Mums win hands-down when it comes to naming babies

LONDON - When it comes to giving babies their names, mothers win hands down, according to a survey.

Four out of ten mothers disregard the views of the father during the often- fraught process of selecting a name for their new child.

It also emerged that the average couple considers 12 different names before selecting their favourite, but one in four don’t make their final decision until after the baby is born and a third will fail to do so without an argument first.

The report, commissioned among 3,000 parents by Bounty Parenting Club, also revealed that a third of couples fall out over their newborn’s name.

“It’s understandably one of the hardest decisions mum and dad will ever have to make - largely because we do judge a person by their name before we’ve even got to know them,” The Daily Mail quoted Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for bounty.com, as saying.

“Parents have to take into consideration when choosing a name - like nicknames, what they will be called in the playground, how the Christian name will sound against their surname, and so on,” she added.

The study also found that 15 per cent of couples argued regularly during pregnancy over what to call their child. And for indecisive parents, the new arrival remains nameless for an average of 11 days.

42 per cent didn’t want any name associated with a celebrity. A third of parents said they wanted their new baby to have an original moniker, while 21 per cent didn’t want the name to be shortened or changed at all.

Incredibly, one in ten parents end up drawing names out of a hat, and a further 14 per cent opted to toss a coin as a final decider. And when it comes to the final decision, a fifth of new parents named the baby after their favourite colleague or friend, while 37 per cent included a family name.

Four in ten Britons took into account names approved by the grandparents, and 52 per cent avoided names of all friends and their children.

“If mum and dad are the only ones involved they are lucky - as most couples have input from friends, family members, work colleagues and even strangers in the hospital waiting room,” said Mingo.

Thankfully, nine out of 10 parents who had changed their mind at the last minute grew to love the name of their child.

And fifteen per cent of mothers had fallen out with a friend after they copied or stole a name they liked; another 15 per cent admitted they had caused a rift because they chose their friend’s favourite name. (ANI)