Choosing a name for the baby: Do these tests beforehand

Baby names
These tests will help you make a decision – and your child for a lifetime

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You are faced with the responsible task of giving someone a name that they will (presumably) bear for their entire life? These tests will help you choose.

Choosing a name for a baby is such a science in itself. The first name should be special, but not too fancy. Meaningful, but not that complicated. Its sound should arouse sympathy, but also respect. And above all: it has to suit someone you do not yet know and who will change in the course of his life from a baby to a child, a young person, a young adult, an adult and an aging person. It is a wonder that parents do not regularly surrender to this task …

But even when you have decided on a favorite, it means: don't be too hasty! Is that just a spontaneous phase? Or is the name just perfect in theory? What if he fails in everyday life and puts obstacles in the child's path? In the "Muettermagazin", Svenja from Essen shared her ultimate, tough 16-part test series, with which mothers can put the names they are considering to the everyday test. In the future, we will definitely carry out the following tests before every baptism. (If only they had known our parents …)

7 tests to help you choose a name for your baby

1. The Barista Test

What is it like to order a latte under the name you have in mind in a café with the appropriate practice? When you are called, do all the customers answer? Does the barista have to ask three times? Will he write his phone number on the bill for you? A great test to get a feel for what it's like to live with the name.

2. The lost-in-translation test

Our world is becoming more and more open and global. Entering the name of your choice into the Google translator once to rule out that it might be called "rabbit's fart" in any language gives your child every opportunity to move freely on our earth.

3. The poet test

Imagine being mean: What offensive rhymes come to mind when you think of your favorite name? Hans, the old goose? Sick Anke? And then ask yourself the question: Can you and would you like to expect this from your child?

4. The title test

Your child will in all likelihood acquire several titles, doctor, professor, cum laude and so on, after all, you are his mother. Can they be reconciled with the name you have chosen? Or does the station wagon sound more like the stage name of a gangsta rapper to you?

5. The Google test

Speaking of gangsta rappers: If you google the name and the results on the first page show you profiles of the same, porn actors or deceased dictators, you might want to think again.

6. The writing test

Ask other people to write down the name you have chosen. Are you getting it halfway well? Or do you have to correct four out of six letters, repeat three times in slow motion and give ten lectures on the origin of the name? If so, the question is whether your child has been up for it all his life.

7. The Kosenform Test

For most people, nicknames are derived from their first names – which pet form does your favorite name lead to? Do you like her? Or would you be uncomfortable with the thought if everyone just called your little Ursula "Uschi" …?

Also helpful: If you want to know what feelings and associations your name arouses in other people, you can get familiar with the so-called Bob Kirk effect here.