Pick the perfect baby name

What's in a name?

It’s the first of many decisions you’re going to have to make as a parent and choosing the right name for your child can be a minefield, to say the least. Throw in traditions, trends, baby-name books, advice from friends and family, and negotiations with your partner, and you’ve got yourself a big ol’ challenge. An exciting one, that is.

A handful of names have consistently made the most-popular lists for the last decade, so you can expect to find kindergartens across the country full of Williams, Olivers, Chloes and Isabellas. As for 2011’s top baby names, Mia, Ruby and Isabella remained among the most popular monikers for little ladies and Jack, Oliver and Noah were among the country’s favourite picks for little lads.

For those seeking less-common names, unusual spellings and unique names have become trends in themselves. Names inspired by places are on the rise (think Sydney, India and Phoenix), as are surnames (Harrison, Tanner and Jackson) and nicknames as first names (Nate, Charlie and Lizzie).

Celebrities have played into people’s decision-making, too. For example, Harper has skyrocketed in popularity since the birth of Victoria Beckham’s daughter last July, while the burst of girls called Pippa have British beauty Pippa Middleton to thank. The Twilight phenomenon in particular has led to a massive surge in the number of Bellas, Edwards, Cullens and Emmetts!

But whether you look to the stars, into your history or to the pages of a book for inspiration, it’s of course a very personal choice for and your partner to make! Let’s take a peek into the special decisions of some real-life mums…

Harper Beckham tops InStyle's 'Hot 100' List

Photo by iStockphoto May 14, 2012