Choosing a name for your new baby can be an extremely stressful decision to make. Added to this is the responsibility that if you get it wrong your little one will be stuck with this name for the rest of their life. But what is a given name and is it the same as a first name?
What Does Given Name Mean?
A given name is another term used for a first name. It is a personal name that is given to every baby born. Parents often choose a first name for their baby based on its meaning or it may be a name that is passed down through the generations of a family.
First Name Origins
First names have been used by humans for centuries and are often derived from ordinary words. They are given by the person who will be responsible for that child, usually a parent or caregiver.
The naming of a child is an important occasion that for years was marked by some sort of ritual or celebration. In recent years, this has become a less common tradition in many families.
Types of Given Names
You may believe that a name is a name and that you don’t really have types of names. But the truth is that most names today fall into one of four types as listed below.
Incident Names
These types of names are common throughout different cultures and even our history. Incident names are given to children based on the circumstances, time, or type of pregnancy the mother has had.
Children have been named April, and Christmas representing an incident name. But these names can also come about from the names of certain saints due to the day the child is born on.
Descriptive Names
Descriptive names were once common practice in that they described a person’s physical appearance. But it is not easy to determine a baby’s physical appearance as they grow and change so quickly.
Becoming a parent very often gives us a huge sense of pride in our new baby and this can lead to names such as Callias which means beautiful in Greek.
Good or Auspicious Names
Parents want to give their children the best possible start in life and this often begins with giving them a name that is auspicious. It may be a name that is seen as a dedication to a God.
Names such as John from Hebrew which means God is gracious, Theodore from Greek meaning gift of God, and names that begin with Os such as Oswald or Oscar come from the Germanic word for deity.
Name From Sounds
Manufacturing a baby name from sounds, letters, or splicing other common names to make a new one has no doubt been around for centuries. But this became a much more common practice in the late 20th century.
This manufacturing of names brought about the birth of names such as Jaxxon, Paityn, Bexley, and many others.
What’s The Difference Between a Given Name and a First Name?
There is no difference between a given name and a first name they are just simply different terms. But some people may lump a first name and middle name together and class these as a child’s given names. A child’s given or first name comes before their family name in most countries but there are exceptions.
In countries such as Japan and Hungary, the family name comes first and the child’s given or first names come after this. This is also the case in China.
Given Name Meanings
Most parents choose their childs name carefully, taking into account the meaning as well as considering any translation of the word. At the end of the day, you don’t want to find out that your child’s beautiful name means ‘hotdog’ in another language.
Here are some of the names we have looked at in depth, providing you with their origin and meanings.
| Name | Meaning Of Name |
| Mia | In Spanish and Italian it means ‘mine’. |
| Maria | A form of Mary and means bitter. |
| Aria | Means melody or song. |
| Nova | Means new. |
| Lauren | Means wisdom and victory. |
| Ophelia | The name means help or sid. |
| James | Means supplanter or substitute. |
| Evan | The name means the Lord is gracious. |
| Benjamin | Son of the right hand. |
| Silas | Means of the forest or prayed for. |
| Levi | Means joined or united. |
What’s in a First or Given Name
Throughout history given names have evolved and changed but it is still considered a stressful and important job that parents take very seriously.
Whether you choose to call it a given name or a first name there really is no difference. But what is special about your chosen name is that it has meaning for you and your family. AS well as being the perfect choice for your little one.