This week’s prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is ‘Favourite Name’. My 10,000+ family tree contains 2,423 different names. When looking over these names I find I like a certain name because I like a relative or friend with that name, because of the unique way of spelling it, because it is unique, or just because I think it is beautiful.
How do parents choose a name for their child? This can be considered a very important and stressful time during a pregnancy because parents want to pick a name that suits their child but may be restricted by family traditions or country laws. In some societies it is common to wait a period of time (sometimes a few months) to get to know the child before naming them.
Some cultures have family names passed on from generation to generation by following this naming pattern:
- The first son is named after the paternal grandfather;
- The second son after the maternal grandfather;
- The third son after the father;
- The first daughter after the maternal grandmother;
- The second daughter after the paternal grandmother;
- The third daughter after the mother.
Other cultures encourage the child to have two or three names. The two-name pattern would be a spiritual or Christian first name followed by the name the person would be known by. With the three-name pattern the first name would be a spiritual or Christian name, and the second and third names would be more traditional and often comprised of three syllables.
In cultures where the family surname is derived from the father’s surname the mother’s maiden name is changed as she adopts her husband’s surname after marriage. This is referred to as patrilineal surname. Some families choose to carry the mother’s maiden name on through the children by giving one child this name as a first name or by giving multiple children or all the children this name as a middle name.
In the Eastern Slavic countries, the child would be given a first name, a patronymic middle name and the family surname. The middle name would end in -vych or -vovych for men and -ivna or -yivna for women.
In the Jewish faith the child is often named after a family member who has died. Parents hope that in honouring an admired family member this way the child will carry that person’s virtues during their life. It is also believed the soul of the loved one lives on in the child who bears his/her name. Sometimes parents choose to modernize the original name of the person they are honouring by finding a name that has the same or similar meaning, choosing a name that sounds similar, choosing a name that starts with the same letter or choosing a name that in some way relates to the memory of the person.
Some countries, like Iceland, require the parents to stick to a limited list of names. This is to preserve the Icelandic language and to protect Iceland’s cultural heritage. Names must contain only letters from the Icelandic alphabet, they may not conflict with the linguistic structure of Icelandic, they shouldn’t embarrass the child and the gender-based name must be given to the appropriate gender. There are currently about 1,700 male names and 1,850 female given names on the list. Parents may want to name their child a name that is not on the list. To do this they must send a request to the Icelandic Naming Committee who will determine if the name follows all the required criteria before consenting to its use.
Many names have been identified with a specific gender by adding a letter to the end of the name or changing the letter at the end of the name. Some examples of this are Alan/Alana, Antonia/Antonio, George/Georgia Robert/Roberta, Verna/Verne and Victor/Victoria.
Some parents choose a name that is unique so their child will always stand out in the crowd. Many popular celebrities have been noted to have taken this path. Other parents may choose a name they love, but they spell it differently; add a letter, remove a letter or change a letter for another letter that will produce the same sound. Some names that were more common a generation or two ago are becoming more common again because they are now considered unique. There are some names from my list of ancestors that I don’t think will become common again, such as Patience, Shackel, Silence and Submit.
Some parents have given their child a gender-neutral name. Examples from my family tree are Allison, Bailey, Beverley, Brett, Carmen, Claude, Clemence, Dallas, Dana, Daniel, Devin, Emerson, Erin, Finley, Finn, Francis, Gail, Jean, Jesse, Kelly, Kelsey, Kennedy, Kimberley, Laurie, Lee, Leslie, Lindsay, Marion, Morgan, Robin, Shannon, Shaun, Shawn, Shelley, Stephanie, Sydney and Valerie. Some people don’t recognize that many names are now considered gender-neutral. The history of the name may have originated with one gender but over time was also used for the opposite gender.
My name is one of those. My parents liked the name Shaun and that was the name I was given. Shaun was the common spelling version for a male, but I was a little girl. I feel it has set me apart and helped make me unique. I have learned to live with the surprise when someone meets me for the first time and they expected I would be male. The first day of my new job as a nurse I was greeted by many of the staff with ‘oh, I thought we were getting a male nurse’. I have also lived with people wanting to call me Shauna and I have to keep correcting them. I have not appreciated the times when I have attempted to pay for a purchase at a store with my credit card and have been asked if I am using my husband’s card or asked to show identification to prove it is my card. But, I can easily recognize junk mail because it comes addressed to ‘Mr. Shaun Hobson’. I love my name and am glad my parents chose it for me.
Do you know the history of your name and the reasons behind your parents choosing it for you?