No one wants to use a baby name meaning something that they hadn’t intended. This could be something as simple as naming a baby Patrice. Generally considered a popular girls name, Patrice is in fact a French boy’s name; whereas Shirley - invariably taken to be a girls name today, can in fact be considered to be both a boy or girls name. Getting baby names right can be quite an agonizing time for parents, so it is little wonder that there are so many websites offering advice about baby name meanings.
Names used for babies often follow trends, with some of the trends re-occurring whilst others simply fade away. The important thing that parents should remember when naming their baby is that the baby will grow into an adult - and what might have seemed a ‘cute’ baby name when they were born, might not be so appropriate when they’re an adult.
One current trend is for parents to almost make up a name according to whatever set of criteria flow into their minds. The former rock star Bob Geldof and his wife called one of their daughters Peaches, seemingly acceptable in terms of baby names as, when she grows up it has an unusual and light ring to it. However, they then went on to name another daughter ‘Little Pixie’, now as a baby name - fine, but how will she feel later in her life? (Which isn’t to say she won’t be delighted with it, but then again….!) The Beckham’s, he of soccer and she of ‘Spice Girl’ fame, took one of their baby’s names from the place he was conceived in; Brooklyn. Brooklyn as a name is OK, but will he be particularly thrilled to recall why he was called that later in life? Pity the baby conceived in Clatsop, Oregon or a single baby conceived in Twin Falls, Idaho! Another current trend is for baby names to be deliberately miss-spelt. When parents do this the whole idea of baby name meanings is completely lost, as the baby names have no real entomology. An example of this would be Cheral (Cheryl). Possibly with the intention of giving their baby an unusual name that will attract people’s attention the use of baby names trend for black baby names has been on the rise.
The use of traditional baby names is as strong when considering black baby names as it is for any other ethnic group. When choosing traditional baby names the baby name meaning is often a strong influence. Using Biblical baby names for boys has always been a strong tradition in Western cultures and last year three quarters of the top 20 boys baby names were Biblical ones. However, the situation for girls is very different with only about ten percent having a baby name meaning anything to do with the Bible. The top two names were Jacob for boys - the Supplanter; and Emily for girls, where the baby name meaning is - industrious.