Emily Larson - The Best Baby Names for Girls: The Ultimate Resource for Finding the Perfect Girl Name

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From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations Published by Sourcebooks P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 sourcebooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Larson, Emily, author. Title: The best baby names for girls / Emily Larson. Description: Naperville, IL : Sourcebooks, 2019. Identifiers: LCCN 2019008404 | (trade pbk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Feminine names--Dictionaries. | Names, Personal--Dictionaries. | Names, Personal--Dictionaries.

Classification: LCC CS2369 .L37 2019 | DDC 929.4/403--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019008404 Contents Introduction Congratulations, youre having a little girl! And now that youve discovered the gender (or even if you havent yet and are just hoping!) its now time to buckle down and sift through the countless options available to you until you find the perfect name! But where do you even begin? Girls names can be tricky, and the options (and opinions) are endless. As if preparing for the arrival of a baby isnt stressful enough, you are now under the added pressure of giving your child a name that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. Add to that the never-ending suggestions from well-meaning family and friendsand possibly a few arguments with your partnerand baby naming can become quite the daunting task! But it doesnt have to be. Believe it or not, you can actually have fun with the baby-naming process, and this book is here to help. Why browse through a massive compendium of baby names (half of which wont even apply to your child!) when you can breeze through The Best Baby Names for Girls and discover the perfect option for your family? And even if youve gone through all of the lists and still havent found the perfect fit, advice and journaling prompts appear throughout to help guide you to discovering the perfect little girl name for your family. Yes, names influence first impressions.

Yes, names sometimes spawn not-so-flattering nicknames that can follow a person all the way through retirement. Yes, names affect childrens self-esteem. Yes, names are often obligatory ties to family. And yes, there are thousands to choose from. But what you must keep in mind is that this decision is yours. If you choose a name you take great pride in, your child will be proud of her name as well.

Of course, choosing a name requires some forethoughtand therefore workon your part. Even if youve had a name picked out since you were six years old, it is still a good idea to look around. Your child might not be all too appreciative of the fact that ten baby dolls (and possibly several pets) before her carried the same name. Besides, tastes change. Just as the thought of eating broccoli turned your stomach when you were a child and now its your favorite vegetable, that name you had chosen so long ago may now leave a bad taste in your mouth. Parents find several different ways to begin the baby-naming process.

To some, it is important to incorporate a family name, so this becomes their starting point. To others, religion is a major factor in choosing a name. Some prefer to seek out a meaning or virtue, while others simply want a name that sounds good. What it all boils down to is what is important to you. So, before you begin scouring these pages, making endless lists within our journaling prompts, and seeking the advice of others, be sure to determine what it is that you want from a name. The following chapters offer advice, tips, and suggestions to help you maneuver the baby-naming maze for your future daughter, and hopefully have a little fun along the way.

Follow a few simple guidelines, keep your mind open, save your humorous and cutesy titles for your pets, and your baby will have a name she is proud to hear, say, and write forever. Above all, remember that the decision is yours and you are going to find the perfect fit for your little girl. How to Choose a Baby Name Parents often find that the most challenging aspect of choosing a name is knowing where to begin. Lets face it: your kid has to live with the name you choose forever . (Or at least until shes old enough to legally change it herself.) To get going on your list, write down names you have always liked. Was there someone in school whose name you secretly wished you had? Did your favorite soap opera or sitcom have a character with a cool, trendy name? Browse the names chapters of this book and use the journaling prompts to jot down any that stand out (or names you think of along the way).

Perhaps you are already receiving suggestions from friends and family. Are there any that appeal to you? List all the names you can think of that have caught your attention (in a good way) and list any family names youd consider using. Once you have a few (or maybe a few sheets worth), consider the following attributes and see how each measures up. Popularity: Past, Present, and Future Every year yields a new crop of trendy names that makes last years list, well, outdated. While these fresh, fun names are fabulous and exciting, they also face the threat of being so five minutes ago. Of course, there are those names that have always been and always will be popular; theyre classic and chic, and they always make top-ten lists.

Theyre the names that are trendy one minute, but still sound good thirty years from now. The key to giving your child a popular name that he or she can be proud of is to avoid trend traps altogether, such as movie-character names or TV-icon names that have a popularity shelf life of about six months. Often, a child named after a memorable television personality will always be linked with that persons TV character or personality traits. One factor that makes a name popular is variation of spelling on a familiar or common name. While the new look might be pleasing to the eye, it might become a nuisance when you (and eventually your child) have to constantly correct others, telling them that Denice is spelled with a c , not an s . Similarly, if youre looking for an exceptionally rare name, youll constantly be correcting both the spelling and the pronunciation.

At best, name trends give your child individualism. At worst, they ostracize him or her from a society of regular names. However, more and more parents are creating their own names or choosing from a more eclectic list of foreign names, vintage names, surnames, and place names. And since the unique-name pool is rapidly growing, chances are that your childs classmates will have unique names too. The increasing popularity of foreign names allows parents to honor their families cultures and give their children a sense of heritage. Irish, Scottish, and Welsh names are on the rise, while Celtic boys names for girls (Brynn, for example) have become popular.