SSA- Highest Authority on Most Popular Baby Names

There are many people out there looking for the most popular baby names of today. Some are trying to avoid them and give their child a unique name. Others are just looking for name inspiration. Whatever your reason for wanting to know the latest most popular names, you can't go wrong when you look at the latest Social Security data on names. Forget all those websites on baby names. They are good for looking up definitions and that sort of thing, but if anyone is going to be the ultimate authority on what exactly people are naming their children these days, the SSA is sure to be it. So click on over to their latest popular names data page and get in the know! Then head back to www.babynames.com and type your pick into the search box on their page. It will bring up all the info you ever wanted to know about that name. Keep both sites open in different tabs and repeat until satisfied!

SSA Most Popular Baby Names

Babynames.com

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Picking a Name That Encourages Teasing

Remember that one unfortunate boy in school who had the name everyone made fun of? Maybe it was more than one. Maybe it was you! But we all know names are easy to make fun of, and none of us want to give our child one that plays right into those little schoolchildren hands. Here are some things to think about when picking a name that will not encourage over-much teasing.

Why me?

1. What are the common nicknames of the name you are thinking of? Richard, for example, is commonly shortened to Dick. A very unfortunate thing with the slang from this day and age. Richard itself is a perfectly reasonable name, of course. But its nickname is something to be aware of. To find out if a name has any bad common nicknames, click here and type the name in. It will list any common nicknames worth avoiding.

2. How does the first name blend with the last name? Your child will probably not thank you to become one of those unfortunates with the name Stan Still, Anna Sassin, Ima Pig, Jo King or Daisy Picking. (True story)

3. How hard will it be for him or her to learn their own name? Or to learn how to spell it? You may want to give your child a very unique flowery name but try to avoid making it too difficult for people to understand. There are some pretty complicated names out there, and many of them inspire impatience more than admiration. If a child is always having to correct everyone on how to say her name, that is an easy way to inspire teasing and deliberate miss-speaking of her name on the playground.

Hee hee hee!

4. If it is very near in pronunciation to a bad word or embarrassing word, you may be sure all the little classmates will pick up on that the first day. There are a few names that are slang bad words also (going back to number 1) such as Woody, Colin, Gaylord, Cherry, or Fanny. Yes, some people still insist on naming their children names that mean dirty or embarrassing things in today's society. We hope they did it on accident with no idea and that they visit this page next time!

That is not to say that all unique names should be avoided! There are many little used names that may be perfect for your child. Or you could make up your own like many people like to do. Just be sure to be thinking of the list above when you do!

Agreeing on a Name

Some parents can easily pick out a name together that both of them like and are excited for. Others have a harder time, particularly ones that come from different cultures. One may want the child named a name from his culture, the mother may want the name to come from her's. One way to get around this is to find a name that fits with both.

This can be easier than you think. Most cultures have names that are similar or have been taken and used in a different culture. Get a list or book of names from your culture and from your significant other's and look through both to see which ones match.

Also if you are planning on having more than one child you could decide to name every other one from each culture. This also works with using handed down family names, if you are having multiple children.

If you only plan on one child and that one child has the responsibility of carrying on Aunt Selma's name AND Aunt Dorothy's name, you can consider giving one for the first and one for the middle. If the names are too awful to use as first names, there are plenty of people with multiple middle names. Just squeeze Aunt Dorothy's name in after Aunt Selma's and everyone is satisfied, except perhaps the little girl herself who may or may not be proud to carry on those names.

Maybe the problem is just that you don't like the same names. Here again, each parent naming every other one might work. Or agreeing on other things, such as name length, initials, meaning or how many names the baby will have, may help narrow the choices for both of you and help you come to a compromise or agreement. Changing the spelling of a name one of you likes may get the other person to appreciate it more. Also, giving it time can help. It might not sound right at first, but if you have a month or two left to choose, come back to it later and try it out again.

Baby Names

Congratulations! You are pregnant and need to get ready for baby! More importantly you need a great name! What is the best name for your baby? It can be hard deciding which of the thousands of names would be the best one to bestow on your newborn child. You want one that will match their future personality and looks, one that will make them stand out, but in a good way. The tiny life still developing within you is your pride and joy and will be the new love of your life. You want them to have a name that compliments them perfectly, unique yet not too difficult. But there are so many to choose from!

Of course you will have a few you have thought of already or have a preference for. Many people have had names they have heard of and saved up through their whole lives waiting to give to their baby. Often they have second thoughts, however, and at the last minute decide their baby needs a different name.

This is a conundrum many parents can face in the delivery room. They may have a baby name picked out and decided on. If they have decided not to find out the gender of the new little one, they might have two names picked out, one for a boy and one for a girl. Then out comes baby, and by George, little Ricky looks more like a little Timmy. What to do? You do not want to have this problem!

A good idea is to have more than one name picked out. Find an easy to use detailed baby name book such as Name Your Baby which you can download as an e book or order 100,000 + BABY NAMES:The Most Complete Baby Name Book in print, which will tell you the origin and definition of each name as well, to help you decide which one you like best.

Birth Certificate Holder 

Also, be careful not to have too many names picked out! You don't want confusion that way either when trying to fill out your little one's birth certificate. Maybe you can't quite decide between a few names. Reading the definition of those names may help you decide. Either way, a baby name book with accurate definitions is a great help when picking a name.