However, what about the first initial coupled with the surname? Last week I discussed whether surnames need to be considered when choosing your baby name. So once you’ve decided that the names go well together and roll off the tongue, make sure you haven’t named them something which sounds ridiculous when using their initial with their surname. For example, if your surname is ‘Pod,’ I wouldn’t name your child ‘Ida’ otherwise they will end up with lots of post addressed to I.Pod. The same could be said with surname ‘Yousad’ and any names beginning with ‘R’… And have you met any T. Bags recently? OK, OK, they’re probably getting a bit silly now, but it’s something worth considering when you name your child.

On a more serious note, it is useful to think about all the different ways in which the name you choose for your baby could influence their life. Trying out all the different initial combinations as well as titles, (for example, Miss Terri Ouse and Mr Reese Solved,) might help you rule out names and also help you to narrow it down to the ones you really love.

I wonder whether we should just go with our heart and ignore the surname when choosing a baby name. After all, when your child introduces him or herself they’ll mainly be making an impression with their first name. The problem, in my opinion, arises when you love a name which rhymes with, or is too similar to, the surname, for example: Paige Page, Luca Lucas, William Welder. These either sound like joke names or rock stars (which might not be a bad thing depending on who you are and how much teasing you think your child can take.)

Some people advise that a person’s name should roll off the tongue and that the first name should sound right with the second, but what about middle names? For example, if you really loved the name Alexandria but your surname has lots of syllables in it already, would popping a simple ‘Jane’ as a middle name break it up a bit? I think that you could get away with it when your child is still a baby by introducing them with their full name, but you’ll have to accept people rarely use their middle names when they get older.

I would advise to go with your heart and choose the name you really love. If it sounds absolutely ridiculous, maybe try to re-work it or give it to your child as a middle name so you’re both happy. You don’t want your child resenting you when they’re older because they get teased but you also shouldn’t give up on the name you like just because of your surname. Feel free to try our name generator to play around with some names and see how they fit with your surname!

Finally, if you have a truly awful surname, then don’t despair. Your child can always take on their partner’s name when they settle down!

If you say it enough times, ‘Blue’ does start to get a nice ring to it. It has connotations of the bluebell flowers or a rich, midnight blue colour. But what do you think of the star’s choice? Surely it’s better than ‘Apple’ or ‘Egypt’? As Beyoncé’s friends’ children, those are possible future play-date pals of baby Blue, so perhaps she will fit right in after all.
I actually rather like the name Blue, and think it is a sober choice for Beyoncé and Jay-Z considering some celebrity baby names. Take Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson’s child for example, Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Perhaps it’s the over-use of the last letters of the alphabet, or just the awkward way it sounds, but we have a feeling Master Wentz may opt to go by his initials or just ‘Bronx’ when he’s older.

So will there be lots of Blues out there from now on? Or is this just the start of a craze of babies named after colours? I like Green myself but it doesn’t seem to have the same ring to it. Maybe it’s because I’m not a celebrity. For now, I’ll wait until someone else does it first and copy them later. Perhaps model Molly Sims will be the next one to name her baby something unusual? The multi talented actress confirmed her pregnancy on January 10th and is said to be thrilled.

If you’re expecting, you might find inspiration for your little one’s names from looking into your family tree. Did your great grandpa fight in WWII? Is your long lost Aunty famous for inventing something? Giving your child a name of someone related to you is a nice way of strengthening family bonds and when they are old enough to ask that lovely question of ‘Mummy, why am I called this?’ you’ll have a nice story to tell. It could also help to re-establish their place within the family.

Funnily enough, in Chinese culture it is frowned upon to name a baby after a family member or somebody famous as it can be presumptuous. In other cultures it is seen as bad luck to name a baby after somebody living. But you have to do what feels right to you and your culture.

But before you decide to call your baby Nana Ethel, you might want to consider starting up your own legacy. Giving your baby a strong name you can see carrying through the generations might mean that you can introduce your favourite name to your family circle, and that hundreds of years down the line your great, great grandniece will have inherited their name from the baby you’re carrying right now!

Our friends at Glamour Magazine, they have created a brilliant slideshow to show you some of the most unique baby names out there amongst celebrities, and you even get to see a photo to see if the name fits! You can find the slideshow at:
http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/celebrity/celebrity-galleries/2010/03/11/unusual-celebrity-baby-names

You’ll be able to see that there are various trends you can follow, but if you want to follow the celebrity trend then choosing a unique name is the way to go. How about choosing something similar to Evangeline Lilly’s Kakekili, now that is unique.

