What's in a name ?

A name is so important because it is usually the first piece of personal information we share with others. As we grow and develop our own unique personalities our name grows with us.

So when thinking of a name for your child how do you start ? 

Do you look at how the name will sound when next to your surname ? 

Do you think of other people who you know with this name ? 

Do you look at the meaning of the name ?

Do you consider how the name might be shortened ?

Each has it's merits and each has it's drawbacks.  As a teacher of many years I found that when thinking of a name for my boys I was often drawn to making a comparison with children I had taught.

When pregnant with our first child my mother-in-law began to despair at our tardiness in selecting a name.  She bought a book of baby names to assist, however being rather mischievous we selected a name which we knew would not find favour and referred to our baby throughout the pregnancy by this.  Imagine her relief, when having met our son, we  decided to name him Steven !

Countrywide the most popular names used to register  births are Oliver and Olivia but there were over 63,000 different names registered. 

Happy Naming.