My husband and I had very different views when it came to selecting the perfect baby names for our children. I wanted something different, he wanted something classic. Our first child was two days old before we decided on her name. The name we finally picked was ranked #2 on the list of baby girl names for her birth year. I wouldn’t consider it a classic, but it certainly wasn’t different! It does suit her though, these many years later.

For our second child, we had the perfect baby boy name all ready to go. However, SHE surprised us! We resorted to a quick name change selected from a baby naming book my husband purchased in the hospital gift shop!

If you need help picking out the perfect name for your new baby and to share on your baby birth announcements, consider these interesting suggestions:

Naming Party. Have the attendees at your baby shower make the selection! Now that would be quite a party game with lasting results! Send professionally printed baby shower invitations to a baby naming party for one baby shower no one will want to miss!

Soap Inspired. Surf daytime soap operas for inspiration. You’re certain to find some unusual choices along with some classics.

Historical. Consult family trees. You may discover a long lost relative with an interesting name that might be fun to reintroduce.

Auto-naming. Try a baby naming website. Go to www.babynamegenie.com for example and see what the genie comes up with. I tried it and with absolutely no input from me, other than indicating the baby’s gender, the genie came up with the name of my last born! Not spelled exactly the same way, but scary!

Sure wish he had been around years ago to settle my husband’s and my differing views! Have fun picking out just the right name for your future bundle of joy!

I think the hardest part about having a new baby is the challenge to agree on just the perfect name for the newborn. One would think this task could be accomplished in 9 months but sometimes you might ask yourself, what were they thinking?! It seems celebrities are trying to outdo themselves by picking wacky names their poor children will have to overcome throughout their lives. Take for example the name celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver and his wife cooked up for their new daughter born last month, Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver. Her sisters are Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo and those aren’t just nicknames!

Often names are selected to continue a trend. Maybe you want a family of children with names all beginning with the same letter, or ending in the same letter like Angelina and Brad who like ending their boy’s names with the letter “X”.

If you are happily expecting, take a look at a site called Nametrends for interesting facts on names through the years and by region. It’s fun to search your own name to see how you shape up. New top 10 lists and celebrity baby names can be found in this interesting article from the Today Show. Just announced last week, Jacob tops the boy name list for the 10th year in a row while Emma has just replaced Emily as the top girl name for the year.

Whatever name you choose for your newborns baby birth announcements, know that it is one they will grow into!