The Importance of naming a child

What does a name say about the namer? A divorce case was in the news recently, that involved a young girl with an unfortunate name. The girl, aged 9, was made a ward of the court until she could change her name. In his ruling, the judge said: "The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgement which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name. It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and a handicap, unnecessarily. She fears being mocked and teased, and in that she has a greater level of insight than either of her parents."

Now, of course we don’t have the whole picture. There might have been many other issues that came up in the proceedings. But, something must have alerted the judge for the parents to have had their parental rights challenged. Yet, raising a child is about being a responsible parent.

Naming the child is part of your responsibility as parent. Naming conveys your love and belief in your child, and in yourself. In the process of naming a child you are welcoming a new person into the world. Your world! Although we don’t necessarily understand the significance of names, many other other cultures do. In these cultures there are still ceremonies performed to give children a name. These ceremonies are a way to honor the child and welcome him/her into the community. Some of them even include methods for naming the child.