What’s in a name? A lot! Especially when sociological and psychological factors are used to analyze the name scientifically. When you are picking out a baby name there are a lot of factors to consider, but I’m willing to bet that most people don’t take all the sociological and psychological factors into consideration.
When I was naming my babies I wanted something unique for both of them. I combined what I thought was a unique first name with a family middle name in the Southern tradition of naming babies. It turned out that both of their names were the most popular names for babies in the years they were born. They both went through their entire school years using their first name and last initial to differentiate them from the four to six other children in their classes with the same first name. I failed in the unique baby name area.
One of my sisters had a name all picked out for her son. She knew what she was going to name him all along. Then when he was born she looked at him and gave him a completely different name. She said when she saw him she knew he wasn’t the name she’d picked out and knew that his real name was the one she ended up giving him.
So what is in a name? A lot. You don’t want to saddle your child with a name he’ll have to defend his whole life, a fad name that will date her, a name that she’ll be embarrassed to sign on corporate documents when she’s the CEO of some multi-million dollar company. At the same time, you want to name your child something that is uniquely his. There’s a lot to picking out the right baby name.
Oliver Tavakol, MD developed a scientific method of helping parents pick out a baby name. He started working on it when he was trying to decide on a name for his own baby. You can get a quantitative report on the names you are considering. The report covers twenty areas such as uniqueness (is it a fad name or will it stand out), fit (ethnicity, religion), goodwill (how is the name received by the public in general) and more.
You can read more about this method of choosing a baby name in the press release below and by visiting TheRightBabyName.com.
Press Release:
TheRightBabyName.com Introduces Scientific Analyses to Help Parents Choose a Name for Their Baby
Parents get the tools to research the name they choose for their baby with quantitative reports. Important reports include real-time frequency information to avoid dating their child with a fad name, socioeconomic data to signal the right income and education level, and data to determine the fit with the child’s background.
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) September 1, 2007 - TheRightBabyName.com takes the guesswork out of choosing a name for a newborn using a scientific approach applied to 100 years of compiled research. The service is available immediately and will help parents with one of the most important and far-reaching decisions they can make for their child.
The service consists of two complementary but stand-alone products, a book and a website. The book, The Right Baby Name, is researched and written by Oliver Tavakol, MD, and incorporates the current scientific literature on the impact of a name on its bearer. Scientific evidence demonstrates that the name influences perceptions and treatment by others. It also influences the child’s self-perception, including happiness and aspiration level.
Many parents underestimate the importance of the name, and when they don’t, the information to make the right decision used to be unavailable. The Right Baby Name changes this by providing parents with real-time, quantitative reports. Now parents can avoid giving their children a name that’s a fad, or that has undesirable associations.
The website offers access to more than 100 years’ of historical and statistical data. It features more than 20 quantitative reports, including socioeconomic information, frequency data, and an analysis of the fit of the name with the baby’s family and religious group.
To further help parents prioritize name options the site offers a free NameTypeâ„¢ questionnaire, which analyzes parental values and lifestyle. This is the best indicator for the child’s own character and can help the parent determine the reports that are most relevant for the child, improving the fit between name and child.
Also available on the website is the NameList recommendation tool, which utilizes a proprietary algorithm to suggest names to expecting parents and is much more efficient than reading through lists of baby names.
“Many parents underestimate the importance of the name, and when they don’t, the information to make the right decision used to be unavailable. The Right Baby Name changes this by providing parents with real-time, quantitative reports. Now parents can avoid giving their children a name that’s a fad, or that has undesirable associations,” says Oliver Tavakol, who holds both an MD and an MA in philosophy, and is the author of The Right Baby Name Book.
Parents should be concerned about fads, sudden surges in popularity of a name that are triggered by a celebrity. A classic case is that of Liz Taylor, who triggered a short spike in the 60s after starring in Cleopatra and winning the Oscar®. Such a spike can date your child, which is undesirable. Information about this surge used to be available only years after the fact, because traditional books and websites focus on the roots of a name. TheRightBabyName.com provides parents with real-time information.
All services are available to expecting parents immediately with a free trial. Gift cards for a 9 months service are available online and from selected retailers.
