The first name of the order – surname, commonly called the Western order, is used in most European countries and in countries that have cultures that are mainly influenced by European culture, including North and South America; Northern, Eastern, Central and West Indies; Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The order First Name – Father`s First Name – Grandfather`s First Name (often called Triple Name) is the official order of names used in Arab countries (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates). The popularity distribution (frequency) of first names usually follows a power law distribution. There are many tools that parents can use to choose names, including books, websites, and apps. One example is the Baby Name Game, which uses the Elo rating system to evaluate parents` preferred names and help them choose. [34] Since the civil rights movement of 1950-1970, the African-American names given to children strongly reflect the socio-political movements and philosophies of the African-American community. Since the 1970s, neological practices (creative, inventive) have become increasingly common and are the subject of academic studies. [38] A child`s first name(s) are usually chosen by the parents shortly after birth. If a name is not given at birth, it can be given at a baptismal ceremony in the presence of family and friends.
In most jurisdictions, a child`s name at birth is a public matter listed on a birth certificate or equivalent. In Western cultures, people usually keep the same first name throughout their lives. In some cases, however, these names may be changed by legal process or reputation. People can also change their name when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. [4] Most names in English are traditionally male (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are also unisex names such as Jordan, Jamie, Jesse, Morgan, Leslie/Lesley, Joe/Jo, Jackie, Pat, Dana, Alex, Chris/Kris, Randy/Randi, Lee, etc. Often the use for one sex is predominant. In addition, a certain spelling is often more common for men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Most Chinese given names are two characters long, and despite the examples above, the two characters together cannot mean anything at all. Instead, they can be selected to contain specific sounds, tones, or radicals. balance the Chinese elements of a child`s birth chart; or to honor a generational poem passed down by the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront rather than an honor to have a newborn named after an elderly parent, so full names are rarely passed down by a family as are American English seniors, juniors, IIIs, etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous if the child has a name that has already become famous by someone else, although the romanizations may be identical or a common name such as Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands.
Many Japanese feminine names end in -ko (子), which usually means “child”. However, the character, when used in first names, can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many cultures, first names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or particularly admired, resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary depending on spelling. The first name of the order – the father`s surname – the mother`s surname is often used in Spanish-speaking countries to recognize the families of both parents. Today, the order can also be legally changed in Spain and Uruguay using the first name – the mother`s surname – the father`s surname. Fictional characters also seem to influence the naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character in the American soap opera Days and Lives, the popularity of the name rose sharply. The name Tammy and Tamara became popular after the release of the film Tammy and The Bachelor in 1957.
Some names have been established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela, invented by Sir Philip Sidney for a central character in his epic prose work The Countess of Pembroke`s Arcadia; Jessica, created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice; Vanessa, created by Jonathan Swift; Fiona, a character in James Macpherson`s fake cycle of Ossian poems Wendy, an obscure name popularized by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn`t Grow Up; and Madison, a character in the movie Splash. Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago and have become quite common ever since. The first name of the order – the mother`s surname – the father`s surname is often used in Portuguese-speaking countries to recognize the families of both parents. Many were built from the 17th century onwards. It was adopted in England in the nineteenth century to show respect for notable ancestors, usually given to male nephews or grandchildren of members of the large families concerned, from which the use spread in society at large. This happened regardless of whether the surname in question was threatened with extinction, for example in Howard, a family with many hardy male lines throughout history. Notable examples include Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from their classical Chinese counterparts. [ref.
needed] He signed his name Johnny Reb Smith, but his official name was Jean-Marie Smith. Often, a first name has versions in many different languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also appears in its original Hebrew biblical version, Shoshannah, its Spanish and Portuguese versions Susana, its French version, Suzanne, its Polish version, Zuzanna, or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna. The most common first names in English (and many other European languages) can be divided into broad categories based on their origin: The official name of Jack`s Mattresses is JM Enterprises {2006} (Illinois) Inc. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology influence the choice of parents` names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents choose the names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. [33] Pious religious people often choose names in their religious writings. For example, Hindu parents may name a girl Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Muhammad after the Prophet Muhammad. In many Western cultures, people often have multiple first names. Most often, the first in order is the one by which a person leaves, although exceptions are not uncommon, as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara).
The first name can also be used in compound form, as in John Paul II or a hyphenated style such as Bengt-Arne. A middle name can be part of a compound name, or could instead be a maiden name, a father`s name, or a baptismal name. Sometimes a first name is used only as an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (as in H. G. Wells), and less often as an initial, when the middle name is not one (as in L. Ron Hubbard). The best-known example of this for Western readers is the use of biblical and holy names in most Christian countries (along with Ethiopia, where names were often ideals or abstractions – Haile Selassie, “Power of the Trinity”); Haile Miriam, “The Power of Mary” – as the most visible exception). However, the name Jesus is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world, although this taboo does not extend to related Joshua or related forms, which are common in many languages, even among Christians.