Name Your Child the Traditional Way

Unless a child's name rings in your ear since who-knows-when, picking a name for your child can be a bit of a formidable task. There are books to consult, online name guides and helpful advice from family and friends. The ultimate decision rests with the parents or legal guardians.

Its not unusual after months of planning, that after seeing the baby, the name changes once again. Maybe the first name didn't suit the newborn. Not always, but in many parts of Europe, the traditional way of choosing the child's name was by honoring the grandparents, in hopes that someday the same honor would be offered them in return. More than likely, the favor / tradition was returned.

I suspect this was also done in the United States during the 50s and the 60s. While watching an episode of Mad Men, I noticed that Dan Draper's wife named their third child Gene after her father, which would make sense according to "the formula".

The Custom

The idea of descendants and ancestors is not a new idea. It was a matter of respect AND hopefully getting help with childcare. It also was a matter of continuing the line on both the male and female genders and hopefully receiving a piece of the family property upon the death of the grandparents.

First CHILD - MALE or FEMALE is named after the Paternal Grandparents.

Second Male or Female CHILD is named after the Maternal Grandparents.

This name can be the exact name of, or a derivative name of the Father's Mother or Father's Father / Mother's Father or Mother's Mother.

If the first and second child is the same sex, then the mother's parent's are in line.

A Few Examples:

My son, Blaž, the first child, was named after my husband's father, who incidentally had two names, Ante Blaž. (Ante is like Anthony, and Blaž is like the French Blaise - as in Pascal - or the Spanish Blas or Blasco.) Blaž's first cousins were also named for their grandfather, with alternative names chosen. The first was born in Holland and named Anton, and second was named Antonio.

The grandfather was given two names for a reason! The first of his two names was to honor his maternal grandfather, Ante, and the second name was chosen because he was born on the saint's day of Saint Blaž, (February 3rd) an important holiday observed in the Mediterranean.

The husband's parents are nearly always honored first, with exceptions being when a parent recently died or if one grandparent already has a slew of namesakes. But combinations are always possible. Double names like Ana Maria (one for each grandmother) or Ivan Pavao (John Paul) are certainly not unheard of.

I also know of cases where a young boy was named after a beloved grandma who died and so on. Everything is possible. The key issue here is Respect.

Now the wife has her say about the next round. Actually she most usually decides or vetoes the choice - but now her parents are the names in focus.

If the second child is a boy, then the mother's father can be honored. It can be his name or a variation of it. For example, if he is Pero, a common Croatian name, they can go with Peter or Pierre.

My friend chose Pedro, a Spanish name for her son, and that is all considered honorable and acceptable. The Grandfather (father's father's name) is also "Pero".

Incidentally, her name is Nikolina. The second daughter of the family, instead of being named after the mother's mother (as she could have been) she was named after her uncle, Nikola. She should have been named Klara after her maternal grandmother, but since she was not, she named her own daughter (first child) Lara, a derivation of Klara. Y'see?

When a family has four or more children, or they simply hate the names they have to work with, there is always Plan B. What is Plan B? Name the child after the beloved Aunt, Uncle, Godparent, Saint's Name and so on. A baby girl was named Lucia because she was born on St. Lucy at the beginning of December according to the Catholic calendar. Each day shows three or more saint's names and that is an option when the parents come up empty handed.

My aunt Sylvia was named after St. Silvester when she was born on New Year's Eve. The fourth of five children, they were running out of ideas, and besides, they liked the name :). It's not exactly strict, either. If there is a famous saint, like St. Valentine born in the general time frame "the day we left the hospital" "the day we checked in" "the day the baby was born" - or simply in the same month - that is all absolutely fine. The child may be named Valent, Valentina, Valco, Valerian, and so on ad infinitum.

Some families make a twist on the tradition. First child you pick, second child I pick the name...

My daughter, the second child, honored both grandmothers in that one and the other's names are represented in her name.

Named Jelena (pronounced YELENA), she honors my husband's mother Jelica (YELICA) and my mother Helen. Four letters of each grandmother's name is in her name, so both should be happy (and they are).