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What's in a baby name?

Time was when children were named after their parents, grandparents or other highly respected ancestors, but today that's changing.

New moms and dads are looking around at dozens of baby name books now available, or are clicking around the Web for suggestions that reportedly contain some 50,000 different names, spellings and name meanings.

How does it sound?

But finding general guidelines or reading lists of baby names is only the beginning. Then there's the middle name...

First, say aloud any combination of first and middle names you've tentatively chosen for your baby. For example, current popular baby names for girls in the U.S. include Chloe, Samantha, and Hannah, but they don't exactly fall trippingly off the tongue when you say them together in any combination. Keep at it until both first and middle names blend together, or view lists of popular twins names that may help you come up with just the right combination.

Can you spell that?

Creating an entirely new name using anagrams, a Scrabble board, or just a wild imagination (Taffeta, Jenae, Gillus) can be a fun pursuit while waiting for the baby to be born, but be careful. Saddling a baby with a name that nobody can spell or pronounce may make it unique, but also painful - and very possibly result in your child being teased in school, or in misunderstandings well into your child's adult life.

Watch out for nicknames

Sometimes, new parents who thought they had picked the perfect baby name are caught off-guard when their baby is called a derivation of the original, i.e., "Joey" instead of Joseph, or "Lizzy" instead of Elizabeth. Planning ahead can avoid a constant battle with well-meaning relatives and friends to establish your baby's rightful name. One new set of parents we know recently took the nickname dilemma into account and cleverly named their first-born son .... Jake.

also see -> Baby Names - Trendy or Traditional

More about baby names around the Web:

Just up ahead, check out the latest lists of popular baby names in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, along with additional resources in our worldwide guide to top sites offering tips and advice, interactive tools, pronunciation guides, and related stories, meanings and legends related to the name of your favorite prize bundle or expectant newborn...

Babynamer.com - From the popular cable TV channel for women and our favorite pick for concise meanings and origins in a 23,000 name database - featuring interactive tools for mixing and matching first and middle names, inspiration in the form of daily lists, user comments.

YeahBaby! - Another top site for baby names and meanings, nicknames and alternate spellings, pronunciation guides, celebrity baby names, baby names especially for twins, Irish and Australian names, popularity lists, baby naming tips and advice.

Popular Baby Names - Easy access to the huge U.S. Social Security Administration database searchable by name popularity, year, gender or by U.S. state, or request top names by year of birth dating from 1880 through 1997.

Baby Names.com - An extensive A-Z list of baby names, their meanings and origins, plus feature articles, a daily blog on a variety of baby news and topics, and check out a very busy message board...

Colorful Baby Names - Like it says, and searchable by red, (Rose, Scarlet) blue (Indigo, Sapphire) green (Jade, Olive) and lots more including pink, brown, purple and other colors.

Irish Baby Names - Browseable by boy or girl, with origins and meanings, audio pronunciation guide, plus related Irish histories, tales and legends.

Muslim Baby Names - Featuring a database of names and meanings, searchable by random name or by list, including most popular Muslim names for boys and girls, prophet names, related FAQ, discussion boards.

Indian Baby Names & Meanings - One-stop browsing for boy, girl, Muslim and Hindu names in an A-Z list plus lots of related links, and check out a fine photo gallery of visitor-submitted baby pictures from indianchild.com

Baby Name Origins and Meanings - The world guide to girls and boys names and meanings from China, France, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Poland and many more, plus biblical names, baby naming tips, advice.

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