What's in a name?

Have you chosen your baby’s name yet? Oh, it can be so hard, and I bet you didn’t realise how many people you disliked at school, and if you are a teacher, I bet this has been even harder! You’ve probably had a million suggestions from loved ones and even found acquaintances feel the need to share their name choices with you, but ultimately this is something you and TOH need to do.

So, what’s in a name? As the great Bard himself said - “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,” but trying to choose the right name for your offspring can be a stressful thing. When you Google, ‘how to choose a baby name’ there are a number of things they suggest you consider, don’t go for a passing trend, do you want to keep it traditional, do the initials spell out something obscure or offensive? (Actually, that’s a pretty good tip).

It is probably worth making a list of those names you and TOH don’t hate and ideally a list of those you quite like and hope you manage to both get a few in this column. Then it’s just a case of checking the shortlist in a number of ways. Does baby’s name suit them when they are a baby, secondary school, applying for jobs and when they become a grandparent? How does it work when you say it out loud, or shout it out?

Can you think of any nicknames that may come from the name, cute and otherwise and yes it probably is a good idea to check if their initials spell out something rude – for example if your surname is Ennis it’s best not to choose Philip or Poppy 😳. Ultimately mum, as long as you and TOH like the name, that’s all that matters so try not to over think it and go with your gut on this one – good luck!