I T's funny how life's big events come in batches. Not funny ha-ha, really, but odd how so many people suddenly decide to so exactly the same thing at roughly the same time.

Last year it was weddings. Thousands of 'em. The weekends from April to August were filled with pealing church bells, massive lunches and stupid dances. It's true that some of the couples were mutual friends, but most of the weddings happened and existed in total isolation – it just turned out to be the summer when everyone got married.

This year, it's babies. I can't move for news of babies. Whether they're being planned, sought after, being made or actually being born, they're everywhere. And what I've discovered about babies is that people only want, or need, to know two things about them. One – the sex. Two – the name.

And what strikes me is that the job of the parents in these two vital elements of baby-making couldn't be more different.

First, the sex. Well, unless you subscribe to specific ovulation cycles, or are up to speed with chromosomes and the effects of certain minerals, you're not going to be able to choose the gender of your baby. Which means you are excused from responsibility in this regard.

But the name. The name! That is possibly the most important decision you'll make this decade, and will surely shape your offspring's life, character, appearance, career…. and indeed just about everything. Using an extreme example, think how different your child's life would pan out if you decided to call him Cedric instead of, say, Andrew.

It's a minefield, obviously. But it doesn't end there. All this talk and delivering of babies this summer has got me thinking about how important our names are in this brave new world of technology, the internet, and being online 24-7.

Since our children are being born into this digital age, there is, dear parents, an extra consideration. You need to bear in mind your offspring's digital identity.

In other words, before you choose a name for your kid, at least make sure the domain name is available. And then buy it.

Seriously. Think about how much our own lives have become enveloped by the internet. So much of what we do, or say, has an online footprint.

Have you bought your own domain name? If not, why not? Are you happy for an internet search of your name to bring up information about you which is owned by a corporation like Facebook? Or, equally, are you OK if nobody can find out about you because someone who shares your name dominates their search results? What if that person is a convicted rapist? You might want to try this. Google your own name and see what comes up. If the first page of results doesn't mention you in ways that you approve of, and have influence over, you don't have an online identity.

Now, imagine just how much more pronounced that will be when your child becomes a young adult. I'm not just talking about pictures of them appearing on Facebook, or videos on YouTube, or our tweets being archived by Twitter, and so on…

Rather, ten or twenty years from now people will be defined by their online presence. It's already happening. If you want someone to find you, or your business, you don't give them your postal address. You give them a website. If you know them a bit, or want to know them better, you might give them a phone number, but equally you'll give them your email address or Twitter name.

So, with all that competing information out there, don't leave it to chance that nobody else will snap up an online identity which could prove useful to your child. No doubt he or she will grow up to be infinitely better at technology than you. In fact, the first couple out there to make me a godfather to their precious little scamp, I'm gonna do the kid a favour and make them a present of their own domain name. One day, they'll thank me for it.