How to Give Your Baby an American Name

Tired of all the international names? Want a plain old name from the United States? You may be surprised at how fun American names can be.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baby Names
• Genealogy Books
• Internet Access
• Computers
• Genealogy Software

1. Choose a name that means beauty: Bonnie-Bell for a girl, and Jamar for a boy.

2. Decide on a strong name. For girls, Billie-Jo means strong-willed, and Mary-Lou means bitter and famous warrior. For boys, Demarcus means warlike, and Rocky means rock.

3. Select a spiritual name. For a girl, Nashawna means God is gracious. Daeshawna means the same, but the "Dae" syllable means day. Nishelle is a combination of Nicole and Michelle, meaning both "victorious people" and "who is like God." For boys, Deshawn, Dejuan, Roshean and Rayshawn mean God is gracious. Dannon, a form of Daniel, means God is my judge.

4. Choose a name suggestive of nature's beauty. For girls, Brenda-Lee means little raven, and Rayanne means gracious doe. Kaylyn means crown and waterfall. (Lyn means waterfall.) Daelynn means day waterfall, and Jessalyn means wealthy waterfall.

5. Opt for a girl's name that begins with Mary: Maryjo, Marylou or Maryellen. Mary means bitter, Jo means God will increase, Lou means famous warrior, and Ellen means light.

6. Select a boy's name that is a combination of two names - Tedrick (Ted and Rick) or Larnell (Larry and Darnell).

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that these names come from various parts of the country and can be derived from different cultures. The spellings and meaning may vary slightly from region to region - check with your family or other resources if this is important in naming your child.

on 11/22/2005 Studies show that the more unusual a name is, the more chance it has in having a huge (bad) effect on a child's self esteem. Name them something normal. Sure, it might be very common to have the name Jonathon or Adam, but no one gets picked on for a simple name.

on 11/22/2005 Do not give your child a weird name because they have to live with it for the rest of their lives. If it is really bad, they will blame you. So think hard on what to name them, and if you wouldn't want that name, then don't give it to them.