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A given name is a word which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. A given name is a name given to a person, as opposed to an inherited one – such as a family name. So, strictly speaking, the term excludes names acquired by other means – such as changing one's nameThe American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition . This article does not generally assume the strict definition.

In much of the world, the given name comes before the family name, and so is known as a forename or first name (see usage below). But in East Asia (for example in Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam), and also in Hungary, the given names traditionally come after the family name.

Under the common Western naming convention, people generally have one or more forenames (either given or acquired). If more than one, there is usually a main forename (for everyday use) and one or more supplementary forenames. But sometimes two or more carry equal weight (see the list of well-known people known by two or more forenames). Beyond the fact that forenames come before the surname there is no particular ordering rule. For some people the main forename is at the beginning, so they have a first name and one or more middle names. For others nothing comes between the main forename and the surname, so they have a central name and one or more precursory names. It is, of course, also possible for a person to have both precursory and intervening names. (The existence of a list of well-known people in these last two categories perpetuates the popular belief that it is in some way remarkable for the main forename not to be placed first.)

Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is used instead, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idiom "on a first name basis" alludes to the fact that using a person's given name betokens familiarity.

Usage

The term given name is rarely used in the United Kingdom; forename or Christian name predominate, with the former now used almost universally on official documentation.

The term first name can refer to any forename, not just the very first. In the United States, first name is the most common form, although given name is often encountered on official documents. The term Christian name, on the other hand, has mostly fallen out of favor with officialdom though still remaining popular with the general population, especially in rural areas.
Christian name may refer to the name taken by converts to Christianity upon baptism.

Legality

A child's given name or names are usually assigned around the time of birth. In most jurisdictions, the name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on the birth certificate or equivalent. In some jurisdictions, mainly civil law jurisdictions such as France or Quebec, the functionary whose job it is to record acts of birth may act to prevent parents from giving the child a name that may cause him or her harm, such as a bizarre or obscene one (in France, by referring the case to a local judge).

Etymology

The etymology of given names includes:
* Aspiring personal traits (external and internal), for example, the Japanese name Miko means child of beauty.
* Occupations, for example George, which means "a farmer", or "Booker", a bookbinder or printer
*Circumstances of birth, e.g. "Thomas", which means "a twin"
* Objects, for example rock (Peter), treasure spear (Edgar)
* Literary characters, for example Wendy
* Physical characteristics, for example Calvin (means the bald king)
* Another name, for example Pauline or Georgia (especially to change the sex of the name)
* Surnames, for example Taylor, Hamilton, Washington
* Places, for example Brittany, Lorraine
* Day of the week of birth, for example Kofi Annan Kofi = born on Friday etc
* Combination of the above, for example Ashley (means by the ash wood)

There are also names of unknown or disputed etymology, for example Keisha.

However, in many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate the dead (namesake), resulting in a virtually limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography. And those namesakes, in turn, were often named after Biblical characters, except for the name Jesus, which is almost always considered taboo or sacrilegous when used as a given name in Germanic-speaking regions or in Poland. In the Spanish-speaking world, however, "Jesús" is a very popular name, without any negative implications.

On the other hand, Mary is almost universally popular among Christians, especially among Roman Catholics. This name, however, in most of the Christian world was considered too holy for ordinary people until about the 12th century and in traditions of particular veneration of Mary (e.g. in Poland, where name Marianna, conjunction of Maria, 'Mary' and Anna, 'Ann', which could be loosely translated as 'Marion' was used instead of Maria) even until the 19th century.

Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:

* Hebrew names are almost always from the Old Testament. Some have elements meaning God, especially 'el'. Examples: Joel, Michael, Rachel, Joshua, Joseph, David, Jeremy, Rebecca, Adam, Elizabeth, James, Benjamin, Anne, Mary, Sarah, Daniel, John, Susan, Zacharias. There is also a handful of popular Aramaic names. e.g. Thomas, Martha, Samantha, Bartholomew.

