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HelpWhat to prioritize in a name?
Curious what others prioritize when naming children?
1. A good meaning
2. Liking the name
3. Family name
4. Fits with the family whether same letters or rhyming or similarities such as nature names or Biblical names or name places
5. A good initial like C.J. or J.T. or G.G.
6. Other considerations
1. A good meaning
2. Liking the name
3. Family name
4. Fits with the family whether same letters or rhyming or similarities such as nature names or Biblical names or name places
5. A good initial like C.J. or J.T. or G.G.
6. Other considerations
Replies
I think 2 is the most important, and maybe 5 as well. Name meanings are an interesting case, as iirc in some cultures babies are given names with negative meanings to deter evil spirits/avoid bringing bad luck to the baby
Hi all !
Ben here again.
I would say in my long years of life and extensive experience that the highest priority of a name should be that it is spelt correctly. Second to that, the name should be easily scribeable.
Stay Fruitful !
Ben here again.
I would say in my long years of life and extensive experience that the highest priority of a name should be that it is spelt correctly. Second to that, the name should be easily scribeable.
Stay Fruitful !
I won’t be naming kids for at least eighteen years, but here is what my criteria would be
1. It has to sound good. I tend to like the el and a sound, so Ella is definitely one I like. I can’t stand the sound of Gertrude.
2. It has to flow with my last name. My last name is pretty long and rough in sound. Names I like, such as Mavis, would not flow.
3. It needs to be able to fit a variety of people. My #1 girl name used to be Scarlett, but now it is Charlotte and Helen. The main reason is that I feel Charlotte would suit more people.
4. It needs to age well. My favorite names are Helen and Charlotte, both of which age well.
5. No family names as first names unless someone died. I love my family, but I wouldn't want to seem like I had favorites. My grandmother does like to joke that I was named after her. Her name was Karon Catherine Marie, and I'm Katherine Marie.
6. It needs to be somewhat timeless. Essentially, no Braxxtyns, Kynsleighs or Emersynns.
1. It has to sound good. I tend to like the el and a sound, so Ella is definitely one I like. I can’t stand the sound of Gertrude.
2. It has to flow with my last name. My last name is pretty long and rough in sound. Names I like, such as Mavis, would not flow.
3. It needs to be able to fit a variety of people. My #1 girl name used to be Scarlett, but now it is Charlotte and Helen. The main reason is that I feel Charlotte would suit more people.
4. It needs to age well. My favorite names are Helen and Charlotte, both of which age well.
5. No family names as first names unless someone died. I love my family, but I wouldn't want to seem like I had favorites. My grandmother does like to joke that I was named after her. Her name was Karon Catherine Marie, and I'm Katherine Marie.
6. It needs to be somewhat timeless. Essentially, no Braxxtyns, Kynsleighs or Emersynns.
1 + 2 + 6
6. Not overused nor kr8iv
6. Not overused nor kr8iv
Meaning doesn't matter. I wouldn't pick a name I didn't like, even if it was a family name (examples: Edna, Percy). I gave my children a total of eight names, one of which I chose because it seemed to suit that new baby, and the name I'd thought would be suitable somehow wasn't. The others are all friends-and/or-family.
1. I like it, and would like saying it a lot, and would like to be named it if I were the one being born, it seems "right" for our family - all the subjective feelings.
2. my husband likes it.
3. doesn't sound stupid with our last name, doesn't replicate a famous/infamous FN/LN combo, doesn't have really bad initials, etc
4. I believe I know about all the associations that would be made by that people the kid is likely to meet, and there's nothing that would bother me if it were my name
5. has a spelling and pronunciation that people around us can learn to get right without a struggle
6. the usage/popularity pattern hasn't given it a strong image of being a certain age that is 25-40 years older than the baby (esp. for girls), also it doesn't feel like a fad name that will be out of style in 5-10 years
7. it doesn't seem to have a lot of contrast, too much similarity, or strange associations with the names of any older siblings that are fairly close in age. Like ... I would probably not name a son River if his older brother was Eric, nor a daughter Anna if her older sister was Emerald, wouldn't use both Damon and Raymond, etc.
2. my husband likes it.
3. doesn't sound stupid with our last name, doesn't replicate a famous/infamous FN/LN combo, doesn't have really bad initials, etc
4. I believe I know about all the associations that would be made by that people the kid is likely to meet, and there's nothing that would bother me if it were my name
5. has a spelling and pronunciation that people around us can learn to get right without a struggle
6. the usage/popularity pattern hasn't given it a strong image of being a certain age that is 25-40 years older than the baby (esp. for girls), also it doesn't feel like a fad name that will be out of style in 5-10 years
7. it doesn't seem to have a lot of contrast, too much similarity, or strange associations with the names of any older siblings that are fairly close in age. Like ... I would probably not name a son River if his older brother was Eric, nor a daughter Anna if her older sister was Emerald, wouldn't use both Damon and Raymond, etc.
This message was edited 7/13/2024, 3:29 PM
1. Sound
2. Look (spelling)
3. Fit with last name (flow, not clashing, not too similar)
4. First and middle name fit (flow, look, FN-MN-LN, etc.-- I would probably prioritize my first name preference and then choose a middle name based on this out of a list of middle names I already liked, but I might choose another first name if I got really attached to a certain middle name and I liked the first name just as much)
5. Meaning (includes literal name meaning, family significance, personal associations, and cultural associations)
6. Fit with siblings/family members' names (not too similar, not clashing)
But this is a general thing. I do think individual instances of "lower" priorities can be very strong and cancel out the others. For instance if I loved the name "Donald" for some reason and it passed my 1, 2, 3, and 4, the cultural association of Donald Trump would veto the entire name despite me putting that kind of thing as my fifth priority. Same with siblings, I put it lower down but obviously if I wanted to name my kid "Jacy" but I already had a kid named "Stacy" that would veto the whole thing even if it passed everything else with flying colors.
