This is how you play the name game.
Baby name consultant Kayla Naab is sharing the three factors parents should consider if they want to saddle their child with a unique name — usability, integration, and connotation.
Parents looking to eschew Liam, Noah, Oliver, Olivia, Emma, Charlotte and the other top monikers on the Social Security Administration’s most popular baby name list should say the prospective names aloud in a variety of tones, use them in a sentence, and write them down alongside the names of their family members.
“Write the full name with your surname, write it in a sentence or a list, and address a message to this name,” Naab writes in a Business Insider essay published last week. “Assess whether it felt cool, easy, weird, or normal to use the name in a basic way.”
Parents should also ponder potential jokes or insults that could be made with the child’s name, Naab counsels.
For example, Amy Schumer and husband Chris Fischer changed the name of their 4-year-old son from Gene Attell Fischer to Gene David Fischer after he was born.
“We realized that we, by accident, named our son ‘Genital,’” Schumer, 42, admitted in 2020.
Naab notes that a name should instill confidence in children and build their character — and it has to age well as they age.
“I encourage parents to consider every context, from school papers and roll calls to job interviews and the workplace,” Naab advises in Business Insider. “How would this name look on a social profile, a wedding invitation, an announcement for a promotion, or on the banner for a birthday party? Plug the name into real life.”
Naab says parents should contemplate if the name evokes any negative feelings, imagery, or pop culture references or any unfortunate nicknames and acronyms.
For their part, the experts at babynames.com said trends to watch for in 2024 include names inspired by adjectives such as Rugged, Heavenly, Powerful, and colors, including Azure and Indigo.
Gender-neutral names like Dallas, Jupiter, Aspen, Story, Navy, and Hollis are also gaining steam.
But if Rugged and Powerful aren’t feelin’ it — they do have options.
A 2022 report found that “Issac” and “Chole” — which are likely misspellings of “Isaac” and “Chloe” — are among the names formally changed more often than others.
“Choosing a unique name for your baby can be a great way to help them stand out, anoint them with something special and meaningful, and disrupt the status quo,” Naab points out in her Business Insider essay. “However, it’s really important to consider the lives your child might live and anticipate how your chosen name will impact their experience.”
