Siobhan Thomas - Best Baby Names for 2016: Over 8,000 names & 100 inspiration lists

Contents This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Epub ISBN: 9781473528451
Version 1.0 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Vermilion, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA Vermilion is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com Copyright PM Connect, 2015 Siobhan Thomas has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published by Vermilion in 2012 www.eburypublishing.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 9781785040337 For Erin, Cora & Austin xx Choosing a name for your baby has never been easier with this ultimate baby-naming guide. With all the information on the latest naming trends, this comprehensive and easy-to-use guide is full of inspirational names. Including: A-Z directories of over 8,000 names and their meanings
Over 100 inspirational lists
Naming trends for 2016
Tips for choosing the perfect name for your baby Including modern names and variants, plus classics that have stood the test of time, this naming guide has everything you need for finding the perfect name for your new arrival. Siobhan Thomas is a copywriter and senior editor for the UKs largest baby names website, babynames.co.uk.

She oversees the thousands of articles, new name suggestions and discussions in the sites popular community forums. As well as being interested in the history and meaning of names, Siobhan is particularly drawn to how names follow trends, different peoples associations with names and how divisive the subject can be!

Enormous thanks to Rosanne Rivers, a freelance writer, novelist and leader of writing workshops for young people. Her work was invaluable in compiling and editing the thousands of names in this book. Rosannes novel After the Fear is available now. I would also like to thank James Macfarlane from babynames.co.uk for giving me the opportunity to write this book and for his continuous encouragement and good humour from beginning to end. Thanks, also, to James Brighton, Alan Jones and Annabel Freer for their assistance and input.

Finally I must thank Helen OShea and Dan Holt for their reviews of the manuscript and for their honest opinions and feedback. My mum, Pat, and my husband, Owen, also did their share of rereading but more importantly I want to thank them, and Orla Goncalves, for all their help with the children, without which this book would never have been completed!

Congratulations! You are about to have a baby, or perhaps you have decided to start trying. Whether its your first child or another in your ever-extending family, this is an incredibly exciting time for you and your partner. In the midst of all the practical things you have to think about the cot, the buggy, the nappies choosing your babys name can be a wonderfully enjoyable experience to share as a couple. You and your partner are like every other parent you want to start off your babys life in the best possible way, and finding the right name is an integral part of this process. It is my aim in this book to present you with a variety of names so that you can pick exactly the right one to bestow on your child as he or she embarks on lifes great journey.

We all know why a name is important: a name defines a person, it distinguishes them from everybody else, and it is also the first impression that they make on other people. When you choose your babys name you are deciding on what their most prominent form of identity will be for the rest of their lives. A name can have strong social connotations, and can be an indication deliberate or otherwise of class, age and ethnicity. For example, most people would assume that a man named Rupert is from an upper-class background, that Jean-Pierre is from France and that Beryl is an elderly lady. And while our society grows ever more culturally diverse, and the pool of names to choose from becomes increasingly rich and varied with unique and unusual names becoming de rigueur you might want to follow this trend or choose something more traditional. Its completely up to you, but there are a few pitfalls that you may want to avoid, and Ive highlighted these in the book.

If all of this sounds like too much pressure, then take a deep breath and relax. Even if you dont have an exact name in mind right at this moment, you probably already have a fair idea of the kind of name you want your child to have, be it classic or contemporary, fashionable or unusual. While finding the perfect name for your baby can be a challenge and feel like a huge responsibility, it is also a great deal of fun. Most expectant parents cant resist daydreaming over the one word they will use (or two if they go double-barrelled!) every day from the babys arrival whether its getting to know them in hospital, teaching them to kick a ball, picking them up from school or giving them away at their wedding!

Originally a copywriter in the corporate world, I had never found the selection of words an emotional process. But then it came to naming my first child. Having been as others perceived it burdened with the traditional Irish name Siobhan, I was only too aware of the impact this decision can have over the lifetime that follows.

Whether it was being forced to repeat the spelling over and over to bewildered classmates in primary school Yes, I said b h a n or developing a tolerance to the many imaginative nicknames that emerged during my teens, my name was to firmly stamp its bold Gaelic mark on my upbringing. And do you know what? I liked it. So when I woke up one morning during pregnancy to find that my usually charming husband had scrawled This is a chuffing joke, right? alongside the name Fionnghuala on our baby names list, I was somewhat annoyed and confused. He went on to announce that, No child of ours is going to be lumbered with a silly Irish name that is impossible to spell. His opinion on Gaelic names was news to me, but perhaps he was right? Perhaps using your imagination when naming your child is nothing more than an act of personal indulgence? Perhaps the sensible thing to do is to keep it simple and predictable? Over the weeks and months that followed I searched for inspiration, debated names with my husband, made casual suggestions of names to my friends and family and watched them closely for their reactions just as you may be doing right now and on 23 March 2010, Erin Rose Thomas was born. She was followed 18 months later by her little sister, Cora Elizabeth Thomas.