Parents get creative in naming baby | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

What's in a name? For the Kuka family of Welcome Bay, coming up with the right name for their new baby was paramount.

They wanted something that would set their newborn son apart so shied away from Sophie or Jack, New Zealand's most popular baby names of 2009, instead opting for something more individual but still borrowing heavily from  popular choice.

Jack has held the title of most popular boy's name for the last five years, and Sophie has kept her place since 2008, according to the office of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Nicky Kuka said she had always liked the name Jack, but to give it a new twist she and her husband William came up with Jaksyn.

Mrs Kuka said the name also derived from what was currently happening in the world, and they were inspired by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Having a unique name  was very important to the Kuka family  - seen in the unique names of  their other two children, Kiarn and Armani.

Mr Kuka has two children from a previous marriage who also have unique names - Desiree and Hirini.

Finding the perfect name to suit their new son was also a challenge for Tina and Brent Gear of Tauranga.

Baby Lenix was born on January 7 last year and was named by Mr Gear.

"The unique name has no significant meaning but was inspired from Annie Lennox and Lennox Lewis, two people whom Brent likes," said Mrs Gear.

And the name sits well with her, too.

"We chose Lenix because it is a strong, different name,"she said.

"I've always liked it, and it fitted with the rest of the family.

"We have always preferred different names," she said.

The couple have three other children,  called Kiana, Deklan and Armani.

"We like names that aren't normal but we didn't want anything too far out," said Mrs Gear.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, independent midwife Leigh O'Neill said she had noticed a change in baby names over the years.
 She said people were influenced by the media, especially songs.

One name she  recently  came across was Soulja,  from  American rapper Soulja Boy.
 Other unusual names  were Amazon-Princess and D'atagnian.

People who decided on such names were predominantly younger parents, she said. Most of Mrs O'Neill's clients were middle-class, and she said she  did not see these names too often.

Names that  reappeared  were Caitlyn, Joshua and Sam.
 Other popular names in Tauranga included Louie, Grace, David, Payton, Max, Isabelle and Olivia.

"Often for their first or second child, people have names that they have decided upon since childhood, but after that, people can get a little more creative," she said.

Papamoa couple Jack and Stephanie Stow added baby Ruby to their family in May last year.

Ruby was the second-most popular name last year.

"Some people I know have said 'I know another Ruby' but there is no one in our families that have the name," said Mrs Stow.

She said the name was agreed upon before Ruby was conceived and came through family connections.