Tips on choosing a name

Play it safe when choosing a name for your child. He or she will have to live with it for the whole of their life.

It is important to take a number of considerations into account:

• What initials will be formed by the given names?
• How does the surname sound with the first name? The sound and number of syllables must not be awkward, but should be pleasing to the ear.
• For practical reasons, it is a good idea to give the child different initials from older siblings, yourself and your partner.
• People with long first names are often generally known by a shortened version of the name or a pet name. Make sure you also like the short version.
• What names are popular at the moment? Avoid your child being one of many Emmas in the class.
• You might like to choose a name that has a special meaning or origin.

Tip: Choosing a name is sometimes difficult. What you can do is both write down ten favourite names and then cross off all the names that one of you is less fond of. That makes it easier to choose.