Choosing the perfect baby name for your unborn child can be a time-consuming and difficult task, after all it's a name your child will carry with it throughout their life. With so many hundreds of thousands of baby names to pick from it's hard to know where to begin. But with some research and a little inspiration, deciding on the perfect baby name can be an interesting, informative and most of all fun part of your pregnancy.

A good place to start is to write a list of names you already know of and like. Go online to one of the many baby name sites and find out what they mean (there are some names out there with less than favourable meanings such as 'bitter', 'weak & sick' or 'ill will'). If you're stuck for ideas why not search for a meaning your like and browse the lists of names with that meaning.

Family tradition - is there a name in your family or your partners that has been passed down throughout the generations? You could continue the family tradition and give the name to your baby. You don't even have to use the name as the baby's first name - consider carrying on the tradition by giving it to your child as their middle name.

Unique and unusual names can be a good choice for your child but the important thing to remember before choosing one (or even making it up) is that it's your child's name for life so make sure that however unusual and unique the name is, it's something your child will want to be called.

Take into account the spelling of the child's name - for instance a lot of Gaelic names are pronounced differently to how they appear in English - it's all very well giving your child a beautiful Gaelic name such as Aoife (pronounced eff-a) or Saoirse (sheer-sha) but they may have problems with people pronouncing their name and spelling it incorrectly.

And remember to take into account the baby's surname - after all kids can be cruel and you don't want your little one having a name that means something different when taken together with their surname.

Once you've found that perfect baby name why not visit www.framemyname.co.uk and order one of our personalised name print baby gifts, which as well as having your child's first name beautifully illustrated includes the name meaning and origin.