Given name

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A given name, Christian name or forename is a personal name which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name (surname). A given name is a name given to a person, as opposed to an inherited one — such as a family name.[1] Strictly speaking, the term excludes names acquired by other means — such as changing one's name. This article does not generally assume the strict definition.

In most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by Europe (North and South America and Australia), the given name usually comes before the family name (though generally not in lists and catalogs), and so is known as a forename or first name (see usage below). But in many cultures of the world, for instance in some African and most of East Asia (e.g. China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam), and also in Hungary, given names traditionally come after the family name. In East Asia, even part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation in a family and the family's extensions, to differentiate those generations from other generations.

Under the common Western naming convention, people generally have one or more forenames (either given or acquired). If more than one, there is usually a main forename (for everyday use) and one or more supplementary forenames. But sometimes two or more carry equal weight. Beyond the fact that forenames come before the surname there is no particular ordering rule. Often the main forename is at the beginning, resulting in a first name and one or more middle names, but other arrangements are quite common.

Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is used instead, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idiom "on a first-name basis" (or "on first-name terms") alludes to the fact that using a person's given name betokens familiarity.

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[edit] Usage

The term given name is rarely used in the United Kingdom; forename or Christian name predominate, with the former now used almost universally on official documentation.

The term first name can refer to any forename, not just the very first. In the United States, first name is the most common form, although given name is often encountered on official documents. The term Christian name, on the other hand, has mostly fallen out of favor with officialdom though still remaining popular with the general population, especially in rural areas. Christian name may refer to the name taken by converts to Christianity upon baptism.

[edit] Legality

A child's given name or names are usually assigned around the time of birth. In most jurisdictions, the name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on the birth certificate or equivalent. In some jurisdictions, mainly civil-law jurisdictions such as France, Quebec, The Netherlands or Germany, the functionary whose job it is to record acts of birth may act to prevent parents from giving the child a name that may cause him or her harm, such as a bizarre or obscene one such as "princess" or "devana" (in France, by referring the case to a local judge).[citation needed] Even spell-checking of the name is done.

[edit] Etymology

The etymology of given names includes:

  • Aspiring personal traits (external and internal). For example, the name Clement means "merciful". English examples include Faith, Prudence, Augustus, and Fido (The last coming from the Latin for 'faith').
  • Occupations, for example George means "farmer"[1]
  • Circumstances of birth, for example Thomas means "twin"[2], or the Latin name Quintus, which was traditionally given to the fifth child.[3]
  • Objects, for example Peter means "rock"[4] and Edgar means "rich spear"[5]
  • Physical characteristics, for example Calvin means "bald"[6]
  • Form of another name, for example Pauline or Georgia (especially to change the sex of the name)
  • Surnames, for example Taylor, Harrison, and Ross. Such names are common in upper-class American families and often come from families that are frequently intermarried with the family bearing the individual's surname
  • Places, for example Brittany and Lorraine
  • Time of birth, for example day of the week, as in Kofi Annan, whose given name means "born on Friday," or the holiday on which one was born, for example Natasha, a Russian diminutive of Natalia, which means "Christmas" in Latin
  • Combination of the above, for example the Armenian name Sirvart means "love rose"
  • Names of unknown or disputed etymology, for example Mary[7].

In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate the dead (namesake), resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography. Sometimes a boy is named after a grandfather. Customs for girls vary.

In Western cultures, a number of biblical names are commonly employed. The name Jesus, however, is considered taboo or sacrilegious in many regions (including Germanic-speaking areas) while Mary, now popular among Christians, especially among Roman Catholics, was considered too holy for use as a Christian name until about the 12th century. In traditions that particularly venerated Mary (e.g. in Poland), this was still the case until at least the 17th century (in Poland until the arrival of queens of France named Marie[8]).

Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:

  • Nicknames Nicknames are often used to distinguish between two or more people with the same given name. Names that are currently in fashion tend to be varied the most. Nicknames are informal forms of names, often made by abbreviating and adding a y. Shortenings reduce the size of a long name, but nicknames can also be the same length as, or even longer than, the original name. Nicknames are often used especially in childhood; in English, Robert may be shortened to Robby and then Rob. In German the names Johann and Margarete are shortened to Hänsel and Gretel in the famous fairy tale. Examples: Vicky, Rob, Danny, Abby, Ali, Max and Steve.

Frequently, a given name has versions in many different languages. For example, the biblical Hebrew name Susanna also occurs in its original Hebrew version, Shoshannah, its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana, and its French version, Suzanne, and its Polish version, Zuzanna. Slavic names are often of a peaceful character, the compounds being derived from word roots meaning "to protect," "to love," "peace," "to praise [gods]," "to give," and so on.

