A name stays with your child for life, but you do not have to find it in a week. These steps help families agree without a fight.
1. Start with what matters to you
Write down what you want from a name: a meaning you love, a link to family or faith, ease of spelling, or something modern. Do it as a couple first, then bring in the elders.
2. Make a long list, then cut it
Each parent writes 10 names. Keep the ones you both like, and ask relatives for their ideas. It keeps the family involved, and you can still say no to the rest.
3. Test the name
- Say it out loud with the surname, in a sentence and in a call out across a park.
- Check the initials. Awkward initials can follow a child through school.
- Check the spelling. One standard spelling is easier on forms, school records, a passport and an Aadhaar card.
- Check the meaning in other languages. It matters if your child may study or work abroad.
- Think about nicknames and how a school friend could twist it.
4. If your family follows a nakshatra or numerology
Many families choose the first syllable by the baby's nakshatra, or use numerology. This is a family and faith choice, and has no medical or scientific basis. If it matters to your family, ask your priest or astrologer for the starting syllables, and then look for a name you like within them.
5. Be careful with very trendy or very unusual names
A name from a film or a viral reel may feel dated in ten years. Very unusual spellings can lead to a lifetime of correcting people. A good test is whether you will still like it when your child is 40.
6. Mind the paperwork
- The hospital usually asks for the baby's name to register the birth. If you have not decided, ask your hospital or local registrar whether you can register the birth first and add the name later, and by when. Rules vary by place.
- Changing a name later is possible, but needs paperwork, so it is better to choose with care now.
- Use the same spelling on every document from the first day.
7. Do not rush, and do not feel pressured
Many families announce the name at a naming ceremony, and some wait a few weeks. It is fine to say, "We are still deciding", to an eager aunt.
8. Naming ceremonies and traditions
Namakaran, aqiqah, naamkaran and christening are lovely family occasions. Keep them small in the first weeks, with clean hands and few visitors. See our guide to visitors and hygiene.
Need ideas? Browse trending boy names and trending girl names.
Related guides and nearby weeks
See what happens week by week: 20 weeks pregnant, 28 weeks pregnant, 36 weeks pregnant. Or open all weeks of pregnancy.