Personal name facts for kids

A personal name is a special word or set of words that helps identify a single person. Think of it like a unique label just for you! It's a proper name, which means it's always capitalized. Most personal names include a given name (like your first name) and a surname (like your last name).

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important agreement that says every child has the right to a name from the moment they are born.

How Names Are Put Together

The way names are structured often depends on culture and can change over time. Different parts of the world have different rules for how names are formed.

Common Parts of a Name

Here are some common parts you might find in a person's full name:

• Given Name: This is the name you get at birth, often called a first name. In many Western cultures, it comes before the family name. Other cultures might place it after or not use a family name at all.
• Patronymic: This is a surname that comes from the father's given name. For example, if your father's name was John, your patronymic might be Johnson.
• Matronymic: This is a surname that comes from the mother's given name.
• Family Name: Also known as a surname or last name, this name is shared by all members of a family. In Europe, family names became common at different times. For instance, in France, priests were required to write surnames in baptism records by 1539. However, in countries like Norway, surnames weren't required until the 20th century (1923). Iceland still doesn't use surnames for its native people.
• Middle Name: Many people have a middle name. It can be an extra name, a way to honor an ancestor or relative, or sometimes a mother's maiden name. Some Catholic families choose a saint's name as a middle name, or a child might choose one during their confirmation. In countries like Brazil, the middle name is often the mother's family name.

Names for Privacy

Some people, called anonyms, choose to be anonymous. This means they hide their real names. They might do this if they are worried about being judged or facing problems because of their work or actions. Another way to hide one's identity is to use a pseudonym, which is a made-up name.

Sometimes, a person is known by just one name. For example, Teller, from the magic duo Penn and Teller, legally changed his name to just "Teller."

Cultural Meanings of Names

In some cultures, names have deep spiritual or traditional meanings:

• The Inuit people believe that the souls of people with the same name are connected. They often refer to younger people with the same name by a kinship title.
• In Judaism, a person's name is closely linked to their future. Adding a name, especially when someone is sick, is sometimes believed to help prevent danger. Among Ashkenazi Jews, it's thought to be bad luck to name a child after a living ancestor.
• In China, children were sometimes given names that sounded unimportant to trick evil spirits into thinking they weren't worth bothering. They would receive a more formal name as they grew older.
• Chinese and Japanese emperors often received special names after they passed away, called posthumous names.
• In some Polynesian cultures, the name of a deceased chief became taboo. If the chief's name was also a common word, a different word had to be used for that object or concept.

How Names Are Ordered

Since a name can have several parts, the order of those parts is important.

Eastern vs. Western Order

• Eastern Order: This order places the family name first, followed by the given name (Family Name - Given Name). It's used in countries like Hungary, parts of Africa, and East Asia (such as mainland China, Japan, Korea, Malaysian Chinese, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam).
• Western Order: This order places the given name first, followed by the family name (Given Name - Family Name). It's commonly used in most European countries and in places influenced by Western culture, like North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. When these names are listed, the family name is often put first, separated by a comma (e.g., Smith, John).

Names in Different Languages

When East Asian names are written using the Latin alphabet, sometimes they are changed to the Western order. Other times, they stay in Eastern order, but the family name is written in capital letters to avoid confusion. For example, Koizumi Jun'ichirō from Japan is known as Junichiro Koizumi in English, with his name switched to Western order. However, historical figures like Máo Zédōng are usually kept in Eastern order and known as Mao Zedong.

Names of Japanese or Chinese sportspeople often follow these rules. For instance, Ichiro Suzuki is known by his given name first in Western countries, even though his Japanese name is Suzuki Ichirō.

Korean sportspeople's names might be in Eastern or Western order depending on the sport. For example, Korean football players often keep their names in Eastern order (e.g., Ahn Jung-hwan). However, Baseball players and Golfers often have their names switched to Western order (e.g., Chan-ho Park instead of Park Chan-Ho). If you see a hyphen connecting two words, those words usually make up the given name.

Names for Animals and Plants

Besides scientific names, humans often give individual animals and plants personal names. These names are usually given out of affection.

Pet Names

The names we give our pets often show how we feel about them and what we expect from them. Giving a pet a name can make us see them as more than just an animal.

Some common reasons people choose pet names include:

• What the animal looks like.
• The animal's personality.
• Showing Endearment or love.
• Naming them after favorite celebrities.

Many pet owners give their pets human names. This often shows that they have a very human-like relationship with their pet.

Related pages

• Family name
• Posthumous name
• Regnal name

Images for kids

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  First/given, middle and last/family/surname with John Fitzgerald Kennedy as an example. This shows a common structure in English-speaking countries. Other cultures use different structures for full names.

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  Haruko Momoi at the Anime Expo 2007 in Los Angeles; her name card shows her name ("Halko Momoi") written in Western order. In Japanese, her name is Momoi Haruko (桃井はるこ), written in Eastern order.