Genealogy Blog 

In the past, we often chose first names for their sentimental connections or in the name of family tradition. While this is not a negative thing in and of itself, sometimes it means making a choice based on family tradition rather than your own wishes.

- Is it really necessary to name every oldest son François for multiple generations? This can become a family obligation and becomes even more complicated when the oldest child is a daughter instead of a son, and the name becomes Françoise simply for the sake of conforming to tradition.

- Is it necessary to satisfy our parents, even when we would choose another name, by giving our child the family name of Louis or Suzanne as their second names in honor of our father or mother, respectively?

- Is it necessary to give our daughter the first names of her two grandmothers when they do not care for each other and don't get along?

When we name a child, we are conferring upon it, whether consciously or not, a series of characteristics and qualities we hope they will have.
For instance, the star of our family is Aunt Brigitte who joined the Carmelite sisterhood. By naming our daughter for her, we are hoping she will be wise, pious and saintly, instead of mischievous, curious and adventurous. In fact, we are hoping to recreate the family legend and hoping to create a better relationship with our loved ones by continuing a family tradition by using a name which is so loved by the family. In another example; by naming our son Victor for his grandfather, who was glorified by the family for his world travels and military feats, we are implicitly expecting our little son to reproduce those values extolled by the family. Nevertheless, in spite of these wishes on our part, our son may grow to be a gentle artistic person who will feel misunderstood as a consequence of his parents' and family's expectations based on who he was named for.
In other cases, the first name selected for a child may have nothing to do with family tradition. In some cases, we choose names based on other criteria, which may be as much of an emotional selection as choosing a name based on family tradition.
For instance, we may name our daughter Isabelle for a friend we had in class who had all the qualities we dreamed our daughter would possess and we hope, for our own satisfaction, that our child will have these qualities.
We may also name our children after characters in novels, plays or for famous personalities. I doubt that all the little Zineddines or Zidanes, given these names following the Football World Cup won by France, will have a talent for football, but one can bet that their parents may be deeply disappointed if that is not the case. Failing to live up to one's parents' expectations is often uncomfortable for a child.

It is important to be aware, as well, of the difficulty that may evolve from feminizing masculine names, such as Michèle, Pierrette, Bernadette, when we expected to meet Michel, Pierre and Bernard.
It is also important to be careful with names that are androgynous, or do not convey a definite identification as to whether a child is male or female, such as Dominique or Camille in France, or Terry or Cary in the United States. This can lead to personal and professional confusion when they are adults, with colleagues wondering whether a person is a Mr. or Mrs.?
It is also important to pay attention to the initials that will be formed by the selection of a name.

One is branded with one's first name for a lifetime, and it is important to take into account how that name will be worn, what the child will be subjected to in the way of expectations from the family as well as the expectations of society as they go through life.