Apparently a lot – and for good reason too.  Our names are only the main key to our own identity tracking us our entire lives! Better make it a good one, huh?  And that’s why I’m confused as to why so many parents these days are trending to give kids less than traditional names – names that are somewhat strange, perhaps?  Take Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s newest bundle of joy, Blue Ivy, for instance.  Sounds like a new villain on Batman to me.  Or how ‘bout Jessica Simpson’s new daughter, Maxi?  The jokes that that poor girl will receive come middle school will either make her laugh or cry.  And just last week, I saw a posting of the most popular baby names of 2012, and already, the top of the charts include names of characters from the Twilight and Hunger Games movies.  What’s all that about anyways?  I’ve yet to see the films!

I understand the desire to be different, I guess even the same.  We see lots of folks even change their birth names later in life in order to stand out or blend in – but with my own baby number two on the way, I can’t help but to contemplate rhymes and reasons as to what makes a baby’s name a keeper?

When naming an unborn child, it’s important to take a few things into consideration: nicknames, initials, and overall quality of a full name.  What I mean by quality is “does it sound good?”  Does it have a good ring to it?  For example, with my last name being Lee, I really have to watch out for the overall quality of a name. Brock is a good, solid guy name conceivably, but Brock Lee aka broccoli?? Not quite.  Norma is cute and dainty for a girl, but Norma Lee aka normally?? Not so cute.  See what I mean?  The quality can make or break the name game.

So what about nicknames and initials?  You’ve got to take those things into account too!  Initials like BUM simply won’t work, and nicknames, even though some can’t be avoided, should be considered as well.  My sweet, self-proclaimed comedian of a brother-in-law thought it would be humorous to call my daughter, Naomi, her name backwards – Imoan.  Yes, very funny – ha. ha. She’s Naomi or Omi all day long. Never Imoan, thank you very much. 

All kidding aside, it’s truly interesting to hear the stories behind babies’ given names.  Whether named for a family member, a favorite person, song or movie, or just named to be unique or popular, it’s always fun to discover meaning, significance, and parents intentions from the start.

So where do your children get their names?  What do their names symbolize or stand for?  Are they popular for their times or are they sentimental and sweet?  For any reasons mentioned above or not, we would love to know where your children’s names come from.  My kiddos are named for family members mixed with traditional names that we like (and that stand solid with the last name Lee).  Please feel free to share your baby naming stories with us!