Naming twins

To match or not to match! Advice on finding the perfect names to compliment yet differentiate your baby boy or baby girl twins.

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Choosing a name for a single baby can be difficult enough but two or more brings up a whole-nother set of 'naming' issues. You'll need to think about how the names sound together as well as with your surname, whether the names are balanced and how you'll decide which baby gets which name - something that's no mean feat! Ideally the names you choose for your babies should compliment each other and flow together nicely but also allow for the individuality that will be all important to your children as they grow.

When naming your twins its important to choose names that have a sense of equality. For instance, if you choose a particularly unusual name for one of your children (i.e. Savannah) but a very plain name for the other (i.e. Sue) it could leave them feeling as if one has precedence over the other. The same applies to family names, for instance if you name one child after a grandparent but choose a name with no familial significance for your other child you could leave one twin feeling left out. By choosing names of equal attractiveness and significance you'll be able to avoid all of these issues.

While it can be tempting to choose cute matching names for your twins (Mindy and Minky for example) this can be confusing for everyone, even your babies (it can be difficult for infants to learn what they are called if their brother or sister has a very similar sounding name). However, if you're dead set on adorable 'Tayler - Tyler' combinations then choosing more unique middle names can be a good idea just to introduce some individuality.

If you like the idea of choosing 'twin' names but want to avoid the 'same first letter, same sound' dilemma themed names can be a good option. Some ideas include...

• Names with the same meaning - Felicity and Alegria both mean 'happiness'



• Names with the same origin - Perran and Zela are both Cornish



• Names that have a common theme - Pearl and Ruby



• Names from a common period - Joshua and Jacob are both biblical



• Names that are an anagram of one another - Elysha and Ashley

It can also be nice to play around with spellings; perhaps choosing names where the last letter of one twin's name is the first letter of the other.

However, just because you're having twins (or more) there is no reason why you have to name them as such. Why not just choose two names that you like, that sound good together and that go with your surname. At the end of the day its completely up to you!

If you having trouble naming twins (or single babies for that matter) why not test out your ideas or indeed look for new ones on our AskBaby Forums.