Naming a child is an extremely serious affair. A name stays forever and, if the child hates his name during his growing years, it can adversely affect his mind and psychology. Therefore, it is very important for parents to give their child a name that he will not find embarrassing when he grows up. Here's one example of disastrous child naming: Bruce Willis has named his daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout. This is a clear case of forcing a personal choice down the throats of children who have no worldly experience of knowing what is right or wrong for them.

So, lesson number one: parents must think from the child's angle and ask themselves this -

* Will my child be proud of his name or will he be embarrassed by it?

* Will the name give a chance to potential leg-pullers to make life miserable for my child during his growing-up years?

Once you are clear that you have to think from the child's point of view, here's what you must do:

1. The basics of naming a child are that the name must sound positive and must conform to the child's gender. This goes without saying, and we're sure you'll be up to it.

2. If you are bound either by religion or tradition when it comes to naming, then the buck stops there, as you have to select the name from a given set of names. In this case, you must make a list of the traditional or religious names and shortlist the names that you like the most. After that it boils down to choosing the name you think suits your child the best.

3. If you're looking beyond religion and tradition, then you can really get creative: you can base your child's name on his physical traits or on his personality. For example, if your child has a strong bone structure, you can choose a "strength" name for him; if he appears creative to you, you can go in for an "arty" name, and so on. Maybe you can name your baby after your interests, but whatever you choose to do, remember not to make the name sound weird or complicated. There's this website, AmericanBaby.com (http://www.americanbaby.com/babynames/index.jsp), which is a favorite for name seekers - try it out, it may give you a whole lot of ideas.

4. You can also choose to name your child after your favorite singer or actor. However, you must remember that many such celebrities are law-breakers, do not have much ethical sense, and are into abusing substances such as drugs and what not. Be careful to base your child's name on a celebrity who stands on a high moral ground.

5. You must also analyze how the name will sound when the last name is added to it. This is important because the child will be known by his full name once he begins his schooling.

6. Here is a small list of DON'Ts:

(i) The initials of your child's full name (first, middle and last) may sometimes make a word. For example: Billy Uriah Balboa makes BUB. So, if the name you have chosen ends up making an offensive word out of the initials, avoid it.

(ii) The spelling must not be too complicated and the name should be easily pronounceable.

(iii) Avoid very long names!

Once you have made a list of your favorite names, go ahead and choose, and remember to choose well because that name will be stuck to your child for whole life. Make sure to see that your child is proud of your superior choice. We wish you all the luck in the world.