Having a child is the best experience I have ever witnessed, raising him has been a blessing that I am beyond grateful for.

Before my son was born I remember the anticipation about how life was going to change. His mom and I were well planned out and we worked well as a team.

One thing that we spent a lot of time on was coming up with a name for that little bundle of joy. Once we found out he was a boy, it made things easier. We did not want a common name like "Mike" or "David". I used to joke about naming him "Carl". That was funny to me because no one names their kid, "Carl", nowadays. Maybe "Carl" is a family tradition, if so, that's awesome.

Naming a child can be stressful for many expecting parents. The pressure of giving your child a name that they will have for their entire life can be heavy. Personally, I think a name is very important. I also think that the person will be the legacy, not their name.

When it comes to names in the United States and the state of Michigan, there are guidelines. You can't just go and name your child "a&^h*(e". First of all, that's just stupid. Second, why would you set your child up for ridicule and criticism their entire life?

The U.S. and each state has their own naming laws. I found out more about the legalities for naming your child at usbirthcertificates.com.

Naming Restrictions In The United States

Software now keeps our official birth records. Because of that, several states limit the number of characters that can be used. Massachusetts will only allow 40 characters maximum for a full length name. Other states will not allow you to use numerical digits and emojis.

Some states have naming restrictions in place to protect the child, for example, banning profanity in names.

Some people want to name their children after those that have done some terrible things to mankind. Adolf Hitler is not allowed nor should it be considered. Not cool.

If you are expecting a child and are in the "naming" phase, avoid these restrictions and you should be good to go! Avoid derogatory terms, obscenity, offensive names, foreign characters, numbers, diacritical marks, hyphens, asterisks and apostrophes.

In the state of Michigan, only English characters are allowed when naming your child. Coinciding with national guidelines of course.

KEEP READING: Here are the most popular baby names in every state

Using March 2019 data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker compiled a list of the most popular names in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., according to their 2018 SSA rankings. The top five boy names and top five girl names are listed for each state, as well as the number of babies born in 2018 with that name. Historically common names like Michael only made the top five in three states, while the less common name Harper ranks in the top five for 22 states.

Curious what names are trending in your home state? Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby.

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