Culture Focus – Names

English names follow a typically Western naming convention: first name, middle name, and last name. A child is given his name at birth, which is recorded with the hospital and county before the child goes home from the hospital. In olden days when babies were born at home, the official name registration was more likely to done at the time of the child’s christening, or baptism, which was generally held sometime during the child’s first month.

The first name is also called the given name, since it is the name given to the child at birth by the parents. Middle names are also typically given to a child, but they are seldom used except in official documents. Also, since parents usually use a child’s full name (first, middle, last) when reprimanding the child, most people associate the use of the full name with getting in trouble. The last name (also known as family name or surname) comes from the father. Girls have their father’s name until they are married, at which time they generally give it up and assume their husband’s family name. For this reason, we speak of a woman’s maiden name (the name she had before she married) and her married name.

Typical boys’ names (with shorter versions in parentheses) are: John, David (Dave), Michael (Mike), Mark, Stephen (Steve), Robert (Bob, Rob), Timothy (Tim), Bradley (Brad), William (Will, Bill), and Thomas (Tom). Typical girls’ names are: Mary, Diane (Diana), Cheryl (Sherry, Sheri), Sarah, Julia (Julie), Ann, Nancy, Deborah (Debby, Deb), Barbara (Barb), and Carol. According to the Social Security website, the top ten baby names for boys and girls in 2006 are:

Boys:
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Joshua
4. Ethan
5. Matthew
6. Daniel
7. Christopher
8. Andrew
9. Anthony
10. William

Girls:
1. Emily
2. Emma
3. Madison
4. Isabella
5. Ava
6. Abigail
7. Olivia
8. Hannah
9. Sophia
10. Samantha