Do you find it annoying that many Greeks are expected to name their children after their grandparents ?

Question

This is a long Greek tradition that has resulted in half of Greece to be named George, Nick, Kostas & John. Do you think its right for someone to name their child after their grandpa/ma just out of tradition and eventhough that name would sound too simple/plain/ugly..etc.. ?

Answer 1

I'm Greek and i'm not going to name my children after my grandparents or any close relatives..!!I want to find an unusual name!!:P

Anyways,ppl can do whatever they want,although i don't like this whole thing,like for example my mother wants me to name my child(when i have one :P) after my uncle..!!

Of course i'm not going to do this,i don't follow traditions like this!!!

Answer 2

Now I wish I did...

Answer 3

Well, Greeks have close-knit families, so we tend to honour our parents and grandparents by doing so. If the name of a relative is nice and both parents like it and agree to choosing it for their child, it's ok. If the name is not nice and the parents don't like it, there's no reason for choosing it. There are many Greek grandparents who don't want their grandchildren to be named after them if their names don't sound nice.

It's really up to the parents. There's no reason for choosing a difficult or ugly-sounding name, but if the name of a grandparent is nice, why not choose it and honour a beloved person at the same time?

Answer 4

WE do honour our parents.usally a boy and girl.sequnce.al though i have come across familys that name thier second son or daughter after thier spouses parents..and it does become a bit stiffle.but to me it depends on the couple..now days most couples will try to shorten or name thier kids on a more fashionable status..which is pathetic i think..i rather name my kids .names that have essence of historical.themes or ancient names...my name for instance...(thank god) comes from the byzantine era..which i adore and love..which was what my grandfather was named too...what you cant do to my name is shorten it ..even if you do it dosent make sense it become meaninless.for instance my dads name is KOSTANDINOS.. we all say kosta  to shorten it...i think that where aname loses its value.any name your shorten has no idenification of its original meanign and value..i guess or i presume this is what barbie is trying to say..about be plain and simple..at leasti hope so.. now whether its right to name thier kids after thier parents is realy up to them..how ever  i think as we get older we should each have a right to rename our selves if you dont like your name..not so much your baptized name..but your everyday name.the baptized name should stay that way. but we should be able to have a choice for a civil name...but its not some thing you cant do today..you only have to change your name by deed poll.legaly nothing says you cant change your name as long as its done legaly for the sake of legalitys..usally its an inform to the public if they have any dealings with you can stop them from changign thier name or clear up the dealings with you before they do change thier name.apart from my own name..the 2 most beautifull names in greek to me are ..and they both ancient names... IS...TELEMARCHOUS...and ANDROMACHIE........  odeseyus son and hectors wife... names..

Answer 5

It doesn't bother me.  I have a lot of friends over there and actually they have different names of than the ones you listed..lol.   In the states we have Jr, III, IV, etc so whats the difference?

Answer 6

It's a status symbol among older people. If your chidren name their children after you, they either really love you, or you are loaded.

Marriages have been known to break up over this.

If I had a kid, I would name it whatever I d**n well want.

Answer 7

It's tradition and nowadays not everyone does it - especially if  there's already one in the family, I know lots that haven't carried on this tradition (inc myself) for various reasons. My reason being that the English side could not say my mother-in-law's name,  (plus it's harsh sounding and does not fit a little girl) I needed a name which was easy for UK as well , I chose Natalia and not Arkondia. She agreed for us to use it as a second name - so she's Natalia-Arkondia.

I think this tradition is better than making up names like other countries do - the kids are stuck with some awful sounding names ..... I mean poor Nichole Kidman's kid will be destined to be called 'Sunday Roast' instead of Sunday Rose!

Answer 8

Isn't that tradiion in Greece and Italy from religion, because they're religious places?... Greece has a lot of male names by comparison to Italy, which has "Peter" and "Paul."

On the bright side, if you're in the Mediterranean you can usually tell whether someone is Greek or Italian by their first name

If you are considering naming your kid something different, though, I say go for it. You said only half of greece has those 4 names, so if you put your kid on the other half they won't be on an outnumbered team. If you tip the scales toward the Non-George-Nick-Kostas-or-John side, the georges-nicks-kostases-and-johns will be in the minority.

Answer 9

My name is John, and I am named after Papou!  The only repercussions I have had were I received some of his bills when I was three years old, and going to his funeral was strange - his (and by extension, my) name was everywhere.  Imagine attending a funeral in which your name is on EVERYTHING!

