So apparently it’s getting quite stressful for parents to name their child. I think I’m going to go into business of naming people’s children – sounds like fun, don’t you think? I could work from home, and develop a special numerology test thingy to prove that I’m worth their money. Oh yeah.

All sarcasm aside, what about you? What kinds of names do you consider when choosing a name for your child? Do you go for unusual and unique, or something more common and easy to spell? Do you discount names you like just because they are popular, or vice versa? Does the name’s meaning play a role in your decision? Do you go purely on how it sounds? Do you pull names from your family/relatives? Do you prefer biblical names? Do you come up with the name on your way to the hospital, based on a whim? Or do you put hours and days of thought into the subject until you find that “perfect” name?

Do you like to let other people have a part in your choosing of names? Or do you discuss it only with your spouse and that’s it? Do you like nicknames? Shortened versions of the names you pick? Do you like naming children after parents? (My brother, for example is Andrew Jr. – AJ) Do you like ethnic names? Names in other languages? Common names but maybe a different spelling? (Erin or Erynn?)

Would you ever name your daughter “River”?

What external factors affect your name choices? Do you let a friend or acquaintance’s name for THEIR children affect your decision? One of my fears for if and when I have children is a close friend “stealing” the very awesome name I have my heart set on. So should I pick a different name if that happened? Or should I just deal with there being two kids with the same name? What about the influence of movies or books or celebrities? If your last name is Potter, and you’ve always loved the name “Harry” would you go ahead and choose that name, or pick something else?

These things have been on my mind because I have so many different friends who are expecting right now (and two more I can’t link to due to no public announcements yet!), and I’ve been discussing names. One of these days I’m going to convince someone to name their daughter Ashley. ;-) Until then… I look forward to hearing your opinions!