Nameberry Survey Results
Thank you all so much for participating in the latest nameberry survey.
We were really gratified that more than 600 of you responded and demonstrated how expansive the nameberry world has become: in addition to the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, answers came in from Brazil, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and United Republic of Tanzania–as well as a number of “unknown locations.”
Some of the results confirmed our assumptions about how you’ve approached naming your children, while others were quite surprising. One question that was of particular interest to us was ‘What was your prime source for choosing a name’? It was almost a toss-up between baby name books and the internet. 29% of you voted for books 26% for the internet in general, and 11% for nameberry in particular (not too shabby since we’ve only been in existence for a little over a year!). Other top answers were the family tree, ‘my own imagination’ and books/movies/TV/music. But for those out there who think celebrities and their kids’ names are a major influence, that certainly doesn’t hold true in the nameberry world: only two people checked that one off.
Now for the other results:
A majority (69%) began thinking about names when you were children or teens, the next largest group (12%) as soon as you began trying to have children.
Most of you spent a lot of time thinking and talking about names. For 58% it was a favorite topic of conversation, while 22% spent every minute of the entire nine months and beyond.
67% of responders had some disagreements with their partners about names but were able to find a number of names they both liked; only 6% made the name decision on their own.
In terms of family pressure, for 54% the decision was left to the parents-to-be, for 41% family members made many suggestions and were outspoken when they didn’t like one of your ideas; only 5% experienced a lot of pressure.
And how did you respond to outside advice? A whopping 80% listened to others’ ideas but made their own decisions.
Answers were split about using names from the family tree: 17% named the baby for a family member, 9% used a variation of the name to suit their taste; 46% used one as a middle name; 29% did not use one at all.
The final decision was made most often (38%) by the last few months of pregnancy; next highest (18%) as soon as you saw the baby; the fewest (12%) agonized until a choice had to be made.
Ethnicity was not a major factor for most: 62% said it was not important, 30% it was somewhat important, only 8% said it was essential for the name to reflect their ethnic background.
When it came to a name’s literal meaning, 64% knew what it was but didn’t consider it a major factor, 21% didn’t care about the name’s meaning, while for 15% it was a prime factor.
Biggest problem in choosing a name? For 40% it was deciding among all the names you liked, for 35% agreeing with your partner on a name choice.
The tellingly large segment of 36% kept the name a secret until after the birth, while 27% debated their choices with family and close friends, 21% talked about names with anyone who was interested, and 16% said they and their partner made the decision alone and announced it before the baby’s birth.
DON’T FORGET—Part Two of this survey will be coming soon.