Thinking about Jamie’s full name (why are 2nd children’s names always harder?!). At the gym earlier I tuned into the NBC Today Show which had a feature on the Top 10 Baby Names for 2010 and predictions for names for 2011.
Such an important choice, and yet they have no say in it.
They said:
1. That 62% of parents in the survey believe that a child’s name contributes to his/ her success — Well…. to an extent yes. Don’t names give you self-confidence? I mean, if you’re proud of what you’re called then it won’t be a point of insecurity. But who parent in their right minds would name their children a name they know would get mocked or bullied for? Then again that could be relative.
2. There is a “Glee” trend in the names, such as Finn and Quinn – I’m sorry, I’m not a Glee fan… the only reason why we tape in is because we’re trying to catch Charisse Pempengco on it (and I’ve only seen her once!). But also when I think of the characters’ personalities, based on what I’ve seen, do I really want to be reminded of them when I look at my child? And — how young are parents anyway these days that they are watching Glee?!
3. For Girls, girls the unisex-sounding names are out and the more feminine-sounding names are coming back – Hmmm. Sam and Jamie are both unisex-sounding, which is precisely why I like them in the first place.
Anyway, at the end of the day, the name (or nickname) that sticks is the one your friends give you. Sometimes they can get pretty creative too. I wonder why a baby can’t tell you what she’d like to be named? After all she’s the one who’ll have to live with it for the rest of her life.
In any case, we’re still stuck. I hope it comes to us soon!
December 4, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Well, some practical tips for you —
1. Don’t make it too long because it will be hard for her to write on exam papers
2. Don’t make it hard to pronounce at an early age because it leads to older people or Sam baby-talking her name — and that will lead to odd nicknames
3. Don’t make it too common given you have one of the most common last names in the Philippines and the world — or she’ll always have a hard time leaving the country because she has a name common with some terrorist somewhere.
4. Google it first to check if it has some translation into something bad somewhere else in the world.
Haha. Hope these help.
December 5, 2010 at 12:57 am
The odd nicknames are unavoidable, but that will be her problem later on. And her family name will be common enough for the Philippines!
Google is a good idea! hahaha.
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