One of the most important things about being pregnant is that you are going to have to name the baby in there. Their name will follow your child for the rest of his life. It’s not something to be taken lightly. Subscribe to Type-A Mom articles

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Most girls have their kids names picked out before high school. It’s something we think about constantly. (For the record both of my children have names that I didn’t have on my high school list.) You don’t want the wrong name for them. I knew a family that named all their kid’s names that rhymed, like the mom’s name was Mary and the son’s names were Barry and Terry (they weren’t the only ones named like that in that family).

When thinking of names for your babies take these questions and statements into consideration.

• Are you naming him after someone? Will the name fit him as a child and as an adult?

• If you have a name that sounds “foreign”, can it be spelled and pronounced by everyone? Does it match well with your surname?

• Do you want a name that can be for boys or girls? Mackenzie or Taylor? Or will you go with the more traditional names for boys and girls?

• Will he have more than one middle or last name? Remember that most forms only have one spot for a first, middle and last name. (My son has two middle names and most the time they only write down the first middle name and leave the other one out.)

• You might want to avoid a name that combined with your last name sounds funny, rhymes or just creates a funny image. Some examples are: Al Bow or Matthew Matthews.

• When you say the name aloud does it sound good and have a nice rhythm? An example would be like Claire Morgan Matthews.

• Is the name able to be pronounced based on how it is spelled?

• What are the consequences of a funky spelling to a normal spelling of the name? (When we were choosing names for our daughter we wanted to name her Sara but spelt Cera, but then I realized that she would have to spell it for everybody her whole life. So we decided to name her Jennifer.)

• You might want to try balancing your child’s name with a common name and a unique name, that way you can have the best of both worlds.

• There are always good and bad things associated with each name, consider these when naming your child.

• Stay away from naming your child a name that when all the initials put together spell some horrible word (for example, BAD or LIE).

• If you name your child a long name then be prepared for them to have nicknames. Also if you name your child a short form of a name that is usually considered a nickname they will have to explain that fact over and over again. (We found that with our son. We named him Ty and everyone wants to call him Tyson or Tyler. We have to explain that that is not his name. I feel like a bag when I say that but Ty is his name not the others.)

• If you look up the meaning of a name it may give you a new perspective and you might change your mind on which one to choose.