In the US, it’s common for sons to be named after their fathers (though not always). Often people will give middle names to honor a grandparent… sometimes first names too. For Jewish people, they use the first initial of a relative in naming their children. So if you’re naming the child after a grandfather named Jake, the son might be named Jason.
My husband and I gave our children middle names in memory of our grandparents.
Lin Fadelan told me an interesting custom in Indonesia: "In Indonesia, it is common for a woman to be called by her daughter or son’s name. For instance, my mother was called Mama Lin. Actually until now our old neighbors still call her Mama Lin. :D It seems that a woman’s identity ‘disappears’ in her own neighborhood as she’s getting married. But actually we simply see it as a recognition of her motherhood achievement."
Feel free to share any customs for naming children – or customs related to children – in your country, in the comments below.
Thanks for sharing that custom with us Lin!
-Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Baby Naming, Countries & Cultures, Customs and Traditions, Indonesia, Nicknames, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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