* Germanic names often are warlike in nature, or have roots meaning glory. The -bert element common in many such names comes from -beraht, which means bright. Examples: Albert, Norbert, Robert, Alfred, Adelaide, Edward. Ashley is also a Germanic name, from English Æscleah, meaning 'meadow of ash (trees)'.

* French forms of Germanic names. Since the Norman conquest, many English given names of Germanic origin are used in their French forms. Examples: Richard, William, Charles.

* Celtic names are sometimes anglicised versions of Celtic forms, but the original form may also be used. Examples: Aengus, Alan, Brian, Brigid, Bríd or Bride, Mòrag, Niamh, Conor, Guinevere, Fionnghuala, Donovan, Malcolm, Medbh(Maeve), Eoghan, Gráinne, Ian, Eoin, Owen, Rowan, Kaylyn, Bronwen, Gwendolen, Ryan, Seán. These names often have origins in Celtic words, as Celtic versions of the names of internationally known Christian saints, as names of Celtic mythological figures, or simply as long-standing names whose ultimate etymology is unclear.

* Greek names can be derived from the Greco-Roman gods, or may have other meanings. Some may be derived from the New Testament and early Christian traditions. Greek examples: Stephen (Stephanos), Alexander (Alexandros), Andrew (Andreas), Peter (Petros), George (Geôrgios), Christopher (Christophoros), Melissa, Marina, Margaret (Margarithi), Catherine (Katarina or Ekaterini), Jason (Iason).

*Latin names can be adopted unchanged, or modified. Examples: Laura, Victoria, Mark (Marcus), Diana, Paul (Paulus).

* Recent names come from English vocabulary words. These are usually feminine names, derived from nature, flowers, birds, gemstones, aspiring traits, or maybe they are just an ethnic-sounding totally made up jumble of syllables. Examples: Lily, Mavis, Amber, Serenity, Sky/Skye, Sienna/Siena, Sierra, Apple, Ember, Jewel, Jasmine, Coral, Laurel, Lotus, Lavendar, Lilac, Blaze, Ridge, Jasper, Jade, Sunny, Summer, Winter, Windy, Autumn, Raven,Blue/Bleu, Brooke, Fawn, Dawn, Daisy, Rose, Hyacinth, Iris, Ivy, Harmony, Charisma, Faith, Grace, Hope, Breezy, Rainy, Stormy, Scarlett, Lark, Amethyst, Amaryllis, Azalea, Fawn, Shaniqua.

* Recent coinages and variants are created by parents who want to give their child a new version of an old name. Names which are currently in fashion tend to be varied the most. Also, many masculine names have had feminine versions created, especially by adding the suffix -a. Pet forms are informal forms of longer names, usually made by adding -y. Shortenings reduce the size of a long name, for example: Vicky, Pauline, Bob, Tony, Mike. Names may be diminutized, especially in childhood nicknames. In English Robert may be shortened to Bob and then changed to the diminutive Bobby or the name Randall shortened to Randy. In German the names Johannes and Margarethe are diminutized to Hänsel and Gretel.

Other languages provide other names: for example, the names Belle and Aimée/Amy comes from French, so the above should not be thought of as the only sources of names.

Frequently, a given name occurs in different language varieties. For example, the English name Susan from the Old Testament also occurs in its original Hebrew version, Susannah (actually "Shoshana"), in its Spanish version Susana, or in its French version, Suzanne.

Slavic names are often of a peaceful character, the compounds being derived from word roots meaning to protect, to love, peace, to praise (gods), to give, and so on. (For a more complete list see List of Slavic given names.)

The Chinese and Korean given names are often unique, because meaningful Hanzi and Hanja characters can be combined extensively.
However, some parents recycle popular given names as well. The names of famous and successful persons are also reused occasionally.
Nevertheless, many Chinese and Korean parents invest a tremendous amount contemplating the names of their newborns before their birth, often with comprehensive dictionaries or with religious guides, formal or informal. Sometimes, especially in traditional families, paternal grandparents are the name-givers.
Chinese language doesn't have particular set of words that function solely as given names, this is different from English. Any combination of Chinese characters theoretically can be used as given names, but usually not any combination of English letters are used as given names, which sometimes make Chinese people think that there may be more English speaking people sharing identical full names than Chinese. This is not the case due to the much larger set of words used as family names in English.

