While we may have been told our entire lives that name-calling was a no-no, naming is a serious responsibility and a special opportunity. How are names chosen? Though most people I know use names they were born with or chose at marriage, I have met some people who chose an “American” name for school or business in the United States. There are books and websites devoted to baby names. Even the Social Security Administration has gotten in on the game with a baby naming quiz.

In the U.S.,  “Mary” and “John” were the most popular girl and boy names in 1916, according to the SSA. In 1966 the names “Lisa” and “Michael” topped the list. My given name is a mouthful, so I am wowed by the rare person who gets it right on the first try. Though close, there is a difference between the name “Bernadette” and my name. To further confound things, the name “Pleas” rhymes with “fez,” not with “fees.” I asked my parents once why they hadn’t given my siblings and me “normal” names. My father told me that since our last name was pretty plain, he wanted to give each of us distinctive first names.

Naming traditions vary by culture. Some families simply name their firstborn sons after themselves, or a parent might choose to honor an elder or ancestor by passing down a first or family name to a child. On the TV show “Gilmore Girls,” a main character named Rory had been named after her mother, Lorelei–who had been named after her mother! Or, as in the case of my youngest child, we simply picked the name we liked the most after narrowing it from a list we’d made.

In the Sikh faith, a newborn’s family visits the temple. There, they choose a name for the baby using the first letter of the the first word of a hymn selected at random by a priest, add the traditional surname for the baby’s gender, then announce the name of their precious child to the rest of the faith community.

In the Yoruba culture, the extended family of an 8-day-old newborn is invited to gather for a naming ceremony. At that time, all present loved ones who would like to select a name for the baby may add money to a bowl, tell everyone the name, and the so the baby is named. At the end of the ceremony the baby can have many names.

Many comedians make fun of the unique names some celebrities have given their offspring. Today names are are more likely to be influenced by pop culture than by The Bible. As a child I was frustrated because I never found my name on one of those souvenirs on a rack, but now I am grateful for my name. No matter the origins, I believe that most of us are fortunate to have families and communities lovingly select the name that they feel will give us a good start in life. Living up to the name–or names–we’ve been given is not a burden, it’s a gift for us use to the best of our abilities.

The video below is the SSA’s countdown of the ten most popular baby names of 2015. What’s the story behind your name? I’d love to hear it!