Baby Naming

A Naming Ceremony is a celebration of family and life. It will include officially naming your child and declarations of promises and commitments from parents and other significant members of the family. In the ceremony you can also include readings, tributes and music.

Humanists perform a naming ceremony as a non-religious alternative to ceremonies such as Christening. The purpose is to recognise and celebrate the arrival of a child and welcome him or her in the family and circle of friends. As I’m an independent celebrant, Celebrated Ceremonies feature as much or as little of faith traditions as you choose. We are not affiliated to any religion or the British Humanist Society so don’t have to follow any rules.

Whilst being trained to perform traditional Christian baptisms, many modern families choose ceremonies without formal religious references. Parents will naturally like to present their son or daughter to friends and family so as to celebrate their entrance into the world in a unique way. Short prayers and/ or blessings can be incorporated if you wish; you may prefer poems or even songs specially written to children’s nursery rhymes or melodies such as “Old Macdonald”!

In your Celebrated Naming Ceremony, you may wish to appoint “spiritual guardians” to play a special role in the child’s life as they grow. In a church setting, such role models are called “godparents” and might be family members or good friends of the couple. This term can still be used in non religious ceremonies. Some of the more unusual alternative Godparent names that Celebrants have come across in naming ceremonies are “Sparent”, “Odd-Parent” and even “God-less-Parent”! This is just one of the many matters for discussion with me in planning for a Celebrated Ceremony- tailored to you and your family.