Chinese and Korean given names are often unique, because meaningful Hanzi and Hanja characters can be combined extensively. However, some parents recycle popular given names as well. The names of famous and successful persons are also reused occasionally. Nevertheless, many Chinese and Korean parents invest a tremendous amount contemplating the names of their newborns before their birth, often with comprehensive dictionaries or with religious guides, formal or informal. Sometimes, especially in traditional families, paternal grandparents are the name-givers. The Chinese language doesn't have a particular set of words that function as given names, which differs from English. Any combination of Chinese characters theoretically can be used as given names, but usually not any combination of English letters are used as given names, which sometimes make Chinese people think that there may be more English-speaking people sharing identical full names than Chinese. This is not the case, due to the much larger set of words used as family names in English.

In many Westernized Chinese locations, many Chinese also take on an unofficial English given name in addition to their official Chinese given name. This is also true for East Asian students at colleges in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, and people who wish to do business internationally - both as means to ease communication with people who cannot properly pronounce the Romanized Chinese characters. For example, a Chinese man named "Wuen-lin" might become "Willie" in the USA. It's also interesting to note that when Chinese immigrants or students give themselves English given names, they tend to pick an English given name with the initial letter identical to that of their family name[citation needed], e.g. a Chinese lady named "Li Ma" might name herself "Mary Ma" or a Chinese man named "Xiaobing Tang" might name himself "Tony Tang."

Many female Japanese names, such as Yoko Ono's, used to end in ko (子), which means "(girl-)child." This fell out of favour in the 1980s, and has remained unfashionable since. As a result, while the vast majority of Japanese women born before 1980 have names ending in ko, it is relatively rare for the younger generation. This has reduced confusion among European-Americans, because in some Romance languages, masculine names often end in o, and feminine names often end in a. People used to names like Tino/Tina are surprised that Mariko or Yoko is female.

Most names are specifically masculine or feminine, but there are many unisex names as well, such as Jordan, Jamie, Jesse, Alex, Ashley, Chris, Hillary, Lesley, Joe/Jo, Jackie, Pat, Sam. Often, one gender is predominant.

The term Christian name is sometimes used as a general synonym for given name. Strictly speaking, the term applies to a name formally given to a child at an infant baptism or "christening", practised by some Christian groups.

[edit] Popularity distribution of given names

The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows a power law distribution.

Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively.[9] In contrast, the corresponding statistics for in England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favor in the English speaking world, also the overall distribution of names has changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names.[10]

[edit] Influence of pop culture

Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004 , the names "Keira" and "Kiera" respectively became the 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley.[11] In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback.[12]

Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives, the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy, and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Vanessa, created by Jonathan Swift; Fiona, a character from James Macpherson's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; and Wendy, an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; and Madison, a character from the movie Splash. Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago, and have became fairly common since.

Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion. Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released "Kayleigh".

Popular culture figures do not seem to have to be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came in to the top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.[13]

In other instances, names become less common because of negative associations in popular culture. For example, Adolf has fallen out of use since the Second World War.

[edit] Twin names

In some cultures, twins may be given distinctive pairs of names. Twin names are sometimes similar in sound, for example boy/girl twins named Christian and Christina or twin girls named Sudha and Subha, or Ojor and Omon in Nigeria. The names may have a thematic similarity such as Jesse (or Jessica) and James (named after the American outlaw Jesse James) or Matthew and Mark (named after the first two books of the New Testament in the Bible). The oldest ever female twins, who both died in 2000, were named Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, gold and silver respectively in Japanese.

[edit] Name changing

People* may change their names for a variety of reasons. In many countries there is a mandatory or voluntary official procedure.

Popular reasons for changing one's name include these:

  • professional reasons (as with actors).
  • Name is too common or* uncommon.
  • Name is too hard to spell or say.
  • Name is too long.
  • Name is too "foreign-sounding".
  • too "old-fashioned sounding".
  • Family reasons, such as being raised by a step-parent than a biological one (most common with children who have no connection to the biological father).
  • One feels that a nickname is more "oneself" than the given name (or vice versa).
  • Name is unisex.
  • Name is not unisex.
  • Name conflicts with one's spiritual belief (popular in Asian countries; and often amongst converts to Islam).
  • to effect a clean break from the past and make a fresh start.
  • a family member has the same name.
  • Name is obscene, vulgar or* insulting in another language the name's owner later comes to use.
  • Name is too closely identified with someone who became famous or* infamous after that person*'s birth (for instance, Adolf).
  • To reflect the identity of a transgender person*. (Walter/Wendy Carlos; Jonathan/Joan Roughgarden

[edit] Related articles and lists

Look up Appendix:Names in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] By culture

Indo-European
Central Asia, Altaic
Semitic / Near Eastern
East Asia
Africa

[edit] References

  1. ^ "A name given to a person at birth or at baptism, as distinguished from a surname." according to the American Heritage Dictionary

[edit] External links

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