# Day 334: The special name

> By 12 months most babies call a parent mama, dada, or another special name, and few other words is normal. Today, write down what they call each of you. The name they chose.

- Series: Your twelfth month, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/twelfth-month), day 334 of 365, week 45
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/twelfth-month/day-334
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 334: The special name." Last reviewed October 21, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/twelfth-month/day-334

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Somewhere in the house, a sound has been showing up at the same moments: when you walk in, when the father bends over the crib, when the dog goes past. Today is finding that sound and writing it down, because it may be a name.

## Heart

By 1 year, most babies call a parent "mama," "dada," or another special name ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html)). Few or no other clear words at the first birthday is normal ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html)); trying to say one or two words besides "mama" or "dada" is a 15-month milestone ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/15-months.html)). The AAP says some babies have 2 or 3 words by their first birthday, but most 12-month speech is babble with the ups and downs of real talk, and any sound your baby uses consistently for the same thing counts as a word ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx)). So the special name may be "mama." It may also be "ba," "nana," or a two-note yell, aimed at you every time.

## Head

Names get learned by being consistent and being answered. The guide's advice: keep names the same ("cat" today, not "kitty" tomorrow), ask questions, and wait for an answer ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx)); repeat their sounds and add simple words ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html)). In a lab experiment, 9.5-month-olds whose mothers answered their babble right away quickly reshaped it using sounds from their mothers' speech; babies answered at random times didn't ([Goldstein & Schwade, 2008](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18466414/)). Which means the way a sound becomes your name is you answering to it. "Da? Yes, Dada's here." Every time.

## Body

The ears come first. Bring it up if your baby isn't babbling lots of different sounds by 9 months or doesn't look when you call their name ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html)), and talk with your pediatrician if your baby seems not to see or hear well ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-9-Months-Old.aspx)). A baby who hears "mama" a hundred times a day and turns to it is doing the listening half of the job. The guide's question is [When do babies say their first words?](https://chorevia.com/learn/7-12-months#when-do-babies-say-their-first-words)

## Try today

### The name they chose

- **Time:** All day, one line at a time
- **From the guide:** [Babble, gestures, and first words](https://chorevia.com/learn/7-12-months#babble-gestures-and-first-words)

1. Put a page on the fridge with a column for each person in the house, and one for the dog.
2. Each time a sound is aimed at one of you, the same sound, write it in that column: "ba-ba" under Dada, "mum" under Mama, "nnn" under the dog. Used the same way each time is the test ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx)).
3. Answer to it every time, with the real name: "Mum? Mama! Here I am" ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html)).
4. At bedtime, read the page. The sound with the most entries under one name is the name they chose.

**Make it work:** Nothing today proves anything. "Mama" or "dada" has until 12 months, and other words have until 15 ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html); [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/15-months.html)).

## Watch for

- **Normal:** "dada" first, aimed at both of you, the cat, and the light switch; the target narrows after the sound. **Bring it up** if your baby doesn't look when you call their name ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html)).
- **Normal:** a quiet, pointing week after a loud one. **Call your pediatrician right away** if your baby has trouble breathing that isn't severe, or great trouble swallowing fluids or spit ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)).
- **Normal:** a day of grunts instead of syllables with a new tooth on the way. **Call your pediatrician right away** for signs of dehydration: no urine in more than 8 hours, dark urine, a very dry mouth, and no tears ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever)).

## For you

Whatever they call you, it's yours. If it's "dada" and you're the mother, it's still yours: the first special name lands on whoever the sound was aimed at, and the 12-month list says "mama," "dada," or another special name, any of the three ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html)). If no name has come yet, the list says most babies have one by 12 months, not by eleven ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html)), and the AAP's line that most 12-month speech is babble with the ups and downs of real talk ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx)) describes a normal birthday. The sound through the nursery door at 3 a.m. counts, and so does the yell from the high chair. Write it down, and write the date, because you'll want to know when it started.

If you're the partner: answer to your sound today, whatever it is, every time, including the times it's clearly aimed at the dog.

## Sources

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Milestones by 1 Year." Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, updated 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/1-year.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Milestones by 15 Months." Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, accessed 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/15-months.html
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Language Development: 8 to 12 Months." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2009. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Language-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Milestones by 9 Months." Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, updated 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/9-months.html
- Goldstein MH, Schwade JA. "Social feedback to infants' babbling facilitates rapid phonological learning." *Psychological Science*, 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18466414/
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Checkup Checklist: 9 Months Old." HealthyChildren.org, updated 2021. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Your-Childs-Checkups/Pages/Your-Checkup-Checklist-9-Months-Old.aspx
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Fever" (symptom checker). HealthyChildren.org, accessed 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/symptom-checker/Pages/symptomviewer.aspx?symptom=Fever