Kristin and Ed Dice named their nearly 3-year-old daughter, Alexandra, after about seven months of discussion and Internet research.

One of the first decisions parents make for their bundle of joy is what name to bestow on their daughter or son.

A name will follow the child everywhere for the rest of his or her life: in school, in the workplace and beyond, making it no wonder why many parents find the decision a difficult one to make — often spending much of the pregnancy and many hours of research looking for the perfect name.

Kristin Dice, a mother and member of MOMS Club Cranberry-North, said it took her and her husband, Ed, about seven months to settle on a name for their daughter, Alexandra, who will turn 3 in April.

“My husband and I went back and forth for a long time,” Dice said. “He liked a little bit more trendy names than I wanted. They were nice names but I wanted a name that was really going to stand the test of time.”

Both were looking for the name that was special but not so out of the ordinary as to be a burden.

“We wanted names that weren't super off the beaten path,” Dice said. “Because then, your whole life, you have to spell your name or people don't know how to say it. But you also don't want to pick a name that everybody has, which is hard.”

As the discussion went on, Dice said she began scouring the Internet for timeless, nice-sounding names that she and her husband could consider for the child.

“I actually suggested Alexandra close to a month or two before she was born,” Dice said. “It was a name I liked when I was little, but we liked it because I wanted something classic-ish and he wanted something we were able to shorten into something else. So we call her Alex most of the time.”

Once they settled on it, the name didn't seem like such a big deal, Dice said, and the couple has no regrets.

“It just kind of turns into a name,” she said. “She has a ton of nicknames too, so when we call her by her real name it sounds more formal.”

Other parents have also found focusing on nicknames helpful.

Carolyn Ori, a Cranberry resident and mother of 2-year-old Annabelle and 8-week-old Marilyn, said both of her daughters' names came at least partly from nicknames she and her husband like.

“I found (Annabelle's) name on the Internet while I was pregnant with her,” Ori said. “My husband loved the nickname Bella and wanted the name Isabella. I told him it reminded me of the 'Twilight' character so he quickly vetoed it.”

The couple then decided on Annabelle, saying they could call her Belle, Ori's favorite Disney princess. For their second child, the couple named Marilyn in the hospital.

“Again, we like the nickname Madi,” Ori said. “The girls got their names based on the short form of their names. If we didn't like the nickname we wouldn't have picked it.“We also wanted a name that will suit them at any age, and wouldn't be a silly name when they are professionals.”There is no universally agreed-upon way to find a name for a child.Julianna and Craig Tabinowski of Cranberry settled on naming their son Henry after Julianna had a dream about it.“Henry was always a name I liked, so when we found out we were expecting, I put it on a list to consider,” she said. “A few months into my pregnancy, I had a dream it was a boy, and in the dream I wanted his name to be Henry.”And while her husband was admittedly not immediately in favor of the name, Tabinowski said he eventually came around to the idea.“We kicked it around for a few weeks and finally decided it fit,” she said. “I recently started digging into my family tree and found out that my great-great-grandfather was also named Henry, so now that's a nice connection.”In the end, the important thing is finding a name both parents like and not letting other people be discouraging.“That'd be my advice: It's a personal choice no matter what the name is,” Dice said. “I was talking to a friend at work, and a friend of hers named her baby Churchill. And like 'how can you name your baby Churchill?' But that's him. It just made total sense. …“Whatever you like, just go with it.”

<b>Here are a few comparsions of baby names that you could make into a chart if you wanted.</b>According to the Social Security Administration, here are the top baby names in the nation for 2016:1 — Noah and Emma2 — Liam and Olivia3 — William and Ava4 — Mason and Sophia5 — James and Isabella6 — Benjamin and Mia7 — Jacob and Charlotte8 — Michael and Abigail9 — Elijah and Emily10 — Ethan and HarperAccording to the Social Security Administration, these were the top names in Pennsylvania in 2016:1 — Noah, 712 and Emma, 7472 — Liam, 711 and Olivia, 7263 — Mason, 661 and Ava, 6684 — Benjamin, 638 and Charlotte, 6365 — James, 588 and Sophia, 5606 — Michael, 577 and Isabella, 4817 — Jacob, 569 and Harper, 4458 — Logan, 511 and Mia, 4289 — Owen, 511 and Abigail, 41310 — Lucas, 508 and Emily, 410Comparing the 1880s to 2010s, according to the Social Security Administration, the top names were:1 — John to JacobMary to Emma2 — William to NoahAnna to Sophia3 — James to MasonEmma to Olivia4 — George to WilliamElizabeth to Isabella5 — Charles to LiamMargaret to Ava6 — Frank to EthanMinnie to Emily7 — Joseph to MichaelIda to Mia8 — Henry to AlexanderBertha to Abigail9 — Robert to DanielClara to Madison10 — Thomas to JaydenAlice to ElizabethSome parents like to research the meaning of names. According to Think Baby Names website, some of the top baby names mean:Noah means peacefulEmma means universalLiam means protectorOlivia means olive tree, a symbol of beauty and dignityJohn means God is graciousJacob means he who supplantsMary means star of the seaSophia means wisdom

Carolyn Ori named her 2-year-old daughter Annabelle because of her and her husband's affinity for the nickname “Belle,” the name of Ori's favorite Disneyprincess.