Picking your baby’s name

One only needs to attend baby- dedication services in the local churches to appreciate the diversity of baby names. Society has slowly moved from the likes of Jane, Mary, Peter and John to more indigenous ones. Spiritual meanings in names such as Baraka, Neema, Imani, Amani and Nuru abound too. While some names leave the congregants marveling at the parent’s creativity, many invoke feelings of compassion for the little one(s)-who had no role whatsoever in the naming.

What is in a name? As a mum-to-be, I am sure you have consulted widely on that ideal name for your dear unborn one; and tested it against your surname. You may as well be wondering whether  the sound of that name reflects what you feel about or want for your precious baby. Name searching is thrilling. It on to include family and friends’ suggestions-all of which are laughed off if not cringed on and shelved.

‘Name’ is defined as, ‘The particular combination of sounds employed as the individual designation of a single person, animal, place or thing’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.  From the definition, it is obvious that a name describes an individual. The increased knowledge on this revelation has put the fuss of baby-naming on the rampage-every mother wants their baby to be identified by great personality and be wonderful.

A baby named Baraka (Swahili for Blessing) for instance, epitomizes a riches and abundance for the baby- telling society that the parents see the baby as a blessing. On the other hand, the name Taabu (Swahili for Suffering) tells that the baby came through difficult circumstances. Chances are that society will associate her to problems. She also be made to feel part and parcel of problems not getting as agitated as she should be whenever confronted by challenges.

Dr. Robert Needlman (M.D., F.A.A.P., Vice President, Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics) a pediatrician with over twenty years experience, in his article Names and Personality, points out that there is a connection between names and personality . In the article, he highlights the following:

1. People tend to make judgments based on first impressions, and names often affect such impressions.
2. A first name affects other people’s perception on a child making them form bias in the way they see her.
3. How effective, attractive, and valued one feels is related to the desirability of one’s first name.
4. There may be a possible connection between names and emotional problems. It may be that parents who give their children odd names also tend to act in ways that indicate psychological instability. So should you feel like giving your little one an odd name, reflect on your emotional state and share with a friend or counselor.

It is however important that we do not lose sight of the fact that a child’s personality is not fully hinged on his or her name. Many important factors are at play in the whole development of a child and whether a name falls in the traditional Jane-Mary-Lucy-Peter- John-James, or in the contemporary Swahili/local dialect/spiritual emphasis approach, the onus lies on the parent to raise his or her child to be a responsible individual in society.

Needless to say, I charge you mother-to-be to choose a name that epitomizes love, peace, blessing, hope and unity in an already unstable world; so that when you get home from a stressful day and your baby Imani or Nuru runs to you, you can wrap your arms around them and experience some faith or hope!

Happy name-searching, and see you at the baby dedication ceremony!

END: PG 31 /12