These baby names need a rethink

Parents, please stop it. Stop naming your babies after actresses you’re hot for, luxury cars you hope to one day drive, or athletes no one has heard of outside of your town. As reported by the Huffington Post, some folks in Nebraska have started naming babies after college football stars. There’s little Taylor (Martinez) and baby Rex (Burkhead). By themselves the names aren’t bad; it’s the fact the inspiration was college football. Really? Does no one stop to consider that when these babies grow into adults, their namesakes will have long since retired into chip-eating obscurity or been publicly shamed (ahem, Tiger).

When I was pregnant with my son, now four, I had a thing for the Sawyer character from Lost. I started thinking what a cool name Sawyer is, how maybe Sawyer could be our little boy’s middle name. I needed a good slap, and it came from my husband. “Sure, honey, let’s name our son after a character played by some actor you think is good looking, on a show that won’t be on the air in four years.” Reality check. We named him Bennett instead, because we like the name.

His name is Bennett but it could have been Sawyer if common sense hadn't prevailed.

 Choosing a baby name is difficult. If you’re still stuck, Today’s Parent just posted a good do’s and don’ts story on baby naming. I’ll embellish and add to the list of don’ts:

1. On spelling: Make it easy. Lisa is Lisa, not Leesa, Leighsa or Lyesah. Please stop butchering perfectly good spellings in an attempt to be unique, or your child will spend a lifetime correcting teachers, employers, everyone.

2. If you’re naming your child after someone, make it a person with a meaningful connection to your family. I’ve heard tell of a Dad who named his daughters Angelina and Demi, and I’m pretty sure those weren’t the names of the grandmothers.

3. It may be trendy to pick brand names as names, but I wish this trend would go away. Mercedes was a legit name before the car and Portia (not Porsche) is OK, but I will never embrace Del Monte, Canon, Armani or even Apple (sorry, Gwyneth).

In the end, the best baby name is one you both like. Excuse me, I have to go check on Saw, I mean Bennett.