What’s in a Name?
Naming a baby is an act of poetry, for many people the only creative moment of their lives.
–Richard Eyre
So a wedding’s in your future … and maybe a baby.
Creativity and anxiety collide in the baby-naming process. Picking the right name has parents asking what really is in a name?
With competing influences such as originality, family tradition and nicknames, names can be a point of pressure as couples seek the identity of the new family they’re creating.
Distinctive as we think we’re being, names run in cycles. Last year, Emma and Liam topped the baby name charts nationally, as compiled by the Social Security Administration.
Popularity patterns vary by state. In Maryland, Liam holds the state favorite for boys, but Ava stole the show for baby girls. Maryland’s top five names for girls last year were Ava, Olivia, Emma, Sophia and Charlotte. For boys the top names were Liam, Noah, the perennial James, Logan and Jacob.
As you seek your perfect name, there’s lots of help. Couples find names in favorite books and movies. Names like Luna and Hermione for girls became wildly popular after the Harry Potter series jumped to number one. Some websites offer location-based names, like Holland and Houston. Others offer inspiration in the names of Instagram filters like Moon, Mayfair or Gingham.
Whatever you choose, you’re sure to find your Noah is not alone.