Choosing baby names for you child can be the most fun, yet challenging adventure of pregnancy.  Each parent spends time making a list of their favourite names, and then the other parents quickly vetos each name for oh so many reasons.  

You come to realize every person you have ever met in your life has an impact on this decision, even sometimes people you never knew.

I wanted to name my daughter Elizabeth, but it turns out I had a great Aunt ‘Bet who nobody liked. So Elizabeth was crossed out by my family because people may not like my child by name association.  Yes, that happened.

There are the bullies from grade school, the neighbours you didn’t get along with, and the kids who ate paste.  Then there are your teachers, cousins, and the people from college you used to date.  Next are the names that have been taken by other people; you can’t name your child the same name because that would be awkward.  Does the name go with your last name? If you name your child Candi with an ‘i’ can she still grow up to be a judge or will her name alone prevent her from joining the ranks of law professionals?  

Then of course there are nick names.  How many ways can grade school children alter your child’s potential name in order to make fun of them?  I mean, what could possibly go wrong with Regina.. ?!

Gone are the days of Jennifer and Jason.  But have we made much movement from Emma and Ethan?

According to an article on huffingtonpost.ca, Sophia and Liam were Canada’s top baby names of 2016. Nameberry.com announced that Olivia and Atticus took top honours in 2017. In Ontario, Today’s Parent crowned Olivia and Benjamin, Canadians have always loved traditional names.  And these continue to top the charts.  Here are the top 10 baby names from 2017 based on the BabyCenter.ca registry of over 50,000 parents who registered their babies:

Top 2017 Girls Names In Canada

  1. Olivia
  2. Emma
  3. Charlotte
  4. Sophia
  5. Aria
  6. Ava
  7. Chloe
  8. Zoey
  9. Abigail
  10. Amelia
Top 2017 Boys Names In Canada

  1. Noah
  2. Liam
  3. Jackson
  4. Lucas
  5. Logan
  6. Benjamin
  7. Jacob
  8. William
  9. Oliver
  10. James

What names are going on your short list?  Which names do you have to take off?

 

Article written for Hamilton Family Doulas by Crystal Stevens.