Answer 10

I'm not sure... I'm Greek and I was named after my grandmother, whose name was quite common and somewhat old-fashioned. When I was a child I didn't like it (I love the ancient names and I thought mine was too boring :) ), but after losing my grandmother, I have begun to like it because it reminds me of her. I find it nice now...

Somebody said that people name their children after their parents in order to show their love or that they are rich, I'm not sure I agree. I think it is a widespread custom, but it's true that more people are refusing to follow it now. On the other hand, maybe this is a good thing, because, as you said, in this way the beautiful names are not forgotten... I'm not sure.

Answer 11

it's very very nice tradition

Answer 12

No ,I don't find it annoying -all the time-

People do this to honour their parents...I took the name of my grand-grand mother....She died when she gave birth her last child,and she was a great woman....

Although i found it silly someone to name his children,when his parents,ancestors  where not "good parents" ,or have a funny-ugly name :P.....Its harsh what i say,but is my point of view......

We are four kids in my family,my 1st bro was named after my grandfather,my 2nd bro after my mom's uncle who killed iin accident,and my last after my other grand-grand father who was killed into the war.

For our family is a matter of honouring and not as a matter of tradition.....:)

Answer 13

Some people think it's annoying but in my opinion l think it's good because many ancient names apart from the normal names ( George - Kostas - Maria etc) stayed "alive" and in use. For example my family has transfered many ancient names, such as Zinon, Polyxeni, Isokratis, Socrates, Efimia, Theofano, Theodwra,  Kleisthenis etc. I think it's great, it's a living history and especially in small societies you can guess the family tree!

Answer 14

I don't like this at all! We have so many beautiful names that could be given to Children especially the ancient names and this would result in not every kid be named George or i dunno what! My mother wanted to name me Alkmini or Hlektra but unfortunately i was given the name of my grandmother! The result is that above ten girls at my school had the same name as me! It is also bothering when the grandparents oblige the parents to follow the tradition and they are offended if their kids don't do so.

Finally, i really don't understand this tradition! The "history" of one family is passed on through the last name anyway!

Answer 15

im named after my great grandfathers , and my names are kind of plain or normal or traditional ...

im glad my name is not ammonium star flower , or some c**p like that

Answer 16

yeah i think its not fair to expect to name your kids after there grandparents..but tradition is tradition

Answer 17

I am Greek, so let me tell you about my tradition.

I am from a family of myself and a little brother. I am a male as-well, I am also older. My name is Alex, and I was named after Alexander the Great, he was a saint.

For us Greeks, a saint is somebody who is mentioned in the Bible that did something spectacular and then died for it, but died because they listened to God's word. They do not become a saint until dead. And if you see a Greek saying Today is my Name Day... that means, the saint they are named after did something spectacular that day, thousands of years ago.

My name day is in August, the day when Alexander the Great killed a Snake.

Also, my little brother, George, was named after three people. My Mothers, father.... my mothers, father's, father. And Saint George... who has slain the Dragon.

Now, a Greek can name their child after their Parents, or their Grandparents, a Saint, or an important person. My brother fell into each one.

My mothers parents were a big role in my mothers life, and they knew if their second child was a boy, they would name it after my grandfather, and if it was a girl, after the grandmother.

George is also a name that is very common in Greece, we have tons of Georges in our Family. So he was named after  his Great Grandfather as-well... and after Saint George.

I hope I somewhat changed your thought on our naming system. Although, you can name your child what you want, it is frowned upon. There was really no reason for me to be an Alex other then the Saint. There are no Alex's in our Family, or anybody named Alex who has helped our Family through thick and thin.

Answer 18

i have four cousins with the first and last name the same.  crazy country.

Answer 19

My mum named me Andri , and my grandma is named Andri and I don't think that there is nothing wrong with it it is just a tradition and you can't change it now anyway.

And what has this question to do with traveling?

Answer 20

i like it and when i get married i want to have a 'big fat greek wedding' and get married to a greek man and name our children, the way i was named, his mother's and fther's names will be our first born daughter and son's name

my name is eleni and my brothers name is paris b/c my dad's mom is named eleni and my dad's dad is named paris and the 2nd or more daughter or son will usually have just a greek name

i love that tradition and hope to follow it