You should also consider your family history when deciding on a name. Does your family have any traditions that you wish to follow, such as naming the first born male after the paternal grandfather? You can also look further back in your family tree to find a name. Or just choose a name from your ethnic or cultural heritage. If you have to use a family name that you really aren't happy with, then consider using it as a middle name or as just an initial.

While you don't have to consider every suggestion that your friends or family make, if you are in a relationship, you should make the decision of choosing a baby name with your partner. Consider making your own lists of names and then comparing them. Remember that you both may need to compromise a bit to pick the final name.

Some general guidelines to find compatible names include not picking a first name with a lot of syllables if your last name also is multisyllabic. Also avoid picking a first name that ends with a vowel if your last name begins with a vowel, don't pick a first name that rhymes with your last name, don't create puns (Holly Wood or Candy Barr), and don't pick names that create an acronym or spell a word (Faith Alice Taylor = FAT) .

If you are against using a very popular name, you can use our baby name finder to search for names that are in the bottom 25% or bottom 10% of the rankings.

You may want others to use your child's full name (like Joseph), but there will always be someone who calls him by a pet name, (Joe or Joey).

If you are strongly against nicknames, you should look for a name that is nickname proof, such as Amber, Bryn, Chelsea, Gail, Morgan, Paige for girls, or Adam, Blake, Carl, Dean, Ethan, Glenn, Justin, Luke, Mark, Ross, Todd for boys.

You can also create your own name by adding a diminutive ending to a popular name (-ina, -ette, -ita), adding a prefix before a name (Da-, La-, Ta-, etc), spelling a common name differently, or combining or blending other names.

The danger of using a unique name, especially if it is very unusual, is that while it may make your child stand out from the crowd, he may stand out too much and can lead to teasing.

Once you make a list, put it aside for a few days or weeks and check it again. You may find that you are not so excited about a top pick anymore after having some time to think about it.

Also visit:
ADHD advice and information
Expert Pediatrician - child health and parenting advice
About Pediatrics - Expert Pediatric Parenting Advice
Father's First Year - read about Dr. Iannelli's new book