History of Baby Names

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By: GranMamma

The history of names is so ancient that no one know quite where it
began. Oral and written history both profess people having names.
Earlier names seem to have some sort of meaning, usually descriptive.
In contrast, today's names are usually given based upon their
popularity or pleasing sounds.

Early in prehistory, descriptive names were used continuously.
Eventually, a collection of names were formed that identified that
particular culture. Today, the meanings of many names are not known,
due to the aging history of a name. As time goes on, languages change,
and words that formed the original name are often unrecognizable.

The rise in Christianity transformed the history of names.
Christians were encouraged to name their children after saints and
martyrs of the church. Because of this influence, we now see names such
as Mary, Martha, Joseph, James, Mark, Paul, and John prominent among
many cultures. These names were spread by early missionaries throughout
Europe.

By the Middle Ages, Christian names were seen predominantly.
Each culture had its collection of names, which were a combination of
native and early Christian names. However, the naming pools continued
to evolve. Modern names often bear little resemblance of their
predecessors. Surprisingly, the early Christian names changed very
little in comparison.

Bynames are additional identifiers used to distinguish two
people with the same name. From these bynames, surnames were developed.
Surnames are a comparatively recent development. These usually started
out as being specific to a person and then became inherited from father
to son. This was a common practice between the twelfth and sixteenth
century. This practice was adopted first by the aristocracy and later
on by the peasants. Bynames came in various types. The patronymic
referred to the father, a matronymic referred to the mother, a locative
or toponymic indicated where a person was from,and an epithet described
the person in some way ( such as their occupation, office, or status).

Patronymics are common in almost all European cultures. For
example, a man named Ivan whose father’s name is Nikolay would be
know as Ivan Nikolayevich or “Ivan, son of Nikolay”. In Gaelic, the
prefix Mac is used to form a patronym. An example would be MacKenzie -
son of Kenneth. The use of the matronymic is much less common.

Common occupational names included Baker, Shepherd, Carpenter, and Wright.

The Romans adopted surnames as far back as 2,000 years ago,
while other areas of the world were slower to begin using surnames.
However, by the Middle Ages, they were used regularly, first by the
nobility and then by the gentry. Following the fall of the Roman
Empire, Ireland was one of the first countries to adopt surnames. These
Irish surnames are found as early as the tenth century.

Today's names are influenced by celebrities, common popular names, and biblical names.

GranMamma is the webmaster at the Baby Names Box
- Where you can explore over 6,000 baby names and their meanings.
Sub-categories include Disney ,J.R. Tolkien names, Fantasy and Folklore
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