Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
LessMore
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Is a given name always the first name?
No. In much of East Asia the family name is written first. “Given” means bestowed, not left-to-right order.
Where can I see how common a given name is?
SSA (U.S. from 1880), ONS (England and Wales) and Statistics Korea publish counts. Always keep the year on the citation.
Do given names show race or class?
They can be used as signals. Bertrand and Mullainathan showed U.S. employers treating forenames as racial cues on otherwise identical résumés.
What is a generation given name?
In Chinese practice a shared character marks a sibling or cousin cohort. Korean 돌림자 is a related kin design — description, not fortune-telling.
Can a country ban a given name?
Yes. Iceland’s committee, German Namensrecht and Japan’s kanji lists all constrain what may be filed.
Are middle names given names too?
Usually yes — additional given names. Some systems treat them as optional; others expect several.
Craft is knowing which given name is legal, which is spoken, and which chart you are looking at.
If a site offers a lucky stroke count for the forename, close the tab.
Steps
- 1Confirm the slot
Which part is given, which is family, which is generation.
Do not assume Western order.
- 2Check the list
Saints, jinmeiyō, Icelandic register, family poem.
Constraints first, vibes second.
- 3Open a dated file
SSA, ONS or KOSTAT for a named year if popularity matters to you.
No unsourced live #1.
- 4Say the full stack
Given + surnames + suffixes as they will be called at school.
Rhythm matters.
- 5Plan middle names
They can honour kin without becoming the daily shout.
Or they become the escape hatch.
- 6Record the used form
Tell the school which given name to say.
Silence invites a clerk’s guess.
Checklist
- Order understood — Family name first where required.
- Legal characters OK — Japan and others.
- Year on any rank — SSA/ONS/KOSTAT.
- Emily/Lakisha context — Bias is about hearers.
- Generation syllable checked — If the family uses 돌림자 or a poem.
- Nickname predicted — Given names attract short forms.
- No trait chart — Etymology ≠ psychology.
- Used-name stated — Forms now often allow it.
Pitfalls
- Calling it “first name” worldwide — Order errors on tickets and visas.
- Inventing this year’s winner — Ranks move; offices publish after the year.
- Ignoring extra given names — Hispanic compound given names get split badly in English databases.
- Stroke-count add-ons — Not part of given-name craft here.
Tools
- SSA Baby Names — U.S. given-name frequencies from 1880, year-stamped.
- ONS baby names — England and Wales official counts.
- Statistics Korea name tables — Korean given-name frequencies.
- Family generation chart — The real spec for character given names.
A given name is a daily spoken tool. Test it as speech and as a file, not as a horoscope.