{"id":2091,"date":"2022-02-25T12:36:43","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T12:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:03:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:03:38","slug":"introduction-to-naming-ceremonies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/2022\/02\/introduction-to-naming-ceremonies\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Naming Ceremonies"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What Naming Ceremonies are all about<\/h2>

A naming ceremony is a celebration of family and life. It\u2019s a lovely way for parents to celebrate or welcome a child or children into the family, usually inviting relations and friends to share in the occasion.<\/p>

The ceremony is an opportunity for you to announce the names that have been chosen for your child, but it means much more than that. As a parent you will make promises of commitment to your child as a way of saying that you will be as good a parent as possible. Friends or relatives, chosen by you, can take part in the ceremony as \u2018Supporting Adults\u2019 who will pledge a special relationship with the child.\u00a0 There is also the option for grandparents to take part as well, if you choose.<\/p>

The ceremony is put together by you. As you go through the choices and select how you want your ceremony, you will be creating a unique event that you and all your guests will remember.<\/p>

Who are they for?<\/h2>

Children of any age can have a naming ceremony \u2013 they are not just for babies.\u00a0\u00a0 Anyone who has legal guardianship of the child can arrange a naming ceremony.<\/p>

We can also create a ceremony for someone who has recently received their gender recognition certificate and wishes to celebrate the occasion.<\/p>

Where can you hold a Naming Ceremony?<\/h2>

Naming ceremonies can be held wherever you like, as long as your Registrar is comfortable with your choice. These can be in the registration office, at a hotel or even in your own home.\u00a0\u00a0 Check out our website for a list of current\u00a0venues<\/a> speak to your registrar if you have another location in mind.<\/p>

How to get the best out of your ceremony<\/h2>

Think carefully about the promises you wish to make to your child and, if appropriate, discuss these with your partner or family.<\/p>

  • Choose your Supporting Adults with care.<\/p><\/li>

  • Ask grandparents if they would like to be involved. They are likely to be important people in the child\u2019s life.<\/p><\/li>

  • Remember absent family or friends and mention them in the ceremony.<\/p><\/li>

  • You can also explain the reason behind the name you have chosen.<\/p><\/li>

  • You may decide to give your child a special gift during the ceremony to mark the occasion<\/p><\/li>

  • Consider having music for your guests as they are being seated.\u00a0<\/p><\/li>

  • You may ask a family member or even your Registrar to deliver a reading or poem.\u00a0<\/p><\/li>

  • You can also consider making your ceremony unique by including ceremony enhancements such as candle ceremony, flower ceremony or even plant a tree if your ceremony is at home.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

    What Naming Ceremonies are not.<\/h2>

    Naming ceremonies are optional \u2013 they are not legal ceremonies and must not be confused with birth registration, which all parents are required to do by law. Naming ceremonies, and any written record of the event, cannot be used for identification purposes and are not legally binding on those that participate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What Naming Ceremonies are all about A naming ceremony is a celebration of family and life. It\u2019s a lovely way for parents to celebrate or welcome a child or children into the family, usually inviting relations and friends to share in the occasion. The ceremony is an opportunity for you to announce the names that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ceremonies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2091"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10732,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions\/10732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}