What's in a name ? Just been listening to a radio phone in about children's names.
When I was born first, or "given " names were still called "Christian" names and most were saints names or at least biblical names and often family names.
Now anything goes and so called "celebrities" seem to be competing to give their poor kids the daftest names possible.
Should there be restrictions on names given to children as in some countries or should children even be given a temporary name until old enough to choose their own ?.
What do others think ?
There have been studies that suggest that being given a name based on fashion or popular culture is a massive handicap in adult life. It's like the story in the right wing newspapers suggest middle class potential parents would not adopt children with names they considered 'low class'.
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I do not believe in ownership of children, I think its important of their future to choose a name wisely. My boys have biblical names, not because of any religious devotion. My older son was named for Isaac Asimov and my younger boy named himself (I dreamt I had a baby called 'Jacob' when I was pregnant). My daughter's name is an old German name, Amelia but named after a nurse from my student days who always impressed me. She is universally known as Millie now.
I hear some names that make my eyes roll, my partner teaches at primary school and some of those little darlings have names that really worry me. Chardonnay is one thing, but calling your child, Gucci is something else. The worst one I have seen recently was a child called 'Barley'. I like being Jayne (with a y) but if I was able to give myself my own name, I would called myself Cameron (My Mum wanted to call me Cameron but my grandma said it was a boy's name!)
I agree that ridiculous names must be a handicap in later life but they can always change them to something more sensible.You do know what Cameron means ?. crooked or bent nose .
I think children should also be given names that cannot easily be abbreviated as well. I was given the name Alexander and have been called Alex, Alec,Sandy, Eck , but fortunately not Zander which I detest.
@Moravian Alexander is a brilliant strong name. You donβt mess with anyone called Alexander!
@Geoffrey51 Yup. The original Macedonian maestro
In Iceland, names have to be either on an approved list or, if the name has not been used in Iceland previously, have to be approved.
I believe they are automatically called after the father, so Magnus's children would be given name then Magnusson or Magnusdottir.
@Moravian it's the 1st names that are "approved". Surmanes names are either patronymic or matronymic... sson fo males dottir for females.
@SallyInStitches I like the Icelanders. very sensible down to earth people. We had a TV personality here Magnus Magnusson here, now deceased but his daughter Sally is a newsreader on BBC TV. She calls herself Sally Magnusson. I think her father thought it would be too confusing for us if his daughter had a different name from her father,
I agree that there are some pretty daft names flying around at the moment and some pretty corrupted spellings of standard names. They can always change their names later in life if they feel itβs inappropriate. My favourite idiotic name at the moment is Psalm which is a kadashisn offspring I think.
Isn't one of her offspring fathered by the West fellow called "North". If he grows up to be an actor he could star in a remake of the Cary Grant film "North by North West"