I think that when choosing a name write out a list of all of the possible nicknames (you don't want your child to have any nicknames that aren't complimentary) and all of the ways that they could possibly get teased(you do not want your child being self-consious of their name or being teased for it constantly, it's a real confidence buster).

Also i think picking a name that is different but not too different that it is weird is good. You don't want your child having the same name as three other people in their class, yet you don't want your child to never hear of someone else with the same name (they will not be able to relate).

Lastly imagine yourself with this name, would you like it? does it suit you from a baby to and elderly person?

I think those are the most importanat things to consider while naming your child for life; quite a big responsibility really..

My advice is to choose a name that you feel cofortable with but take into cosideration that you are naming your child, not yourself. Choose a modern name that cannot be easily picked on but DON'T pick a name that is so commmon that 5 other people have that same name in their classroom. Do not choose a name that is suitable for a child but not for an adult. Vice Versa as well.

I think that naming ur child should be special.
My 2 year old daughter is named Addalyn Ruth, which i thought i came up with being my husband liked Addison and I loiked Madelyn, so we thought we put them together, anywho we love her name and no-one has it , its totally unique

i think if you are from a different background to the country you are born in ( I am of French decent) it is so important to include your heritage in your child's name just to keep up a bit of the land you or your family came from

I totally agree Antoinette. heritage is important when naming your child, as is using a relative or close friends names, if that person is extremely important to you. I gave my eldst child my Mom's name as her middle name. The other three kids I chose the 1st name and then found a middle name I liked. Although I am happy with their names, I sometimes wish I had used more family names to carry on traditions.

I totally agree with the majority of the tips people have been gving so far:
-yelling the name
-picturing the name associated with a baby, a teenager, an adult
-nicknames which it will be called (ANY name will be shortened)
-names that you've heard of 'dancers' at the strip joint (please don't name your child Crystal...unless, of course, you want her to be a stripper....LOL)

However, don't go crazy over the 'cruel' nicknames that young children will come up with...no matter the name, they will think of something

I'm not big on the 'weird spellings' of names that people make up just to be different; people have a hard enough time spelling easy names. You'd think that with my name (Lesley) that I would just get Leslie all the time (which I do), but problems arise when people know that there's a 'Y' in my name.....they have no idea where to put it!

No matter what, no name is 'fool-proof'