This post on Choosing a Baby Name was sponsored by Baby Name Train.

Thinking of possible baby names is a highlight for any pregnant woman and even non-pregnant women. I decided on my first child’s name when I was in high school. It’s a good thing my husband agreed!

5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Baby Name

Names are Permanent

While they can be legally changed but family and friends will always know the real name. Practice saying it out loud, shouting it across the room or yelling it in frustration. If another mom called her child by that name, what would you think?

Name Meaning

When I was considering Elestrin for my second daughter, I looked it up online only to find it’s the name of a topical medication used for menopause. Google the name!

Pop Culture Names

Be careful with these. If you decide you severely dislike the pop culture reference in the future, will it be a problem? What if the person you named your child after ended up being a criminal or worse?

Be Careful With Themes

If you are going to name your children in a theme, make sure you can agree on enough names in that theme to match the amount of children you hope to have. The Duggars children all have J names. With 19 children, it’s a good thing they didn’t decide to go with X names. My husband and I decided on Celtic names. His son was named Connor and after our first child was named Morgan (the name I decided on in high school), we decided to stick with Celtic names. We struggled to agree on Alastrin and we joked when pregnant again, that if it were a girl, her name would be baby because we couldn’t possibly agree on ANOTHER Celtic girls name. Luckily Liam turned out to be a boy.

Update 5/1/14 – I had another girl Feb 2014 who we named Aria, which is not a Celtic name. I was right, we couldn’t agree on one.

Ease of Tease

How easy to tease is it? Kids can make fun of ANY name but don’t make it easy for them. Think of the first name, the middle name, both together and any of those together with the last name. Ask a few kids between 7-10 to think of a way to tease someone with that name.

It’s very important to put lots of thought into your baby’s potential name. Take your time and don’t leave it till the last minute to decide. You can look for name ideas at Baby Name Train.