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Cultural Baby Names

Using Family History to Name Baby

By Teri Brown

The search for the perfect baby name leads parents to considering their history, the names of celebrities, famous writers and their characters and even names from hit television shows. Meanings, popularity and spelling all come into play as the search progresses. Another idea gaining momentum is giving your child a name derived from the family's culture.

Cecille Hansen from Seattle, Wash., and her husband knew they wanted a name that came from their Scandinavian culture. "When we were expecting, my husband was very clear about wanting a Scandinavian name for our daughter," Hansen says. "He is half Swedish and half Norwegian. It was important to him because he has always been proud of his Scandinavian heritage."

When looking for names, Hansen and her husband turned to the Internet. "He printed off lists from the Internet, and I went over them, circling names I liked and crossing off the names that no way would I saddle a child with," Hansen says. "Some Scandinavian names sound really weird to American ears. He then looked at what I'd marked and announced that he, too, liked Elsa, and that was that. Very easy."

Marcia Layton Turner, a former Wellesley Sociology major and the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to 40,000 Baby Names (Alpha Publishing 2008), believes that naming a baby for the family's cultural heritage is a way to make a connection. "In many cases, the parents' choice of names also reflects their social aspirations for their child," Turner says. "Giving a child a traditional name may be seen by the parents as a way to ensure they will be 'accepted.' Giving an unusual name can help them stand out. And giving them a multicultural name will associate them within the cultural group from which the name originates."

Want to see more?

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