(Redirected from First name)
A 'given name' is a
name which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially 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] So, 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.
Japan,
China,
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. The existence of a
List of people known by middle name in Wikipedia suggests that the latter is considered unexpected by many.
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.
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.
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 (in France, by referring the case to a local
judge).
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] and Booker means "bookbinder" or "book-printer"
[2]
★ Circumstances of birth, for example
Thomas means "twin"
[3], or the Latin name
Quintus'', which was traditionally given to the fifth child.
[4]
★ Objects, for example
Peter means "rock"
[5] and
Edgar means "rich spear"
[6]
★ Physical characteristics, for example
Calvin means "bald"
[7]
★ Form of another name, for example
Pauline or Georgia (especially to change the sex of the name)
★
Surnames, for example
Taylor,
Harrison, and
Ross
★ 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[8].
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.
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
[9]).
Most common given names in
English (and many other
European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:
★ '
Hebrew names' are often from the
Old Testament. Some have elements meaning "God," especially "
El." Examples:
Michael,
Elijah,
Joshua,
Joseph,
David,
Adam,
Elizabeth,
Hannah and
Mary. There is also a handful of names in use derived from the '
Aramaic', e.g.
Thomas,
Martha, Samantha and
Bartholomew.
★ '
Germanic names' often are warlike in nature, or have roots meaning "glory." The "-
bert" element common in many such names comes from ''beraht'', which means "
bright." Examples: Albert,
Robert, Alfred,
Edward,
Roger, Rosalind, Emma,
Eric and
Matilda.
★ '
French forms of
Germanic names'. Since the
Norman conquest of England, many
English given names of
Germanic origin are used in their
French forms. Examples: Albert,
Robert,
Charles,
Roger and
William.
★ '
Celtic names' are sometimes
anglicised versions of
Celtic forms, but the original form may also be used. Examples:
Alan,
Brian,
Brigid, Mòrag,
Niamh,
Ciaran,
Jennifer,
Ian and
Seán. These names often have origins in
Celtic words, as
Celtic versions of the names of internationally known
Christian saints, as names of
Celtic mythological figures, or simply as long-standing names whose ultimate etymology is unclear.
★ '
Greek names' can be derived from the
Greco-Roman gods, or may have other meanings. Some may be derived from the
New Testament and early
Christian traditions. Some of the names are often, but not always,
anglicised. Examples:
Eleanor,
Stephen,
Alexander,
Andrew,
Peter,
Gregory,
George,
Christopher,
Melissa,
Margaret,
Nicholas,
Jason,
Timothy,
Chloe and
Zoë.
★ '
Latin names' can also be adopted unchanged, or modified. Examples:
Laura,
Victoria,
Marcus,
Justin,
Paul, Cecilia,
Felix,
Ornela,
Francis,
Julia,
Pascal.
★ 'Word names' come from
English vocabulary words. These are often feminine names, derived from nature, flowers, birds, colors,
gemstones, or aspiring traits. Sometimes the spelling of the word is changed for the name. Examples:
Jasmine,
Lavender,
Dawn,
Daisy,
Rose,
Iris, Grace,
Petunia,
Rowan and
Violet.
★ 'Nicknames' Nicknames are often used to distinguish between two or more people with the same given name. Names which 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.
★ 'Feminine variations' Many masculine names have feminine variations, often multiple ones. Examples:
Charlotte,
Stephanie, Phillipa,
Jacqueline,
Georgina,
Danielle,
Michelle,
Alexandria,
Paula,
Patricia and
Francesca.
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,
Italian, and
Portuguese version Susana, and its
French version, Suzanne.
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.
The
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 urbanized
Asian locations, many Chinese also take on an
English given name in addition to their 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. 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, e.g. a Chinese lady named "Li " might name herself "
Mary " 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 outdated 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.
Most names are specifically masculine or feminine, but there are many
unisex names as well, such as
Jordan,
Jesse,
Alex,
Ashley,
Chris,
Hillary,
Lesley,
Rene,
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.
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.
[10] 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.
[11]
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, due to the rise in popularity of British actress
Keira Knightley.
[12] 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 ''.
[13]
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, often said to have been created by
J. M. Barrie in his play ''
Peter Pan'';
Madison, a character from the movie ''
Splash''.
Perhaps the greatest example of recent years is
Jennifer. The popularity of the 1970 film and novel ''
Love Story'', with the character Jennifer Cavalleri, is sometimes credited with being the reason the name Jennifer was the number one baby girls' name in the
United States from 1970 through
1984.
[14]. This popular contention, however, is suspect. The name had been growing in popularity since the 1950s and was already among the top five most popular names in in 1968 and '69, prior to the film's release.
Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the rock group
Marillion. Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985—the year in which Marillion released "
Kayleigh."
Emma was the fourth most popular baby name in the
United States in 2002 and second in
2003-
2006. This rise in popularity (it was #13 in
2001) may be attributed to the climax of the 2001-2002 season of the popular TV show ''
Friends'' in which
Rachel Green (
Jennifer Aniston) names her baby daughter Emma. But, as in the case of Jennifer, it may be argued that film-makers and celebrities deliberately choose names that are becoming popular or sound like the fashionable names already in use. Failing this, the name will not start a trend.
Elvis Presley never made his name particularly popular.
Addison for a girl jumped from 106th place in 2005 to 27th place in 2006. This surge in poularity can be largely credited to the
Grey's Anatomy character
Addison Montgomery, after the series premiered in 2005.
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''.
[15]
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.
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.
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:
★ for professional reasons (as with actors).
★ too common or uncommon.
★ too hard to spell or say.
★ too long.
★ 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.
★ is unisex.
★ is not unisex.
★ 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.
Related articles and lists
★
Most popular given names in many different countries and cultures
★
Namesdays
★
Iberian naming customs
★ List of
★
List of Biblical names
★ By nation:
★
★
Bulgarian names
★
★
Dutch name
★
★
French names
★
★
German names
★
★
Polish names
★
★
Portuguese surnames
★
★
Russian name
★
★
Namedays in the Slovak Republic
★
★
Spanish name
★
List of names referring to El
★ By type:
★
★
Unisex name
★
★
Surname
★
★
Nickname
★
★
Saint's name
★
★
★
Calendar of saints
★
★
Middle name
★
★
Pseudonym
★
★
Personal name
★
★
Slave name
References
1. "A name given to a person at birth or at baptism, as distinguished from a surname." according to the American Heritage Dictionary
External links
★
Social Security online - Baby Names - United States Social Security Administration provides a website where people can search the popularity of names and naming trends in the United States.
★
Given Name Frequency Project - Analysis of long-term trends in given names in England and Wales. Includes downloadable datasets of names for persons interested in studying given name trends.
★
U.S. Census Bureau: Distribution of Names Files Large ranked list of male and female given names in addition to last names.
★
The Norwegian Bureau of Statistics maintains a service through which one might learn how many people carry a particular name or combination of names (both given and family). It also shows the historical usage of quite a few first names over the past 120 or so years.
★
BabyNames UK offers information on names and their meaning, origin, pronunciation as well as additional information.
★
All Baby Names World All the names information, meanings and origins of the world.
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