There is no doubt that celebrities have been naming their children with more unique names all the time, and this trend has been reflected amongst the general public. Perhaps we might be waiting sometime for what we’d call a ‘normal’ name being given to a celebrities child again, but it will happen one day!

Boy or girl, there are choices out there for you.  If you give birth to a boy then think about the baby names that are out there which reflect on Christmas.  Maybe you could name him Jesus?  Or perhaps that is going a bit too far!  There are still plenty of other names though, how about Joseph, or even Noel?  These names give you the perfect way to show that your child was born at Christmas.  Claus might be a step too far, but your boy could always take Nick as his name!

If you are looking for a girl’s baby name then there are some wonderful options to go through.  Christmas wouldn’t be complete without some Holly and Ivy.  To continue the Christmas theme you could even think about calling your baby Eve, or return to the Biblical story with Mary.

Christmas is a magical time of the year, and whilst having your baby during the period can be difficult, choosing a baby name can be really exciting.  With the options that are open to you during the festive period you could really have fun with choosing the baby name that you want.  Obviously there are another world of options open to you, but Christmas brings us all together, and choosing a baby name to match could be really fun!

So will 2012 see names such as Isabella, Jacob and Edward coming to the fore?  It has to be said that it is very likely.  The obsession that has come alongside the Twilight series, both in book form and now at the cinema is one that has not been seen since the end of the Harry Potter series.  There’s no doubt that during that period Harry and Hermione became popular names, and with Breaking Dawn set to beat plenty of Box Office records we’ll probably see a rise in Twilight baby names.  Perhaps even Renesmee will become a popular baby name, it’s certainly unique!

Films play an important role in many of our lives, so if you get the urge to name your baby Cullen (yes, even though it is a surname!) or R Patz is just too irresistible that your child needs to be called Robert, then don’t feel too bad, there’s probably millions of people thinking just like you!

For Hugh Grant to choose such a classic baby name perhaps sets a new precedent.  With many commentators believing that we will now begin to choose our baby names from our favourite novels or plays, perhaps Grant has forced the issue on change, and we’ll now be choosing some of the old classics again.  So next year Jessica might become even more popular, or how about Jane, Lewis or Michael?  I suppose it isn’t too shocking that Grant would choose such a name, he is your quintessential British man, and for him to choose anything out of the ordinary would probably have come as a complete shock to us!  The great thing about choosing Jessica as a baby name is it shows he is still deeply rooted in his traditions, and that is not necessarily bad!

Tracking the trends of baby names is interesting, and there is no doubt that Hugh Grant’s choice will definitely influence baby names over the next few months.  So perhaps some of the more unusual names will take a back seat in early 2012.

Whilst this may not be too much a shock for you, remember that Pippa wasn’t even a major part of this wedding, well, she was the brides’ sister, but she wasn’t getting married!  This shows to us the influence of the press and how their feelings over the other Middleton sister has really influenced the public, so much so that Pippa is going to be one of the most popular baby names in 2011!

In a year when such names are going to be popular, perhaps it is also interesting that the wedding of the year might have influenced another choice in names.  That is the popularity of the bible and it’s influence on names.  Recently Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow named their baby Moses.  In a world where religion is taking a backseat and people tend to find marriage as a less attractive option, it is really interesting that baby names have been influenced by such events this year.  So who’s to say that they don’t play important roles in our lives anymore!

How about naming your baby after everyone’s favourite Jane Austen character Mr. Darcy?  Or what about that beautiful Christmas film ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ and the daughter Zuzu?  The choices that you can gain from choosing a baby name from one of your favourite stories is wide ranging and exciting, and this is definitely why people have started to flock towards these options.  Getting to choose your baby name from your favourite novel is a great opportunity, and there is no doubt that the chances of someone else you know copying the name is pretty unlikely!

So perhaps we have seen the reinvention of the unique name?  We may see that celebrity baby names are ditched, a trend that has definitely been increasing, and instead people choosing a name that whilst unique, actually means something to you!  If you decide to name your baby after your favourite book, then the trend will continue, and we all think choosing a name which means something to you is something just that little bit more special.  So join the new trend, it’s more exciting than copying a celebrity, isn’t it?