Baby naming in the UK
Phil Taylor
It's a common expression in English: 'What's in a name?' And one of the
most quoted parts of Shakespeare is 'A rose by any other name would smell
as sweet', meaning names are not really important ... but aren't they?
Does it really matter what something or someone is called? How significant
are names?
Although most people never think about their names very often, names are
very important to new parents, and in most cultures naming a new baby
is one of the most significant points in the parents', and the new child's,
lives. The father and mother must make a decision which will stay with
a human being for their whole life, so they have to think carefully!
All over the world there are many kinds of rituals which happen at this
time. In the UK, there are generally no elaborate ceremonies, although
many Christians take their baby to church to be christened (water
is sprinkled on the child's head and he or she is formally named and welcomed
into the Christian family). Usually, a simple trip to the registry
office to get a birth certificate―and of course pay the appropriate
fee―is all that's needed.
But how do parents decide on a name for their new bundle of joy when there
are so many to choose from? There are three other main ways in which the
decision is made:
Ancestors
Although the tradition of ancestors is perhaps not as strong in the West
as in countries such as Japan and China, when a new baby is born parents
will often look back to the names of their elders for inspiration. In
some parts of the USA, male names can run in families for several generations.
The result may be a child called John Walter Jr. ('junior') or Sam Smith
III ('Sam Smith the third').
This does not happen in the UK, but people do often use names of their
uncles, aunts, grandparents and even great- or great-great-grandparents.
If there are arguments about which name to use, the middle name is useful
for solving the debate: for example, the first name can come from the
husband's side and the middle name from the wife's side.
Famous people
An obvious place to look for ideas for baby's names is the pages of
newspapers and magazines. The names of people who might be at the peak
of their fame (even if only for a few weeks or months) can live on in
the children born around the time. Usually, famous TV or film stars provide
inspiration, but in the UK some of the most famous people can be royalty.
Around the time of a famous royal wedding in the 1980s, babies named Charles
or Diana started appearing all over the country!
Every year, British newspapers publish lists of the most popular boys
and girls names which show trends very clearly. You can see some of this
information online. When the rock group Oasis reached their most successful
points in the mid 1990s, the boy's name Liam easily topped the baby name
charts (named after the lead singer of the group, Liam Gallagher). In
2006, names inspired by TV programmes like Big Brother became very popular.
Sometimes, Christians might pick popular names from the Bible (Matthew,
Mark, Simon, John and Andrew are all good examples). In very religious
families, more obscure and unusual names are hunted down from the older
parts of the Bible. Next time you meet a Zechariah, Malachi, Amos or Moses,
you will know where their names come from!
Meaning
English names, like Japanese ones, have meanings, although perhaps the
meanings are not as obvious or as widely known as in Japan. Many English
names have roots in other languages such as Latin or Greek. The word 'Phil'
comes from the Greek 'love', for example. To help parents find their way
through the name maze, there are countless books, magazines and websites
to help (http://www.babynames.com
is just one of many).
Of course, often a lot of parents might ignore all the books, the news
stories and even their older relatives … and just pick a name they think
sounds nice. After all, it's probably the one word they are going to be
using a lot in the years to come.
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