Naming Your Baby: Beyond the Baby Name Books
When I was young, I loved to look through a baby name book that my parents had kept from when they were naming my brother and I. It was a tiny book, similar in size to those “pocket books” you see in line at the supermarket by the cash registers. This book my parents had was especially small in comparison to the behemoth baby name books you find on bookstore shelves today. I loved looking through my parents book and reading all of the names they had underlined as possibilities for their children and imagining how my life might be different if I they had chosen to name me Gwendolyn or Nina.
Today, it seems as if naming a child can be overwhelming with all of the choices and suggestions available out there. As I said, even the baby name books have increased to gargantuan proportions. If you do a simple internet search, you may find hundreds of websites and blogs dedicated to naming a child. On top of that, it seems like names that would fall into the “unique” or “creative” categories are generally more accepted these days, making the number of baby name choices increase exponentially. You can see how a parent would easily get overwhelmed. After reading hundreds and hundreds of names, they all start to sound like gibberish, and who wants to name her child Gibberish?
I say, throw away all of the baby name books and delete all of the bookmarks you have created to the baby naming websites. Your child’s name is as close as your own backyard: your family tree! Family tradition does not have to be limited to dads, granddads, or favorite aunts. Why not look several generations back in your family ancestry and choose a name you like? Think of how wonderful it would be to give your child a family name that has a special meaning to you and your loved ones.
If you or someone in your family has already done some research into your family tree, simply take a look at their notes and make a list of the names that catch your fancy. If you barely know any names past your grandparents, do not fret. Researching your genealogy is not as difficult as it may seem. There are many online resources that can provide you with some sort of family tree making software. And, many of these software choices are free! You could even make a family tree by hand, using pencil and paper. Just remember that you will probably want to share this information at some point and having only a hard copy of your research could create a logistical nightmare.
Once you have a family tree format to enter information into, you can start by filling in the family history that you know just off the top of your head. From there, you can look to many online resources for information on your family ancestry. And again, most of these online resources do not charge a fee for the information they provide. Who knows, you may even get so interested in researching your family tree that you may want to take a course or enter a program on genealogical research that will take your genealogical work to the next level!