In more Westernised Asian locations like Singapore and Hong Kong, many Chinese also take on an English given name in addition to their Chinese given name. This is also true for East Asian students at colleges in countries like the United States, Canada and Australia, and people who wish to do business internationally. For example, a Chinese man named "Wuen(Wrong pinyin, "Wen" instead)-lin" became "Willie" in the USA. There is also an interesting phenomena when Chinese immigrants or students get themselves English given names: They tend to pick an English given name with the initial letter identical to that of their family names, e.g. a Chinese lady named "Li Ma" usually name herself "Mary Ma", a Chinese man named "Xiaobing Tang" may name himself "Tony Tang". Due to relatively limited knowledge of English given names, these Chinese people tend to have relatively more frequent use of some particular English given names, for example, too many males name themselves "Michael", too many ladies name themselves "Lily"; Many Japanese women's names, such as Yoko Ono's, used to end in ko (子), which means "(girl-)child" in Japanese. This fell out of favour in the 1980s, and has remained outdated since. As a result, while the vast majority of Japanese women born before 1980 have names ending in ko, it is relatively rare for the younger generation.

Most names are either masculine or feminine, but unisex names can be either. Often, one gender is predominant.

Popularity distribution of given names

The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows a power law distribution.

Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively.http://www.galbithink.org/names.htm In contrast, the corresponding statistics for in England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively.

Influence of pop culture

Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" respectively became the 52nd and 94th most popular girls' names in the UK, perhaps due to the popularity of British actress Keira Knightleyhttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=184 . In
2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name in the United States suddenly increased by over 160%, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ .

Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives, the name's popularity exploded. Some names invented by authors were established or spread by being used in fiction. Two notable examples are Vanessa, created by Jonathan Swift, and Wendy often said to have been created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan.

Perhaps the greatest example of recent years is Jennifer. It is generally accepted that the popularity of the character of Jennifer Cavilleri in Erich Segal's novel Love Story and its film version was responsible for the name going from never having appeared in the top 25 U.S. names to being the #1 name from 1970 through 1984.

Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the rock group Marillion. Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985 - the year in which Marillion released Kayleigh.

Popular culture figures do not seem to have to be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton became well-used as a female given name in the United States for the first time in 1992, immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ .

Twin names

In some cultures, twins may be given distinctive pairs of names. Twin names are sometimes similar in sound, for example boy/girl twins named Christian and Christina or twin girls named Sudha and Subha. The names may have a thematic similarity such as Jesse (or Jessica) and James (named after the American outlaw Jesse James) or Matthew and Mark (named after the first two books of the New Testament in the Bible). The oldest ever female twins, who both died in 2000, were named Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, gold and silver respectively in Japanese.

Name changing

People may change their names for a variety of reasons. In many countries there is a mandatory or voluntary official procedure.

Popular reasons for changing one's name include:
* too common or uncommon.
* too hard to spell or say.
* too long.
* too "foreign-sounding".
* too "old-fashioned sounding".
* one feels that a nickname is more "oneself" than the given name.
* is unisex.
* is not unisex.
* conflicts with one's spiritual belief (popular in Asian countries).
* escaping from the past.
* a family member has the same name.
* name is obscene, vulgar or insulting in another language the name's owner later comes to use
* name is too closely identified with someone who became famous or infamous after that person's birth (for instance, Adolf)

External links

* Social Security online - Baby Names - United States Social Security Administration provides a website where people can search the popularity of names and naming trends in the United States.
* Given Name Frequency Project - Analysis of long-term trends in given names in England and Wales. Includes downloadable datasets of names for persons interested in studying given name trends.
* U.S. Census Bureau: Distribution of Names Files Large ranked list of male and female given names in addition to last names.