There are literally thousands of boy's names and girl's names to choose from. 

While making your choice, consider the following: 

• Can the name be altered or shortened to form a nasty or hurtful word?  Think about name calling and bullying for when your child is school-aged.
• Can the name be easily pronounced and recognised in the community and country you live in? People with more traditional names tend to be more successful e.g. in getting called up for a job interview.
• Do you want baby to carry both parents' names?  Hyphenated names e.g. Smith-Roberts are now less fashionable. Another practice is to use one parent's surname as the middle name and the second parent's surname as the child's surname.  
• Will the name conjure up negative feelings every time you say it?  Avoid the names of people you don't like, even if you like the name.  And don't name baby with the same name as a family member or friend who may be at risk of falling out with you sometime.   Why?  Babies pick up on their parents emotions and will notice that the name has negative associations for you. 

The choice you make must be done with every care and consideration.  Make your choice with your child's future in mind. 

 

What makes a good name

The litmus test of a good baby name is whether you can answer these two questions with a YES:

1) Do you feel comfortable and pleased with your choice?

2) Do you believe it is a good choice for your child's lifetime?  

Naming your baby early, before birth, is recommended as a way of helping to bond with baby and for baby to be accepted as part of your family.

If you do not know until after the birth if baby is a girl or boy - then have two names selected and call baby by both alternate names until baby is born.

 

Boy Names

Available on the ChildForum website a list of the top 10 boy names in New Zealand, and also lists of unique names, popular names and Maori boy names - click here ...

 

Girl Names

A big selection of names for girls, including the most popular names over the years, names that are unusual and Maori girl names can be found by going to the girl's name page.  

 

Further helpful information

Ideas for the first birthday and planning great parties for under-fives - Go to this cheerfully inspiring article

Breastfeeding support when parents start back at work - Go to this brilliant guideline on breastfeeding friendly childcare

Good sound childcare advice - See this information

Controlled crying to help infants learn to sleep - how to do this and should you teach your baby to sleep in this way? - Read More