Baby Showers and Baby Names
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Baby
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Baby Showers are not only about meeting up with friends and family to celebrate and support the mum in waiting, they can be an ideal event to brainstorm baby names for your little one. There are lots of Baby Shower Name Games that can provide inspiration and I have a little something extra for you to help.
Every year statistics are released on the top Irish Baby Names, usually in the summer months. Last summer Jack and Emily were the most popular babies' names – Jack has been the favourite boy's name since 2007. It seems that we are more conservative about our boys' names as they don't change much, Jack, James, Sean and Conor have been in the top five since 1998, with only their order changing from year to year. When it comes to girls' names we tend to be more varied and there are wider range of names that change regularly. The top five are Emily, Sophie, Emma, Grace and Lily. Emily is top for the first time and Lily is a new entry to the top five.
I thought it would be fun to have a look at what names were popular around 150 years ago, what new names we have appearing today and what the most popular Irish names are! Back in 1864 the top boys' names were John, Patrick/Pat, James, Thomas and Michael. The top five girls' names were Mary, Margaret, Catherine/Kate, Bridget/Biddy and Ann/Anne. The newest boys' names appearing last summer were Mason, Donnacha, Tommy and Zach and there was one first time entry to the top 100 for girls: Lexi. The top Irish girls’ names are Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Ciara and Kyra and Cian, Oisin, Liam, Darragh and Cillian for the boys'. Whether you prefer old, new or traditional there are plenty of names to choose from!
Baby Name Games that you can play at your Baby Shower are:
Baby Name Scrabble
Give each guest a piece of paper and ask them to write down their full name, their mother's full name and their father's full name. The guests have to create as many names as they can but only from the letters in their family names listed on the paper.
Baby Name Scramble
If you have already decided on the name for your baby write the name at the top of a sheet of paper. Give a copy to each guest and start the clock. They have 2 minutes to make up as many words as they can from the letters in your baby's name. The winner is the guest who has made the most words.
What's In A Name?
Choose a selection of baby names and their meanings – you can look the names meanings up in a baby name book or online. Write the names and the meanings down on separate lists and give each guest a copy. Start the clock and give your guests 2 minutes to see if they can match the correct meaning to the correct name! Whoever gets the most right is the winner.
Baby Name ABC
Give each guest a piece of paper and pen. Ask everyone to write down the alphabet on their paper. Each guest has to write a name next to the letter of the alphabet. When they have completed the task each guest can read out their answers and gains one point for each name. If a guest has chosen the same name for a letter of the alphabet as another guest they both lose a point. The guest with the most points wins.
Celebrity Baby Names!
Choose a list of celebrities and their babies' names and mix them up on a piece of paper. Give each guest a copy and ask them to match the right baby's name with the right parent. The winner is the guest who gets the most correct!
For more information and advice on hosting a baby shower contact: Niamh from www.babyshower.ie
Every year statistics are released on the top Irish Baby Names, usually in the summer months. Last summer Jack and Emily were the most popular babies' names – Jack has been the favourite boy's name since 2007. It seems that we are more conservative about our boys' names as they don't change much, Jack, James, Sean and Conor have been in the top five since 1998, with only their order changing from year to year. When it comes to girls' names we tend to be more varied and there are wider range of names that change regularly. The top five are Emily, Sophie, Emma, Grace and Lily. Emily is top for the first time and Lily is a new entry to the top five.
I thought it would be fun to have a look at what names were popular around 150 years ago, what new names we have appearing today and what the most popular Irish names are! Back in 1864 the top boys' names were John, Patrick/Pat, James, Thomas and Michael. The top five girls' names were Mary, Margaret, Catherine/Kate, Bridget/Biddy and Ann/Anne. The newest boys' names appearing last summer were Mason, Donnacha, Tommy and Zach and there was one first time entry to the top 100 for girls: Lexi. The top Irish girls’ names are Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Ciara and Kyra and Cian, Oisin, Liam, Darragh and Cillian for the boys'. Whether you prefer old, new or traditional there are plenty of names to choose from!
Baby Name Games that you can play at your Baby Shower are:
Baby Name Scrabble
Give each guest a piece of paper and ask them to write down their full name, their mother's full name and their father's full name. The guests have to create as many names as they can but only from the letters in their family names listed on the paper.
Baby Name Scramble
If you have already decided on the name for your baby write the name at the top of a sheet of paper. Give a copy to each guest and start the clock. They have 2 minutes to make up as many words as they can from the letters in your baby's name. The winner is the guest who has made the most words.
What's In A Name?
Choose a selection of baby names and their meanings – you can look the names meanings up in a baby name book or online. Write the names and the meanings down on separate lists and give each guest a copy. Start the clock and give your guests 2 minutes to see if they can match the correct meaning to the correct name! Whoever gets the most right is the winner.
Baby Name ABC
Give each guest a piece of paper and pen. Ask everyone to write down the alphabet on their paper. Each guest has to write a name next to the letter of the alphabet. When they have completed the task each guest can read out their answers and gains one point for each name. If a guest has chosen the same name for a letter of the alphabet as another guest they both lose a point. The guest with the most points wins.
Celebrity Baby Names!
Choose a list of celebrities and their babies' names and mix them up on a piece of paper. Give each guest a copy and ask them to match the right baby's name with the right parent. The winner is the guest who gets the most correct!
For more information and advice on hosting a baby shower contact: Niamh from www.babyshower.ie
