Zander

Zander, m.

Meaning: defender of men (diminutive of Alexander).

Ok so this is cheating a little for a Z name, as Zander is usually a nickname for Alexander and can be spelt Xander. However it is gaining popularity as a name in its own right; it was #230 in the US in 2013 (admittedly, it is still down in the 800's in the UK). I have a particular fondness for Zander (it was our top boy's name for a while).

All Z names have an energetic quality to then with the zippy Z sound. Zander also has that sophisticated air about it with the long -a- sound, at least with the British pronunciation. It also has the popular -er sound at the end of this name, which features in some of my favourite boys' names. I'll list some names with this ending below:

Casper

Evander

Sawyer

Asher

Thatcher

Jasper

Dexter

Booker

Kiefer

We've come to the end of my alphabet series! A few people have asked what I've been planning to do next. I think I'll probably switch to 'name of the day' and then carry on doing themes and other general baby naming posts.

Thanks for reading :)

Some tips on choosing a name

Today I thought I'd share with you some tips that I have come up with for choosing a baby name. It's obviously not rocket science - choose a name you like! Anyone can do that. But if you are struggling to choose, then perhaps some of the following may help a little.

1. Style. Think about the baby name style that you and your partner want to go for. As I've said in a previous post, you will probably want any future children's names to 'go' with a first child's name. It's good to think about the type of name you are choosing and whether other names you like would go well with it. For example, you may love the name Sybil (Downton Abbey fan, perhaps?!), but not be keen on other old-fashioned names. I have a similar problem, as I love granny-chic names but we went for quite a modern sounding name for our first daughter which ruled them out.

2. How popular? What are your feelings on popular names? Would it bother you if your child's name was in the top 1000? Top 100? Top 10? Or do you love a name so much that it doesn't matter to you that there may be other children with the same name in their class? Look up the Office of National Statistics baby name documents for current popularity lists (in the UK).

3. Meaning. Does the meaning of a name matter to you? It's always worth checking the meaning; some fairly common names have awful meanings! It probably won't matter in the long run if you really love a name but it's still good to know! A couple of my favourite examples are: 

Claudia - lame

Cameron  - crooked nose

Gideon - club foot

Lola - sorrowful woman

Some people find meanings really important and this could even be their number one consideration so make sure you are both on the same page!

4. Surname and initials. Think about how the name sounds with your surname . Try to avoid rhyming combinations eg - Noah Taylor, which sound a bit awkward. Also some sounds can sound awkward together; for example our surname begins with a Ph- and this stopped us considering Th- names like Theo. They ended up sounding like tongue-twisters! Make sure you consider what the initials will spell out (Thomas Ian Taylor probably won't thank you when he is older!).

5. Friends and family. Some people won't be concerned about anyone else's thoughts on their name, as long as both of the couple like the name. But for lots of baby-namers, they will consider their nearest and dearest. Do any of your friends and family have a name that is special to them that you probably shouldn't use? Do you want to honour someone important by using their name as a first or as a middle? Will your grandparents be able to pronounce an unusual name?! It may be worth thinking if any of these questions apply to you.

I don't think any of these tips are ground-breaking or anything new but hopefully they give you a place to start. As a mum who *may* be finished with having babies, I am very envious of anyone in that deciding on names stage! If you need any help... 😉

Yara

Yara, f.

Meaning: small butterfly, Arabic

As easy as it was for me to talk about X names, Y presented much more of a challenge! Many Y names still seem very exotic to us; it is not a letter often used for names with English routes. However I did find one I really liked and had previously overlooked.

Have a go at saying Yara. I think it has a beautiful sound. It is so similar to Tara or Lara but has that lovely, Arabian feel with the Y sound at the start. I can definitely imagine this on a glamorous woman with long, dark hair. I am not completely convinced it is ready to be adopted as a mainstream name in this country but I would love meet a little girl with this name.

It has a wonderful meaning too - 'small butterfly'. I imagine a nursery decorated with lots of butterfly murals! As a rule, Arabic names often have really great meanings, so if you're into meanings then maybe have a look at a list of Arabic names.