How to Choose a Unique Name for Your Baby

Steps

1. Don't try to be truly unique! Go for unusual, individual, different, but not completely unique. Completely unique leads to names like Machenzee (instead of Mackenzie).
2. Decide that you will be happy with a name that is unusual, perhaps even remarkable, without being totally unique. Many parents-to-be, in search of a truly unique (one-of-a-kind) name, end up with something totally weird, like Penn Jillette's daughter, Moxie Crimefighter.
3. Decide what kind of name list you want to dig into, to find that hidden gem of a name that has not been used for many years, or to find a truly offbeat name. Think of categories, like Victorian, floral, old movie star names, Shakespearean names, Nobel Prizewinner names, placenames—the range of lists is unlimited.
4. Visit a baby names site and review your lists.
5. Make a short list of names.
6. Bounce your choices off a few close friends.
7. Pick a name, and a backup name (in case you change your mind at the last minute).

Tips

• It helps to bounce your choices off some close friends, especially when you are looking for an unusual name. You can get so involved with the research, that you lose a little objectivity. A reality check is good.
• Remember you are choosing a name for someone else, not for yourself. Ask yourself -- would you, as an adult, want the name you are now considering for your child? If not, find another.
• Write your final choices down on a piece of paper. Look at the initials, the different possible spellings, and sound the name out loud. Make sure the initials don't spell something weird.
• Be sure to pick a middle name too. If you try a unique first name, you might want to keep it simple on the middle name. Try: Lyn, Marie, Josh, etc.

Warnings

• Don't assume that the first baby name book or website you look at is correct, when it comes to the meaning of a name. Visit a few sites, or read several books, to be sure.