new
 parents on naming their children through her website BabyNames.com and by a
 personalized naming service, offers these tips in her new book, "The
 One-in-a- Million Baby Name Book" (Perigee Press, ISBN 978-0-399-53430-0),
 in bookstores this month.
 
     Moss, who is a baby-name consultant and founder of BabyNames.com,
 offers the following guidelines for expectant parents in choosing their own
 child's one-in-a-million name:
 
     1. Family histories and traditions: Does the name mean something
 special to you and/or your family members? Have you considered family names
 for first and middle names?
 
     2. Spelling and ease of use: Is this name easy to spell? Is it easy to
 pronounce? A girl named Melyssah will be destined to spend a lot of time
 spelling out her name the rest of her life.
 
     3. Popularity and saturation: Are you choosing a truly unique name or
 simply following the trends? Where is the name ranked on popularity lists
 like the one on BabyNames.com or the U.S. Social Security Administration's
 baby names database? Take into consideration that names that are popular
 today may seem dated 30 years from now, just as the name "Nancy" harkens to
 the 1950s and "Tiffany" summons images of the 1980s pop singer and her
 peers.
 
     4. Jokes, puns, and teasing potential: Will your child be teased
 because of the name, or due to his or her initials? Is it funny to you?
 Does the name rhyme with something teasable? "Crystal Chandel Lear" belongs
 above the dining room table, not on a birth certificate.
 
     5. Pronunciation, rhythm and flow: How does the first name sound when
 combined with your last name? Is it too choppy, or too long? Names have a
 natural sound and rhythm - a way that people hear the syllables in natural
 musical beats. Show friends and family the written name and ask them to
 pronounce it for you; if it doesn't sound right, or they mispronounce the
 name, you may want to reconsider.
 
     6. Gender identification: Is the name too frilly? Is it a primarily
 male or female name? Remember that male-identified names often work for
 baby girls, but female-identified names can be awkward for baby boys.
 
     7. The introduction test: Introduce yourself out loud using the planned
 first name and last name together. Does it sound "right" to you? Sometimes
 a name will look good on paper, but just doesn't sound right when written.
 
     "The One-in-a-Million Baby Name" book includes chapters dedicated to
 traditional names, celebrity names, names of royalty through the ages,
 character names found in popular culture, nature names, and names from the
 world of sports, along with firsthand stories from parents on how they
 chose their children's names. It also includes thousands of name
 suggestions, along with their meanings, origins and ratings of the names
 from visitors to BabyNames.com.
 
     BabyNames.com, which debuted on the Web in 1996, is one of the top
 destinations for expectant parents. In addition to its naming service and
 comprehensive names database, BabyNames.com offers parenting advice,
 parenting and naming forums, and celebrity-baby news, among other features.
 The site is owned and operated by Moss, her sisters Mallory Rustin, Kate
 Glinsmann and Sue Moss, and their mother, Peg Moss.
 
 

     CONTACT:
 
     Jennifer Moss
     877-211-BABY (2229)
     jennifer@babynames.com
     http://www.babynames.com
     This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information,
 visit http://www.ereleases.com.
 
 
 

SOURCE BabyNames.com