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Naming your baby

Many parents who decide to hold a special ceremony to celebrate the arrival of their baby opt for a Christening, as this also means they, or godparents depending on the faith, can make pledges to bring up their child in the faith of their church.

But often parents are drawn to baby naming ceremonies, for lots of different reasons: the family doesn’t have a close church affiliation, the parents are of two different religious cultures and don’t want to opt for one above the other, or for some reason they don’t want to include a religious element.

Arranging a Christening

Organising a Christening involves contacting the church and taking it from there. Some churches require you to take certain lessons or include godparents of a certain faith, but it is often at the priest or minister’s discretion so you will have to ask to find out what requirements you need to satisfy.

If you are not close to a certain church, look in the phone book for contact numbers for the minister or priest or contact local diocese offices for more information.

Arranging a baby naming ceremony

A baby naming ceremony doesn’t have to include any particular components, you can set it out in your own way.

Tips for creating your own ceremony

  • The most popular place to hold a ceremony is in your own home, although if you want to invite a large number of people you could look at hiring a room somewhere.
  • Make sure people know this is a party with a purpose, to ensure people arrive for the ceremony on time, rather than thinking they can just pop in, so that your ceremony goes ahead without interruption.
  • Just like a Christening, a baby naming ceremony does not replace the need to register your baby’s birth. This must be done within 21days of the birth in Scotland and 42 days in England and Wales.
  • The phrase godparents is not usually used in a baby naming ceremony, since the ceremony is not religious. Other options include: sponsor, mentor, supporter, supporting adult. Guardian sounds good but has legal connotations.
  • A ceremony can be led by a parent, a relative or a celebrant. The British Humanist Association has a network of celebrants who can help you set out a baby naming ceremony. Contact them on 020 7430 0908.

However you decide to celebrate your child’s naming, a script written out and with any readings copied into it can be placed in an album with photographs of the ceremony and party and make a wonderful memento of the day.

*Naming ceremony information courtesy of the British Humanist Association, from their guide to non-religious baby namings (costs £4, click here www.humanism.org.uk)

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