How did
our ancestors and neighbors around the world find their baby
names? Ethnic and religious customs can lead you to a strong,
ethnically rooted, meaningful name.
Europe
If you were born in Elizabethan England (1558-1603), you may have
been named by your parents just a few days after birth, at your
baptism. Like many other newborns of the time, you were named
after one of your godparents, carefully chosen for their higher
socioeconomic stature. The pool of names considered acceptable
during this time was significantly smaller than what we are used
to today. Elizabeth, Anne, Joan, Margaret, Alice, Mary, and Agnes
accounted for approximately sixty-five percent of all girls’
names. Likewise, John, Thomas, William, Richard, and Robert
accounted for approximately sixty percent of male names. When it
came to naming baby in old England, life was comparatively simple
but somewhat boring. Naming options broadened during the classical
revival period which brought in French and Italian imports,
opening the door for more creativity.
Today, throughout predominately Christian Europe, you find similar
baptismal ceremonies but various customs in adopting
namesakes—that is, who your child will be named after. Orthodox
Greeks have customarily named their babies after the fathers’
parents. The French often use a child’s middle name to pay homage
to a set of grandparents, using both grandmothers’ first names for
a girl and both grandfathers’ names for a boy. The Spanish, known
for their traditionalism, have rigid rules even for today; the
first-born daughter is named after the father’s mother, whereas
the first son is named after the father’s father, and so on. Many
other European countries also have customs of naming after the
parents. In the common, patronymic style, the “Jr.” wears his
father’s moniker. Likewise, but much less common, a girl may
become her own mother’s namesake.
The Americas
Native American
Native American naming traditions, some of which are still
followed today, vary greatly from tribe to tribe and were often
inspired by natural conditions, animals, and virtues. This is
especially apparent in the Miwok tribe’s use of water names, often
chosen by the way the stream looked when the baby was born. The
Southwest Hopis had a mystic tradition of placing an ear of corn,
representing Mother Earth, next to the newborn. Twenty days after
baby’s birth, the corn was rubbed over his body while the baby,
held to face the rising sun, was named when the first ray of sun
hit his forehead.
The Navajos attribute great powers to their names. A Navajo name
is considered so precious it’s only used during ceremonies,
meaning a day-to-day conversation in a Navajo family may go
something like “Mother, go get Son.” The Salish tribe follows a
“naming trail” in which the name given to a baby by his parents at
birth (usually a virtue or trait the parents hope for the baby) is
eventually replaced at adolescence with another name that is given
by the tribal leader at a ceremony called the Jump Dances. This
name usually represents a talent or strength for which the child
is known. Likewise, as an adult, yet another name might be
granted, but this name would reflect expectations or something for
the person to live up to.
The Puritans
While biblical names satisfied most Puritan American colonists in
New England, some families of the Mayflower age chose to bestow
their own virtuous names such as Charity, Joy, Mercy, Grace,
Prudence, and Hope. In more extreme examples, parents derived
slogans to send a very direct message through their child’s name:
“Fear-God,” “Jesus-Christ-came-into-the-world-to-save,” and
“No-Merit,” to name a few. One has to wonder about the conscience
of a young lad named “If-Christ-had-not-died-for- thee-thou-hadst-been-damned.”
And what do you think “Sin-deny” did when he was caught dozing in
church?
Hawaii
If you’re of Hawaiian descent, your “Inoa” (name) is your most
prized possession. Traditionally, Hawaiians believed that an
ancestral god will mystically send a name to a member of the
unborn child’s family. They look for this name in signs, visions,
and dreams, and believe that if the specified name is not used, it
will cripple the child. If a name is not chosen through the god,
there are many different types of names—such as those given to
trick evil spirits or known only in secret—and more than one name
may be given to a child. Christian names are also used in Hawaii
and have been altered to fit with the Hawaiian language, which
doesn’t pronounce many English sounds.
