Baby Names

"What's your name"

A name is usually one of the first things you want to know about a person, and is one of the first questions one person asks another. A person's name is the word that distinguishes people from each other, and helps create individuals in a world populated with millions of people. Each person's name symbolizes that individual person, and forms recognition and a hint of the type of person he or she is. If a person has what other people perceive as a strong or beautiful name, other people will associate that person with strength, beauty or any other positive image that comes to mind, regardless of social status. The name of an individual plays a vital role in his or her identity. Without a name common everyday tasks such as working and getting paid, receiving correspondence, or even receiving a phone call would become quite difficult.

A baby name is a newborn's introduction to others when it comes into the world. Choosing a name by its meaning has been of societal importance for as long as one person has had to identify another. A name is a reference that one person may use to describe or relate a story about another person. Many people have had the experience of doing their best to describe one person to another with no luck, but then to mention a particular name, especially a memorable one, usually conjures up a recollection of the person.

First name origins of many babies often have to do with the last name (the sur-name, or name of that person's particular branch of their family tree) of the parents. Different cultures around the world put significance on particular names. Family heritages often play a large part in name selection. Persons of French, Italian or Spanish heritage often name their children with names reflecting those cultures. Baby girl names and baby boy names are at times a direct reflection of their parents' love of their cultural heritage or the life they have known and are proud of.

Some name givers have a love of cultures that aren't theirs by birth, myths that impress them, foods they love, or of Hollywood and its movie stars. Celebrity baby names make up a fairly large percentage of annual birth names.