I name this child something perplexing!
From one extreme to the other, recent celebrity offspring have been named everything from the charmingly traditional Henry (Julia Roberts) to the somewhat perplexing Yeshna (Sinead O'Connor). Judging by your posts on the babyworld forums, naming your baby is fraught with pitfalls and worries, so we take a look at the issues facing parents in the naming game in 2008 …
Making it up as you go alongBy far the most, how should we put this, creative name of recent times is Princess Tiaami, daughter of glamour model Jordan and former pop star Peter Andre. It's pronounced tee-ah-mee and is made up of the names of Peter's mum Thea and Jordan's mum Amy.
"I wanted to name her after both our mums", Peter told OK! Magazine, "then I just woke up one morning and thought 'I know! We'll just put them together!'.
Great idea, Peter. If I named my daughter according to this barmy equation, we'd be calling her Claureen (Claude and Maureen). And the daughter of David and Victoria Beckham? Sanckie. Makes Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz sound positively restrained.
In their effort to find an original name for their daughter, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes chose Suri. But, these loving parents have forgotten that as well as meaning princess in Hebrew and red rose in Persian, Suri means pickpocket in Japanese. Hold on to your wallets!
Spelling it outNew parents should also beware of creating 'original' spellings of relatively common names. For every Danyel, Danyell and Danjiel, (or any variation of the 20th most popular boy's name in the Babyworld top names poll ), there's a teacher who, consciously or subconsciously, will make negative judgements when marking his homework. Or even assume that young Dazy (that's Daisy to you and me) hasn't learnt to spell her name yet.
According to branding experts, new technology has a part to play in this. Text and internet culture has broken spelling conventions and created a lack of formality which has become evident in parents' choice of names. Just think of P Diddy's daughter D'Lila. As Tom Jones would surely say, "why, why, why D'Lila?".
The Science bitAnd it's not just at school that a name can affect a child's prospects. David Fliglio at the University of Florida has discovered that the femininity factor has a part to play in defining girls' career choices.
After studying the names of 55,000 children, he concluded that those named Isabella, Samantha or other traditionally feminine names are not likely to study science because their 'more feminine' first names means they are not encouraged to do so.
"There are plenty of exceptions, but on average people treat Isabellas differently to Alexes," he said. "Girls with feminine names were often typecast." So, if your heart is set producing the next Marie Curie, stay away from names like Angel, Fairy and (as if you needed reminding) Princess Tiaami.
Location Location LocationThe temptation to call their new baby Norwich or Boston proved just too great for some new parents after Victoria and David Beckham named their firstborn Brooklyn. Babies named after their place of conception is a new phenomenon. But naming your baby after her place of birth - well, that's as old as the hills. Or older. Just think of Leonardo da Vinci, or Jesus of Nazareth.
So, young Ruby Megan Henson will be breathing a sigh of relief when she learns how her mum, Charlotte Church, went into labour in a B&Q car park.
The same can't be said for Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger's baby Ireland, and child star of The Golden Compass Dakota Blue Richards. And spare a thought for the daughter of Linda Dagless, who was named Ikea back in 2002 and will now be suffering at the hands of her schoolmates in the playground.
Trad or Rad?If you want your child to have a high-flying career, follow Professor Albert Mehrabian's advice and stick to traditional names. Victoria and Anne, James and Charles are, according to his Baby Name Report Card, more likely to be successful than, say, Chad or Trixie.
Pamela Satran, who has co-written baby naming books including Cool Baby Names and Baby Names Now Names also backs traditional names. Under the promising titled "Headed for Oxbridge", come Caroline and Martha for girls, Arthur and Graydon for boys.
And, 2008 being the Chinese year of the Rat, you can expect your baby to be a leader, pioneer or conqueror. Charm, passion and charisma are all characteristics associated with those born under the rat. Combine that with the name Humphrey or Cecily, and you'll have a future captain of industry on your hands ...
by Marion Turner
Where to next?
- Want some good ideas on what to name your little treasure? Go to our very own Baby names finder
- Test your knowledge of the dos and don'ts of baby naming with our quiz!
- See the most popular names with babyworld members - and add your own!
- Expecting twins? Solve your naming problems with our guide to naming twins