The Culture of Naming Nwborns and Its Functions

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Introduction Naming of newborns is an issue that is rooted under cultural and geographical backgrounds, with different places having a strong history concerning it and a unique process of doing it. Although the naming process has changed in one way or another among different communities, there are some trends that still remain, which are important in an attempt to try to understand the naming process among various ethnic groups. In this research, I will focus on the different naming behaviours among the Asians and the westerners and establish whether there are similarities or differences between these two processes. I will also compare the naming of Asian children against those from western countries. Within this research, I will ensure that there is an analysis of the different aspects that are applied in the naming process in these different cultures. Background of the Research Many studies have been conducted in a bid to understand the cultural and geographical differences that influence the naming process among different communities (Alia 2008, p. 6). Within each of the studies, there has been considerable address of the issues that were in the past of great importance among different communities and the way the names have been changing with time, based on various the present-day trends (Norman 2003, p. 529). One of the significant findings in the studies conducted is based on the fact that many of the names that are given to newborns possess unique meanings and the different communities have made it part of a cultural practice to maintain this trend (Darlington 2011, p. 1). It has also been found out that some correlation exists between certain names and nature’s influences like time of the day when a child is born, pl... ... middle of paper ... ...es and cultures, viewed 5 November 2011, http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/useofnames.html Eickelman, DF 2002, The Middle East and Central Asia: An anthropological approach, Prentice Hall, Hoboken, NJ. Erfdeel, OS 2000, The low countries: Arts and society in Flanders and the Netherlands, a yearbook, Flemish-Netherlands Foundation "Stichting Ons Erfdeel, Amsterdam. Lee, JHX & Nadeau, KM 2011, Encyclopedia of Asian American folklore and folk life, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA. Lorenz, B 1998, Baby names of the Pacific and Asia, viewed 5 November 2011, http://www.heptune.com/ocnames.html Norman, T 2003, A world of baby names, Penguin, New York, NY. Pina-Cabral, J 2002, Between China and Europe: Person, culture, and emotion In Macao, Berg, New York, NY. Truman, J & Bradley, W 2005, Hello, my name is--: A guide to naming your baby, Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA.

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