For expecting parents, there are a lot of tricky decisions to make – and choosing the right name for a baby is definitely one of them. You want something that is unusual, but completely bizarre. You want a name that will carry on your family tradition, but won’t go out of style anytime soon. It should resonate with your parents, as well as your friends, and it should go well with the last name. The name must be unique, The One.
Everyone ever involved in choosing a baby name knows that while there have been thousands of books written about baby names, and there are almost as many websites to be browsed on the Internet, all of these resources only offer plain information about origins, meanings, pronunciation, etymology, and other facts, that are possibly interesting to read, but in their great passivity unable to help with the final choice.
And that’s exactly why a new, truly amazing phenomenon has arisen – social baby naming. The modern, unconventional concept of social baby naming opens the door to a more interactive, creative and fun way to find the perfect name for your child. Your friends and family, or even complete strangers – if that’s what you wish – are all given the chance to be a part of the decision process. There are many advantages of this concept, compared to a book or a typical name webpage, but these three stand out:
- Social baby naming is easily accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram
- It integrates voices from all over the world, be it your family living in Asia or a complete stranger from New Zealand, if you wish so (see all types of origins here)
- It helps to generate new names and new ideas you would originally never think of yourself
It is always parents’ primary concern that their privacy will be somehow violated, but there’s no need to worry. It goes without saying that the level of privacy is adjustable according to what suits you the best. You can focus on family members only, or crowdsource the vote completely to public, everything always being a matter of your own preference. Naturally, the more people are involved in the voting, the more creative and unique ideas are received in the end. However, the loss of intimacy can be easily prevented by simply staying within the narrow circle of friends and family.
For as revolutionary and nontraditional as social baby naming might seem right now, it’s just the natural next step in the evolution of social parenting. The rise of social media, and the Internet itself, affected the way people act and communicate, and parents are no exception. They shop online for cribs, bottles, and pacifiers, they post pictures of their kids on Facebook, and they book the pediatrician’s appointments online. Most parents are all very social beings, and they love to use technology to their advantage. Ultimately, that’s what social baby naming is all about.
Lucie Strachonova Wisco was born and raised in the Czech Republic. She holds Master’s Degrees in Education and Psychology, & English Language and Literature. She currently works as Editor for BabyNames.net, a social baby naming website.
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