Choosing Baby Names That Are Not Too Trendy

So you've found a baby name that's perfect and unique.

Is it?

Chances are, many of the mothers in your generation have similar cultural influences. 

We grew up watching Little House on the Prairie...

...now there's a resurgence of old-fashioned, feminine names like Clara and Annabelle.

How Do You Watch Baby Trends?

Celebrity baby names often kick start new trends. 

Study the Celebrity Baby Name Blog to see if little Ava and Harlow will have more movie star classmates.

My favorite trend-watching site (and book!)  is The Baby Name Wizard blog. 

I love Laura Wattenberg's smart analysis, from rising star names (Mylie, anyone?) to falling Hispanic names. 

Read the hundreds of comments to see what trend-savvy parents are naming their kids in the future.

If you want to check out the statistics on your baby's potential names, don't miss the Social Security baby name database!

• popular names by every birth year
• where your baby's name ranks across the years, on a graph!
• top 5 names by state
• top 1000 names by decade

Another cool baby name tool is the website How Many Of Me.

Just pop your baby's first name--and last name--into the search box.  How Many Of Me?  will tell you how many people in the US share that name combination.  Keep in mind that search results are current, not future, indicators.

(It's almost addicting!  Both my name and my husband's name are the only ones of our kind.)

Should You Buy Your Baby's Name Online?

According to MSNBC,  parents are even checking dot.com availability before choosing a baby name.  Do you really want an Emma Rose if emmarose.com is already taken? 

--->Parents-to-be can search for domain name availability using GoDaddy.com.