The Origin of Names

Written by Emme Levine

What's in a name? Everything. Your name is as important to your identity as the features on your face and your fingerprints. It tells the world who you are. A name isn't just a label. Its significance takes on greater meaning when viewed in context of your culture, religion, heritage and country of origin.

 A Brief History of Names

Before the written word, there was oral history. The true origin of names would coincide with the dawn of language in our species. One can only conjecture how early man used names. The usage of names evolved over the ages. The bible starts with Adam naming his companion Woman, and then Eve. He then named all of the animals that were brought to him (Genesis 2:19-20). The Hebrews and other early cultures gave first names that described some attribute of the person: David and Ruth both mean "friend." Early times were mostly agrarian societies, with people spread out over the land. Only first names were used to differentiate between people, even between clans. If they needed more specifics, they tacked on their place of birth, such as "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Leonardo da Vinci." Eventually, these first names were used over and over again, forming a pool of specific names parents could use - and only use - there were no celebrity babies named "Apple" (Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter) or "Pilot Inspektor" (Jason Lee's son).

 First Names Came First

Babies were given only first names for many centuries. Different cultures had "naming" ceremonies, often not until the baby had grown since many babies and children died young. In some cultures, such as American Indians, a name identified the spirit or personality living in the body of the child and this took time to develop. Only through the course of life could they discover the gifts the Creator gave them. An infant was assigned a temporary name such as "Chaske" for the eldest boy baby and "WinuNna" for the eldest girl infant. After a time, an Elder of the father's clan would study the child, announce the time for naming and hold a ceremony recalling the deeds of the child that inspired their name. For instance: Da nagasta was a Cherokee woman's name that meant "Eager-warrior"; and for a male, Ata'lunti'ski was a chief of the Arkansas Cherokee about 1818, whose name denotes "one who throws some living object from a place, as an enemy from a precipice."

In Chinese culture, the Red Egg and Ginger party is held after the baby is one month old. Boy babies were given an extravagant naming party since they would carry on the family name. Since girls would marry and leave the family, only a small family gathering was held. The baby was often assigned a "milk" name or nickname designed to fool the evil spirits: boys had girls' names and girls often had animal names.
In addition to a "given" or "Christian" name in American culture, additional middle names are given, for instance at the bris for Jewish babies and baptism for Christians. Remember Carmen in the movie Spy Kids? Her full name was "Carmen Elizabeth Juanita Echo Sky Brava Cortez."

 Last Names Came Next

The Chinese began using surnames, or last names, as far back as 2852 B.C.. In Chinese culture, the surname is placed first, followed by the family name and then the given name. In Europe between the fifth and eleventh centuries, the Dark Ages saw the use of bynames as a surname. These are non-hereditary names given to describe a person in some way. Surnames during this time came from: the father (Robert Willeson or Willie's son), a place (John of York), occupation (Thomas Mayle was a maker of mail for armor, Mr. Leech was a physician who used actual leeches) or a nickname (Smalbyhin' in 1379 meant "'small behind"; Shirloc in 1159 was "bright-lock" or "fair-haired", now Sherlock.)

 How Do You Spell That?

Today's parents are faced with an overwhelming number of names from which to choose for their baby. With the advent of women's rights, girls are no longer considered the property of the father and the practice of using hyphenated last names using the father-mother's name is increasing. Hyphenated first names are very popular in France where two names are given and considered a single unit such as Jean-Paul (boy) or Marie-Jacques (girl). Unusual spellings for first names (Aryka for Erica) or even fruit names for girls (Apple, Strawberry or Peaches) will sure to elicit endless schoolyard teasing. Even though Johnny Cash sang "A Boy Named Sue" as a way of showing how adversity strengthens character, doctors agree that kids with unusual names have a harder time adjusting.