How to narrow down a baby name list

1. Sort into love, like and maybe

Go through the list once, quickly, and put each name into one of three groups. Do not agonise. Your first reaction is useful information.

2. Keep only the loves, and the likes you both share

Put the maybes aside. If you are choosing together, keep the names that both of you put in love or like. That alone usually cuts a list in half.

3. Test each one with your surname

Say the full name aloud, with a middle name too. Listen to where the names meet, because a name ending in the sound that the next one starts with can blur together. Check the initials as well, since they end up on bags, towels and email addresses.

4. Check how it will wear

Picture the name on a toddler, a teenager and an adult. Think about nicknames it might attract, and whether you are happy with them. Look up how common the name is, so you know whether there will be several in a class.

• The popular baby names pages show how many babies were given a name each year, from the official figures.
• A name that is rising fast may be common by the time your baby starts school.

5. Leave it for a few days

Put the shortlist away and come back to it. The names that still feel right after a few days are the ones to keep. Three is a good number to end up with.

A little game for two

Baby Name Jar is a free daily game for choosing your baby’s name together. You each drop a name in the jar, nobody sees the other’s until you have both added yours, and then the jar opens and you find the names you both love.