Citizendia

A Given name, First name, Christian name, or forename is a personal name that 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 personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person. Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs 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 -- such as that of Hungary, various cultures in Africa and most cultures in East Asia (e. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic g. China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam) -- given names traditionally come after the family name. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially 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). Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin 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. A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name. 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.

Contents

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. The name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her Parents according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement to file a form of Birth A birth certificate is a Vital record that documents the birth of a child 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 (in France, by referring the case to a local judge). Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Even spell-checking of the name is done.

Etymology

Given names most often derive from the following categories:

In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or the particularly admired, resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography. Namesake (sometimes "name's sake" is a term used to characterize a person place thing quality action state or idea that is called after or named out of regard to The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language

The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions -- Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary" -- as the most conspicuous exception). Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity However, the name Jesus was considered taboo or sacriligious in most of the Christian world; a pious legend says that use of the name Jesus in Spanish- and Portugese-speaking regions came about after the Battle of Lepanto, when the Pope gave the Spanish the right to use the name of Jesus in honor of the victory. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal.

Similarly, the name Mary, now popular if not ubiquitous among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics, was considered too holy for secular use until about the 12th century. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth In countries that particularly venerated Mary (Poland, as one example), this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie[2]. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

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

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. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Susanna is the name of one of the Women associated with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. 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 root is the primary lexical unit of a Word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents

Chinese and Korean given names are often unique, because meaningful Hanzi and Hanja characters can be combined extensively. Chinese given names ( Chinese: 名字 Pinyin: míngzì are often made up of one or two characters Unlike Western personal names there is great variety A Korean name consists of a Family name followed by a Given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese ( Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. More specifically it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated 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. A dictionary is a book of alphabetically listed Words in a specific language with definitions etymologies pronunciations and other information or a book of alphabetically 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. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 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. A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs

In many Westernized Chinese locations, many Chinese also take on an unofficial English given name in addition to their official Chinese given name. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For example, a Chinese man named "Wuen-lin" might become "Willie" in the USA. William may refer to William (name, a masculine given name Royalty British William I of England 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. A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs g. a Chinese woman named "Li Ma" might name herself "Mary Ma" or a Chinese man named "Xiaobing Tang" might name himself "Tony Tang. Ma (simplified 马; traditional 馬; Pinyin: mǎ is one of the most common Chinese family names As of 2006 it ranks as the 14th most common Ma (simplified 马; traditional 馬; Pinyin: mǎ is one of the most common Chinese family names As of 2006 it ranks as the 14th most common Anthony or Antony is a Male Given name, (ninth most popular male first name in the United States as of 2006 derived from Antonius "

Many female Japanese names, such as Yoko Ono's, end in ko (子), which means "child. in modern times usually consist of a Family name ( Surname) followed by a Given name. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. " This has caused some confusion among European-Americans, because in some Romance languages, masculine names often end in o, and feminine names often end in a. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all People used to names like Tino/Tina are surprised that Mariko or Yoko is female.

Most names in English 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. A unisex name, also known as an epicene name, is a Given name that is often given to either a boy or a girl Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Jamie is a given name derived as a pet form of James. However it has been used as an independent given name in English speaking countries for several generations Jesse or Yishai ( meaning "God's gift" is the father of the Biblical David mentioned in the Books of Samuel of the Hebrew Bible. Chris may refer to Christopher and Christian - The longer male forms of the name Christina and Christine - The longer Hillary or Hilary is a given and Family name, derived from the Latin hilarius meaning cheerful Often, one gender is predominant. Many culture groups down through history did not gender names strongly, so that many or all of their names were unisex: Norse/Viking, Hebrew (both male and female Noah), Gaullish. Others had gender built in as a matter of grammar: Latin and its descendants Italian and French, Greek.

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. Infant baptism is the Christian religious practice of baptizing infants or young children

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. [3] 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. [4]

Influence of pop culture

Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 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. Keira Christina Knightley (ˌkɪərəˈnaɪtlɪ born March 26, 1985) is a Golden Globe – BAFTA - and Academy Award –nominated [5] 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. Colby Donaldson (born April 1 1974) is an American television Actor known as the runner-up on Survivor The Australian Outback Survivor The Australian Outback was the second installment of the popular United States Reality show Survivor. [6]

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. Kayla is a Female Given name, meaning " Purity " Dr Kayla Caroline Johnson (née Brady; previously Deveraux) is a Fictional character on the daytime Soap opera Days of our Lives A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio. Days of Our Lives is an American Soap opera, which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8 1965 on the NBC network in the United The name Tammy, and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Tammy and the Bachelor is a 1957 Romantic comedy film and is the first of the four Tammy movies. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Jessica, a name created by William Shakespeare in his play "The Merchant of Venice", 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. The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598 The name Vanessa was invented by Irish Writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom Swift had met in 1708 and whom he tutored Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 Fiona is a Given name for a female Regularly pronounced /fiːˈəʊnə/ (Fee-OH-Na the name is of Celtic origin and means "white" "pale" or James Macpherson (Seumas Mac a' Phearsain 27 October 1736 17 February 1796) was a Scottish Poet, known as the "translator" Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Wendy is a female name Its popularity is attributed to the character Wendy Darling from the children's play and novel Peter Pan by J Sir James Matthew Barrie 1st Baronet OM ( 9 May, 1860 &ndash 19 June, 1937) more commonly known as J Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and Peter and Wendy are the stage play and novel (respectively which tell the well-known story of Surname James Madison, fourth President of the United States Dolley Madison, the wife of James Madison Splash is a 1984 Fantasy film and Romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago, and have become fairly common since. Larissa ( Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Doctor Zhivago ( Доктор Живаго) is a 1965 drama - romance - War film directed by David Lean and loosely

Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion. Marillion are a British rock group Formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in 1979 their recorded studio output comprises Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released "Kayleigh". For the more common spelling of the female given name Kayleigh see Kaylee.

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. [6]

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. Adolf, also spelled Adolph and sometimes Latinised to Adolphus, was a popular Given name, especially in the German -speaking countries World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Twin names

In some cultures, twins may be given distinctive pairs of names. Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex. 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). Jesse or Yishai ( meaning "God's gift" is the father of the Biblical David mentioned in the Books of Samuel of the Hebrew Bible. Jesse Woodson James (September 5 1847—April 3 1882 was an American Outlaw in the border state of Missouri and the most famous member of the Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The oldest ever female twins, who both died in 2000, were named Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, gold and silver respectively in Japanese. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen

Name changing

People may change their names for a variety of reasons. Name change is a basic Legal act that is recognized in practically all legal systems to allow an individual the opportunity to adopt a Name other than the name given In many countries there is a mandatory or voluntary official procedure.

Popular reasons for changing one's name include these:

Related articles and lists

By culture

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

References

  1. ^ "A name given to a person at birth or at baptism, as distinguished from a surname" – according to the American Heritage Dictionary
  2. ^ Polish names
  3. ^ First Name Popularity in England and Wales over the Past Thousand Years
  4. ^ Analytical Visions: Names
  5. ^ National Statistics Online
  6. ^ a b Popular Baby Names, Social Security Administration, USA

External links

Dictionary

given name

-noun

  1. (especially, US and Scotland) A forename or first name: the primary name chosen for a child, usually by the child's parents.
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