T3

I’m pregnant. Can tech help me name my baby?

- TaraGodwin,Is le of Sheppey

AOne of Big Daddy GaGu’s more unusual requests, this one, but he’s happy to help. There are many sites online with big lists of baby names, which Guru is sure you’re already acquainted with. They generally consist of a difficult-to-navigate catalogue, with the perceived or historical meaning of each name attached; research is recommende­d before you make a decision. If it’s a boy, for instance, you can avoid calling him Gideon (‘Stump for a hand’) or Kennedy (derived from the Gaelic for ‘ugly head’). And if you’re having a girl, Guru would avoid the name Portia, given that it essentiall­y means ‘pig’.

Info from the Office of National Statistics ( ons.gov.uk) will help clue you in on the most- and least-used names from the last year. Not that this should influence your decision, but if you don’t want your kid to be the fourth Olivia or Oliver in class, it might be best to look near the bottom of the list.

Parents of prospectiv­e NFL players, or those looking for more originalit­y, might want to generate something completely fresh. You could try name-generator.org.uk (which includes the hilarious question ‘Do you care if your baby can never fit his/her name on a form?’) although its suggestion­s are often rather convention­al and useless. Using the tool at behindthen­ame.com/random, on the other hand, offers up results based on heritage or other criteria – Guru selected ‘wrestler’, and will definitely be naming his next child ‘Rhinoquake Doubleslam’.

If your problem is not so much originalit­y as consensus, install the app Babyname (£free, but some features locked behind IAP) on yours and your partner’s phones, then go full Tinder on it. Swipe right on the names you like, and it’ll generate a list of your matches, hopefully before the little blighter makes its way outside.

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