When a child begins to learn to speak there are certain sounds that they will use first. These are ‘m’ ‘p’ ‘b’ ‘w’, ‘n’ ‘t’ and ‘d’. These specific sounds are normally produced first because they are easier for the child to produce. They are sounds that use the lips and front of the tongue at the front of the mouth.
This explains why the child’s first word is often ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’ and if a child has a sibling with the name ‘May’ they will, more than likely, be able to say it quite early on in their development. However, if the child has a sister with the name ‘Jessica’ it is more likely to come out as ‘Tettita’. This is because in their attempt to say the word they are using a simplification process where they are substituting the more difficult sound ‘J’ for ‘T’ which is easier to produce.
When the child reaches around 20 months there is often a vocabulary spurt at which time the number and range of different sounds will increase dramatically.
Sometimes children have difficulty in acquiring all these sounds at the expected time. This can cause difficulties for others in understanding the child’s speech and also for the child themselves if they are struggling to get others to understand what they are saying. This can lead to frustration and upset if they can’t get their message across.
If there is a delay or a disorder in the way the child is acquiring new sounds a speech and language therapist can help. The therapist can help the child develop their sound inventory and enable them to incorporate all the different sounds into their everyday language.
So, what are the most popular names these days? And will the child and other young children be able to say it?
There are names that are easier to say but are these the most popular?
It has been reported recently that the trend in baby names is getting even more unusual. The Daily Mail published a newly released list of the more unusual girls and boys names that were given in 2013.
Among the Social Security Administration’s list of the top names of 2013 were 1,400 that were given to five or more children for the very first time last year.
The list was compiled by Nameberry.com which shows some of the more unusual were Hatch, Charger, Power and Subaru.
The Daily Mail also reported that also on the list were Warrior and Forever, which were each given to six boys, and the technologically relevant Kyndle, also given to six newborn boys. Out of these names Kyndle is the easier to pronounce.
The girls names Envie, Happiness, Ransom and Pistol were those which stood out from the rest. For boys, noun names included Power, Forever, Warrior and Vice.
Films are also becoming highly influential, it seems, as more than 60 couples named their newborn Vanellope, pronounced like Penelope with a V, after the fictional character in the 2012 animated movie Wreck-It-Ralph.
Place names remain a popular for babies – such as Brooklyn, London, India and Paris – and five couples took it one step further when they named their baby girls Sierraleone, after the West African country.
Sierraleone is undoubtedly tricky for a young child to produce because of the ‘r’ and the later sound ‘l’. Some children also have trouble with the sound ‘s’ so all round not an easy one.
THE MOST OUTLANDISH NEW BABY NAMES OF 2013 (and the number of babies who received them) as reported in the Daily Mail.
BOYS
Jceion (10)
Hatch (8)
Tuf (8)
Xzaiden (7)
Charger (6)
Forever (6)
Kyndle (6)
Power (6)
Warrior (6)
Subaru (5)
Vice (5)
GIRLS
Vanellope (63)
Pistol (9)
Happiness (8)
Pemberley (8)
Envie (7)
Rarity (7)
Charlemagne (6)
Ransom (5)
Sierraleone (5)
Snowy (5)
Temprince (5)
References
To read the full article go to: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2629695/Would-newborn-CAR-From-Subaru-Pistol-outlandish-baby-names-2013-revealed.html#ixzz330Pb6qQY
BUCKLEY, B. (2006) Children’s communication skills from birth to five years. London and New York: Routledge.
Written by Rachel Harrison, speech and language therapist, on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. www.integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk
Image rights – www.pixabay.com
