Having a Naming Ceremony is a wonderful idea to introduce a new baby into the family. It is a meaningful and unique celebration for all concerned where the child is named in front of family and friends.

‘Susan – a big thank-you for making it so special!’

Time to Celebrate

A ceremony that I conducted recently, was a celebration to welcome the new baby and his family back to England from another country, in this case, Australia. Only the immediate family had spent time with him abroad and this was an opportunity for everyone to meet up and renew family links and for the other children to get to know their cousin or family friend.

”The ceremony was beautiful!‘

The Celebrant and the Family together create the ideal ceremony

The creation of a ceremony is a joint effort. I work closely with the parents to ensure that they are happy with the script and that we all see the whole ceremony as a collaboration between us all. I furnish the family with a questionnaire including questions about the child, his position in the family, his character, his pregnancy and birth and the dreams and aspirations his family hold for his future. We then discuss the type of ceremony they want and the venue and how it will be dressed. We talk about music, poetry and readings and gradually through a process of knowing what they don’t want as well as what they do want , this truly personalised ceremony starts to take shape. This could happen over a few days or weeks, sometimes months depending on the timeframe.

‘Great advice and ideas! ‘

This is a responsible time for parents and other members of the family such as the grandparents, guardians/guideparents and sisters and brothers. For this particular ceremony, the grandparents, who live in England, had organised the celebration and had met with myself on a number of occasions to share the family’s wishes and ideas and I had created it with their blessing.

The Role of the Parents and of the Guardians

The family normally choose a number of guardians or guideparents for the baby. They will make promises to care for and support the children alongside their parents. In this case, the baby’s aunt was one of his guardians as was a very good family friend who had come over for the occasion from Canada. This was in addition to the parents who had chosen to declare their love and their commitment to their child through personalised promises and hopes for his future life.

Involving the Rest of the Family

Other siblings could be involved in the ceremony depending on their age. They could sing, read a poem or play a musical piece. In this case, as she was quite young and in a strange environment, the baby’s sister sat and enjoyed the ceremony with her grandparents and at the end she came up and was very happy to be photographed with her mum and dad and baby brother.

Other types of Naming or Welcoming Ceremonies

Sometimes a family will take the opportunity to celebrate the Naming of more than one child and have a ceremony for two or more children. Again if they are older they may take a more central role in the ceremony, singing a song, reading some words or a poem about the special event.

A Naming ceremony may take place to welcome an adopted child into a family. Or if two people have or are going to get married they might decide to have a joint Wedding and Naming ceremony to demonstrate the blending together of two families into one.

Special Moments During the Ceremony

As part of the ceremony , the family may choose to light candles to demonstrate their love for their baby or family members can enjoy taking part in a Sand ceremony where different colours of sand are mixed together in a glass container to demonstrate the coming together of the new family. There are other rituals such as preparing a Time Capsule for the baby’s 18th birthday or having a Memories Book which would include a photo of each of the guests at the celebration and alongside it a personal message for the baby. There are so many ideas to choose from.

‘You were very helpful and friendly!

These ceremonies can be performed in a venue or at home as an expression of love and togetherness. Inside or outside; in a private garden or in the grounds of a venue. They can be at the weekend or during the week , the couple can choose what suits them best depending on their lifestyle, their location and whether family and friends are local or further afield.

‘Everyone had a fabulous time too!’

My role as a Celebrant is to create a unique and personalised ceremony that each family will enjoy and remember with fondness.

‘We could not have wished for a better Naming ceremony!
Once again, many thanks!’