How do you test out a baby name?

Great idea! (Actually it was Data that was called Jayden when he was on some planet with amnesia and some girl named him!)

Boo brilliant! Maybe I should call this baby I'm cooking, Data? Our cat is already called Tybalt Tiberius Tacitus Spock...

Now I have to get pregnant again because I really want a child called JavenRavenKai-Kaven. :o

I have a Jayden, but I know it's an ok name in the future because I got it from Star Trek.

Haha! We're finding out the sex in about 2 weeks. Whatever it is in there, it won't be a Scipio!

I might, if I had my time again

PercyFilth pregnant with a boy? I DARE you.

Woah, Scipio rocks! :)

That is in a different class altogether from Beyoncé all those silly made-up names.

Stellan In my experience, working in an inner London primary, a large amount of the children who have the more "unique" names - Taniffia, Princess, Kyza, Leporche - are from non-white backgrounds. There seems to be a culture (at least in our locale) for Black British/Afro-Caribbean parents to choose very quirky and unusual sounding names: Shaniqua anyone? Are they unlikely to get into med school?

Interestingly, I also know a VER VER posh family whose youngest boy is named Scipio. After the Roman Scipio Africanus. Yup. They call him Skip. I wonder whether the potential of this name holding him back even crossed his parents' mind (from their position of privilege). He is grown up now, and attends a very prestigious music conservatoire.

If you'd feel a bit of a prat shouting the name across a playground, it's not the one for you.

I always looked ahead to my two applying for their first jobs, and filling those roles.
Stellan makes a good point above there, but in 20-30-40 years time, we might be old and be treated by an amazing surgeon called Spike, or A-Jay, or our grandchildren might be taught chemistry by a Kaydee-Leigh; we could have our news brought to us by Baylee Jones....these names will come to seem normal as the children grow into them.

I remember an elderly relative being practically floored by the name of one of my nephews......Nathan.
To her it was from the ends of the earth.

Our country is increasingly culturally, and socially diverse, no matter how white and middle-class Mumsnet remains. There are LOADS of doctors and lawyers with non-British, non-classic names. Their not all called Charles, William, Harry and Diana are they????

I don't think it's non-British, non-classic names some posters here wish to avoid; it's ones that are spelled creatively, made-up, or not traditionally names. Some real life examples I would say fall into this category: Honey-Mai, Kaydee-Leigh, Armani, Spike, Chace, Lexie-Lou, Kaeden, A-Jay, Izzy-Mae, Jazlyn, Fifi, Echo, Baylee, Sookie, Miami... These names wouldn't pass my own tests. Names like Filip, Abdul, Ahmed, Omar, Mustafa, Maryam, Zuzanna, Amina, Mohammed and Yusuf wouldn't be ones I'd pick as they don't reflect my cultural heritage but I can imagine doctors, judges, and BBC news presenters with those names.

Also check initials, anagrams and all manner of shortenings/rhymes. That way you avoid being P Nurse and having initials ARS (I know both of these!).

I always imagine calling it up the stairs, as in "X, dinners ready!"

Never realised before, but that's how I 'test' names :P

'All rise for Judge Cordelia Maynard............'

'All rise for Judge JavenRavenKai-Kaven Maynard.........'

'this is Sebastian Kimber, News at 10, in the Gulf.........'

hmmmmmmn Supermarket only the other day i heard of a 'youlittleshit'

Can you imagine it shouted across the supermarket and as a BBC news presenter!

Badgerina - I COULD NOT agree with you more!

Someone once told me to imagine yourself on a plane ... ''Ladies and Gentleman this is your Captain xxxxxxx speaking'' say your name in place of the xxxxxxxxx and imagine yourself feeling 'safe' in their hands.......... works for me!

Aaaargh! THEY'RE!!!!!

You know what though, despite all this snobbery (and it IS), the fact remains that there are people out there with all sorts of weird and wonderful names, being doctors, judges, going for jobs, promotion, training, vicar-school, voting Conservative...

Our country is increasingly culturally, and socially diverse, no matter how white and middle-class Mumsnet remains. There are LOADS of doctors and lawyers with non-British, non-classic names. Their not all called Charles, William, Harry and Diana are they????

The idea that a child, from a caring, nurturing, involved, engaged, and forward thinking family background would be held back in life based on their name just seems so unlikely to me. If anything, it might help them stand out.

This one's easy. You put the name into the three Big Questions:

1. Can X come out to play?
2. X, will you marry me?
3. Do we think X is ready for promotion?

If the name fits with all three, it's a keeper. See, I don't think Jehovah can come out to play, I can't imagine asking a Wilfred to marry me and call me a snob but I think Destinee isn't ready for promotion...

Percy

Or a Bishop :)

Bishop Poppy
Bishop Jayden
Bishop Junior
Bishop Princess Tiaamii

:o

My test: would I like to be called it? IMHO plenty of parents don't seem apply that test. Some horrors in the playgrounds of Brighton and Hove I can tell thee... naming no names of course. I'm pregnant so don't have a hard hat to don any more . I mean me as me now as well, as a 40 something professional woman. That cuts out most of the wheat from the chaff.

Also you can try the name with Judge and see how that goes down?

Agree with poster who said they're only babies for a little while. 4 years as an infant and hopefully around 70 more as someone with a name that's got to suit them if they're a chartered accountant or something!

I tried the name in several "scenarios" in my head and out loud, like "X get down from there!", "have you got X's coat?", "X, can you pick up that toy please", "this is my son X", "hi, this is X from such and such a company calling". Sounds nuts, but it made me happier that the name suited

Well, they are babies only for the blink of an eye, aren't they, and you can always use a silly cute nickname for the early days