How to choose your baby's name
Feb
Choosing a name is a huge responsibility! And it's pretty much THE question every parent-to-be asks themselves for 9 months. Premiers Moments gives you a few keys to help you choose your future baby's name!
Current trends:
To help you find inspiration, here’s a look back at the most popular names in 2018*:
For girls, welcome to all the Emmas, Jades, Alices, Louises and Léas, and for boys, hello to all the Jules, Louis, Gabriels, Raphaëls and Maëls!
While choosing a name is very personal, some baby name guides agree on a few ideas:
- For girls, short names ending in “A” are very common and their sound is popular!
- Look into the name's etymology. It may sound simple, but knowing where the name comes from and explaining it to your child later on can make them very proud!
For example, Emma is a diminutive of Emmanuelle, which comes from the Hebrew for “God is with us.”. It may also have a Germanic origin, “imma”, meaning “house”.
The name Jules comes from the Roman Julius and is derived from “jovilios”, meaning “descendant of Jupiter”. Ave!
How to find inspiration?
Did you leaf through a baby name book for inspiration, or did it come to you some other way?
Inspiration comes from everywhere! Family, friends, religion, but also TV and film characters!
Rare or familiar names, anything goes. We're seeing a rise in old-fashioned names, which proves that, just like with fashion, everything comes back around! And choosing a name remains a personal decision. Some celebrities invent names for their children and this practice is even spreading among French families. Be careful, though, creativity has its limits: the civil registry services can forbid parents from choosing a name if they consider it could harm the child.
When should you choose the name?
Another question that often comes up is “when to choose the name”, and here again, there's no rule! Some parents-to-be know the name even before baby is conceived! Others find it during pregnancy, and other couples prefer to wait until the birth. Likewise, some families reveal the name before the birth and others prefer to wait until afterwards! So do whatever feels right! And perhaps you'll change your mind on the day of the birth, that happens too!
Feel free to tell us your babies' names or the names you love in the comments: thanks to you, other parents-to-be might find their inspiration!
*Source: naissance.fr
Dylan
Proud dad of three little ones and founder of Premiers Moments. Together with the whole team, I share our parenting tips here to support you, from pregnancy through your child's first years.
Discover our baby gift ideas
