How the top 100 baby names can help you in your name choosing

Despite the popularity of unique celebrity-baby names, most parents give their offspring traditional names. Choosing a name for your child can become, at best, an exercise in indecision, and, at worst, an exercise in manipulation, as meddling family members and friends chime in. Here are some helpful tips:

* Decide whose opinion matters--and whose does not. Your spouse, and possibly your older children, should have a say. If you don't want advice from others, don't bring up the topic around them!

* Do names determine destiny? Some parents hope to influence their child's future identity by selecting particular names. However, this can create unrealistic expectations. So please be careful if you are thinking along this line.

* Slim your choices down to five to 10 names. Then go to the top 100 baby names page at Online Shopping 101 to find a list of the most popular baby names in the world.

* Cross off names that are overly trendy or hard to pronounce. Put them to the teasing test. Having a difficult name to say adds difficulty to a person's life. Names are one of the biggest causes of harassment of children. Now is the time not to be selfish. Think of your children's future instead of your own wants!

No matter what name you choose, you may want to follow a strong recent trend: Waiting until your baby's birth to reveal what it is!