Choose a Name

The Experts' Guide to the Baby Years: 100 Things Every Parent Should Know
by Samantha Ettus

Read a little, learn a lot!

Oh, baby! In one book, 100 leading parenting experts offer must-have advice for expecting and new parents. The Experts' Guide to the Baby Years is the all-in-one companion to raising your baby with confidence, knowledge, and style, while maintaining your own sanity. As a brand-new parent, Samantha Ettus, creator of the Experts' Guide series of books, went on a search to collect invaluable insights and practical know-how from the world's experts in the field of parenting. The result is this wonderfully informative and entertaining guide to preparing for, welcoming, and caring for your new baby like an expert.

In bite-sized chapters that even the most sleep-deprived new parents can digest, you'll find advice from an expert on the top 100 parental concerns, from budgeting for the baby to bathing, breastfeeding, and beyond. And it doesn't stop at Baby. The Experts' Guide to the Baby Years includes plenty of chapters devoted to you, too - such as getting in shape after childbirth, maintaining a happy marriage, and setting up a playdate. Bestselling author and pediatrician Harvey Karp provides secrets for calming a crying infant; travel guru Pauline Frommer reveals her best tips on planning a vacation with your child; and Iron Chef Cat Cora offers her techniques for making baby food. Each of the contributors brings a matchless blend of knowledge, passion, and experience to ensure that you make the most of your child's first years.

From choosing a name and preparing for your baby's arrival home to making the transition back to work, The Experts' Guide to the Baby Years brings an unparalleled breadth of practical and authoritative information to the alternately joyous and exhausting journey through the baby years.)

Chapter 1

By Laura Wattenberg

Laura Wattenberg is the developer of name analysis software and the author of The Baby Name Wizard.

So, have you settled on a name yet?

As the clock winds down many parents find themselves surprisingly stumped, still searching for the perfect name to express their tastes-and satisfy the whole family. A name choice encompasses fashion and tradition, values, and dreams.

Whether you've talked yourself out of your favorite name or debated your partner to a standstill, try these strategies for getting past some common roadblocks:

Our favorite name is too popular

You want a distinctive name for your daughter. She's not going to be one of five Jennifers in her class. But now it turns out that Abigail, your cherished favorite, is a top-ten name!

Don't toss aside that beloved name just yet. A popularity rank doesn't tell the whole story. First off, there are no "Jennifers" in this new generation-no names you'll find in every classroom. Parents are naming more creatively, so even the number-one name today is only a fraction as popular as the hot names of past generations.

A name's impact also depends on the way it blends in with the sound of the times. April was a popular choice in the 1970s and 1980s-more popular than the name Kristin. But Kristin feels more common because it traveled in a pack of similar names (Krista-Kirsten-Kristi-Krystal). A name with a unique sound, like April, can stay fresh despite its popularity. If the name you love does travel with a pack (Jaden-Braeden-Hayden-Kaiden), don't despair. Remember that "popular" simply means well liked, so people are likely to respond well to the name and to your child.

The two of us can't agree

As the birth date looms closer, a name dispute can turn combustible. Ratchet down the hostilities by taking pen to paper. Go to separate rooms and each write down your six top choices. (No, writing Eleanor six times doesn't count.) Then trade papers and each choose the two names you find least objectionable. That's your short list.

Give a game effort to agree on one of the short-list names. If you can't, use it as your reference point for finding a compromise. Break down what exactly appeals to you about each name. If he likes the gentle grace of Olivia and she likes the exotic uniqueness of Xanthia, look for a rare but delicate alternative (Lavinia, Raphaela).

Nothing goes with our last name

A full name can be like a little line of poetry with rhyme and meter. You may choose a name you love, only to test it out with your surname and find it falls flat. (Middle names are no solution; they'll quickly disappear from your daily usage, leaving the awkward combo to last a lifetime.) If your compositions aren't working, try putting the names aside for a moment and focusing purely on sounds.

Cast about for some common word, no matter how silly, that sounds good with your last name. Try looking around your kitchen and saying the results out loud: "Grinder Anderson?" No thanks. "Banana Anderson"? Hardly. "Licorice Anderson?" Hmm . . . silly, but catchy. Now look for names with a sound pattern similar to Licorice (like Nicholas). At the very least you'll consider some new possibilities-and lighten the mood.

I'm just overwhelmed

Okay, forget the checklists and popularity charts. Here's a one-step plan to a name you can feel good about: imagine that it's you starting out in life. Knowing everything you know about the world, what name would you want representing you? A name you would feel confident bearing is certain to make a fine welcome gift for your child.

Copyright © 2006 by Samantha Ettus.

About the Author

As creator of The Experts' Guides, Samantha Ettus has developed a secret recipe for identifying the world's leading experts. Her syndicated column, "Celebrity Assets," appears weekly in news-papers nationwide. She is a sought-after speaker and has appeared in a number of national media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, ESPN, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today, among others. Samantha holds a BA and an MBA, both from Harvard University. Please visit her online at expertsmedia.com.