Little Gems by Jane Langley

Author:Jane Langley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published: 2019-02-07T23:33:50+00:00

In the Philippines, babies are rarely named at birth for fear an ancestor will steal them into the next life. Instead, babies are given very generic or even unattractive names to make them less appealing to the ancestors until they are healthy and strong enough to be given their “proper” name.

In Sierra Leone, a baby is not named until after the umbilical cord has dropped off—signifying that the baby is now ready to have an identity of its own. So if you can’t decide on a name right away, you can always say you are waiting for the cord to fall off!

And what about the name itself? It’s a decision that will last a lifetime. No pressure.

If you can claim Irish roots, feel free to abdicate responsibility and hand it over to your baby daddy. In traditional Irish custom, it’s the father’s job to name the baby. A combination of historical family names is usually used—the father’s parents’ names are used for the first name, the mother’s for the second name, and often a variation of the mother’s maiden name is used as another middle name.

If you’re British, looking back through your family history might reveal the same names appearing over and over. This is because it was tradition to name everyone according to birth order: the first son was named after the father’s father; the second son was named after the mother’s father; the third son was named after the father; and the fourth son was named after the father’s eldest brother. The same pattern would be followed for girls: the first daughter should be named after the mother’s mother; the second daughter after the father’s mother; the third daughter after the mother, and the fourth daughter after the mother’s eldest sister. Hmmmm, what birth control?!

If you’re Jewish, you might have the added pressure to come up with TWO first names you both like—a Hebrew name for religious purposes, and a secular name for “everyday” use. Often the names are a transliteration, or start with the same letter, but two completely different names can also be chosen if you wish.

In Fiji, the father’s relatives have the honor of naming your firstborn baby. And Latino babies are given two surnames—one name from each parent. Now that’s diplomatic.

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