2. Look (spelling)
3. Fit with last name (flow, not clashing, not too similar)
4. First and middle name fit (flow, look, FN-MN-LN, etc.-- I would probably prioritize my first name preference and then choose a middle name based on this out of a list of middle names I already liked, but I might choose another first name if I got really attached to a certain middle name and I liked the first name just as much)
5. Meaning (includes literal name meaning, family significance, personal associations, and cultural associations)
6. Fit with siblings/family members' names (not too similar, not clashing)
But this is a general thing. I do think individual instances of "lower" priorities can be very strong and cancel out the others. For instance if I loved the name "Donald" for some reason and it passed my 1, 2, 3, and 4, the cultural association of Donald Trump would veto the entire name despite me putting that kind of thing as my fifth priority. Same with siblings, I put it lower down but obviously if I wanted to name my kid "Jacy" but I already had a kid named "Stacy" that would veto the whole thing even if it passed everything else with flying colors.
This message was edited 7/13/2024, 3:00 PM
I would really only prioritize #2. I don't go in for honoring family members by using their names, and I don't care much about meanings so long as they aren't very obviously negative or funny. Not into themes either, though if you have more than two kids with a certain letter or theme going it would seem odd to not continue.
Initials aren't important so long as they don't spell out something dumb. Seems the fashion for calling kids by their initials passed; I knew several boys and a couple of girls growing up who went by initials, but can only think of one younger kid who does, and he's a Junior so is TJ.
The only other priority is the name should sound good with the last name and the combo should roll off easily. No little Steven King or Rose Bush or Betty Petty, silly stuff like that.
Initials aren't important so long as they don't spell out something dumb. Seems the fashion for calling kids by their initials passed; I knew several boys and a couple of girls growing up who went by initials, but can only think of one younger kid who does, and he's a Junior so is TJ.
The only other priority is the name should sound good with the last name and the combo should roll off easily. No little Steven King or Rose Bush or Betty Petty, silly stuff like that.
To answer the questions in order:
1. Meanings are irrelevant overall since most people do not know the etymology of names, nor do they care. It won't affect the child. However, if the meaning is so disturbing that I cannot look past it, then I will not name my child anything that reminds me of something unpleasant. I will not use a name simply for its good meaning. It has to sound nice on its own and with the rest of the rest of my child's name.
2. The most important thing is that I like the names that I chose, and I expect that my children will. If I suspect they could hate their names, I might choose something else. That would only be a wild guess, though. It's better to go off your own tastes: "Would I enjoy being called this?" and not anyone else's.
3. I am interested in using my caregivers' names for my children, but I may not. I want my kids to be addressed as individuals, so they might have the family names as middle names so there can be differentiation - or in case they do not like it, they will only be referred to by first name. If by family name, you mean surname, then does matter significantly. Some first names and last names sound strange, clunky or even inappropriate together.
4. Similarities to other names in the family would only matter if the children's names look too similar on paper or sound too much alike when spoken aloud. But themes or origins are not too important. I try not to let my love of nature names control my plans; I think it would be corny to give all of them nature names, but I might allow it if some of them are words that could mean or suggest something else. For example, I could use Skye instead of Sky If I wanted to because "skye" is not a nature word, or even a word for that matter. I most likely won't use Skye, but that's an example.
5. Good initials don't matter. Children don't always need nicknames. I just want to avoid bad initials like S.A.D, B.A.D. or anything like that. The combination of first letters in a kid's name will be noticeable if it is ever shortened on a document, but there's a large chance that it won't be noticed.
1. Meanings are irrelevant overall since most people do not know the etymology of names, nor do they care. It won't affect the child. However, if the meaning is so disturbing that I cannot look past it, then I will not name my child anything that reminds me of something unpleasant. I will not use a name simply for its good meaning. It has to sound nice on its own and with the rest of the rest of my child's name.
2. The most important thing is that I like the names that I chose, and I expect that my children will. If I suspect they could hate their names, I might choose something else. That would only be a wild guess, though. It's better to go off your own tastes: "Would I enjoy being called this?" and not anyone else's.
3. I am interested in using my caregivers' names for my children, but I may not. I want my kids to be addressed as individuals, so they might have the family names as middle names so there can be differentiation - or in case they do not like it, they will only be referred to by first name. If by family name, you mean surname, then does matter significantly. Some first names and last names sound strange, clunky or even inappropriate together.
4. Similarities to other names in the family would only matter if the children's names look too similar on paper or sound too much alike when spoken aloud. But themes or origins are not too important. I try not to let my love of nature names control my plans; I think it would be corny to give all of them nature names, but I might allow it if some of them are words that could mean or suggest something else. For example, I could use Skye instead of Sky If I wanted to because "skye" is not a nature word, or even a word for that matter. I most likely won't use Skye, but that's an example.
5. Good initials don't matter. Children don't always need nicknames. I just want to avoid bad initials like S.A.D, B.A.D. or anything like that. The combination of first letters in a kid's name will be noticeable if it is ever shortened on a document, but there's a large chance that it won't be noticed.
My husbands name doesn't have significant meaning so he doesn't really care much about that but I think Bible names have significance many times. Then I look up big important people names and sometimes it is a bit shocking to me. Like Donald Trump for instance. Donald means World Ruler. I realize he isn't ruler of the world but knowing that is what his name meaning is kind of creeps me out. Most of the time I think the average Joe it doesn't really matter. Many people mentioned in the Bible didn't have names.