102-407: Detlef is a given name of German origin. It is also spelled Detlev . Notable people with this name include: Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name ) is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan ) who have
204-472: A power law distribution . Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast,
306-595: A character from the movie Splash . Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago , and have become fairly common since. Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of the Beatles ' " Hey Jude ". Similarly, Layla charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton song. It had not been in
408-466: A common surname . The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism , in Christian custom. In informal situations, given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations, a person's surname is more commonly used. The idioms ' on
510-565: A common Christian or European identity. Contemporary Latin chronicles from Spain referred to the victors in the Frankish victory over the Umayyads at the 732 Battle of Tours as "Europeans" according to Appiah, denoting a shared sense of identity. A former, now less-acceptable synonym for "Western civilisation" was "the white race ". As Europeans discovered the extra-European world, old concepts adapted. The area that had formerly been considered
612-562: A comprehensive study of Norwegian first name datasets shows that the main factors that govern first name dynamics are endogenous . Monitoring the popularity of 1,000 names over 130 years, the authors have identified only five cases of exogenous effects, three of them are connected to the names given to the babies of the Norwegian royal family. Since the civil rights movement of 1950–1970, African-American names given to children have strongly mirrored sociopolitical movements and philosophies in
714-561: A conscious effort by Europeans to revive and surpass the ideas and achievements of the Greco-Roman world, eventually encouraged the Age of Discovery , the Scientific Revolution , Age of Enlightenment , and the subsequent Industrial Revolution . Similarly, complicated relationships between virtually all the countries and regions within a broadly defined "West" can be discussed in the light of
816-590: A contrast between an advanced East, and a rugged West. From the time of Alexander the Great (the Hellenistic period ), Greek civilization came in contact with Jewish civilization. Christianity would eventually emerge from the syncretism of Hellenic culture , Roman culture , and Second Temple Judaism , gradually spreading across the Roman Empire and eclipsing its antecedents and influences. The Greek and Roman paganism
918-426: A crown or entering a religious order; such a person then typically becomes known chiefly by that name. The order given name – family name , commonly known as Western name order , is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America ; North , East , Central and West India ; Australia , New Zealand , and
1020-587: A departure from solely religious texts. Publications include Encyclopédie (1751–72) that was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert . The Dictionnaire philosophique (Philosophical Dictionary, 1764) and Letters on the English (1733) written by Voltaire spread the ideals of the Enlightenment. Coinciding with the Age of Enlightenment was the scientific revolution , spearheaded by Newton. This included
1122-495: A family in the manner of American English Seniors, Juniors , III , etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous for the child to bear a name already made famous by someone else through romanizations , where a common name like Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands. Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from Classical Chinese counterparts. Many female Japanese names end in -ko ( 子 ), usually meaning "child" on its own. However,
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#17331147225341224-404: A first-name basis ' and 'being on first-name terms' refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast, a surname (also known as a family name, last name, or gentile name ) is normally inherited and shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving
1326-429: A global culture that could ignore national frontiers. Literacy became almost universal, encouraging the growth of books, magazines and newspapers. The influence of cinema and radio remained, while televisions became near essentials in every home. By the mid-20th century, Western culture was exported worldwide, and the development and growth of international transport and telecommunication (such as transatlantic cable and
1428-546: A historically sound, unified body of thought. For example, Kwame Anthony Appiah pointed out in 2016 that many of the fundamental influences on Western culture - such as those of Greek philosophy - are also shared by the Islamic world to a certain extent. Appiah argues that the origin of the Western and European identity can be traced back to the 8th-century Muslim invasion of Europe via Iberia , when Christians would start to form
1530-427: A hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne . A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead, a maiden name , a patronymic , or a baptismal name . In England, it was unusual for a person to have more than one given name until the seventeenth century when Charles James Stuart ( King Charles I ) was baptised with two names. That was a French fashion, which spread to the English aristocracy, following
1632-506: A large amount of scientific knowledge themselves (as seen in their Coligny Calendar ). For about five hundred years, the Roman Empire maintained the Greek East and consolidated a Latin West, but an east–west division remained, reflected in many cultural norms of the two areas, including language. Eventually, the empire became increasingly split into a Western and Eastern part, reviving old ideas of
1734-604: A leading light for the West's democracy and rapid economic development. Joseph Schumpeter , an economist of the twentieth century, referring to the Scholastics , wrote, "it is they who come nearer than does any other group to having been the 'founders' of scientific economics." The rediscovery of the Justinian Code in Western Europe early in the 10th century rekindled a passion for the discipline of law, which crossed many of
1836-450: A limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography . The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus
1938-480: A name because of its meaning. This may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism , in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most often derive from the following categories: In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or those who are particularly admired, resulting in
2040-577: A perception of, a shared philosophy , worldview , political, and religious heritage grounded in the Greco-Roman world , the legacy of the Roman Empire , and medieval concepts of Christendom . For example, whether the Eastern Roman Empire (anachronistically/controversially referred to as the Byzantine Empire) , or those countries heavily influenced by its legacy, should be counted as "Western"
2142-488: A persistently fragmented political landscape resulting in a lack of uniformity and significant diversity between the various cultures affiliating with this shared socio-cultural heritage. Thus, those cultures identifying with the West and with what it means to be "western" change over time as the geopolitical circumstances of a place changes and what is meant by the terminology changes. It is difficult to determine which individuals or places or trends fit into which category, and
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#17331147225342244-416: A pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ; Jessica , created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice ; Vanessa , created by Jonathan Swift ; Fiona , a character from James Macpherson 's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; Wendy , an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ; and Madison ,
2346-464: A result of the Christian revival of Greek philosophy, and the long Christian medieval tradition that established the use of reason as one of the most important of human activities. This period is commonly referred to as the Renaissance . In the following century, this process was further enhanced by an exodus of Greek Christian priests and scholars to Italian cities such as Florence and Venice after
2448-540: Is an example of the possible ambiguity of the term. These questions can be traced back to the affiliation between the culture of ancient Rome and that of Classical Greece , a persistent Greek East and Latin West language-split within the Roman Empire , and an eventual permanent splitting of the Roman Empire in 395 into Western and Eastern halves. And perhaps, at its worst, culminating in Pope Leo III's transfer of
2550-494: Is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world , though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the name Jesus is considered a normal given name. Similarly, the name Mary , now popular among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics , was considered too holy for secular use until about
2652-412: Is considered offensive, or if it is deemed impractical. In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. In Denmark, one does not need to register a given name for the child until the child is six months old, and in some cases, one can even wait a little longer than this before the child gets an official name. Parents may choose
2754-632: Is credited with creating the modern university, the modern hospital system, scientific economics, and natural law (which would later influence the creation of international law ). European culture developed a complex range of philosophy, medieval scholasticism , mysticism and Christian and secular humanism , setting the stage for the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, which fundamentally altered religious and political life. Led by figures like Martin Luther , Protestantism challenged
2856-514: Is especially valued. Photography and the motion picture as both a technology and basis for entirely new art forms were also developed in the West. The ballet is a distinctively Western form of performance dance. The ballroom dance is an important Western variety of dance for the elite. The polka , the square dance , the flamenco , and the Irish step dance are very well known Western forms of folk dance . Greek and Roman theatre are considered
2958-940: Is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for either men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender their names strongly; thus, many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar. Some countries have laws preventing unisex names , requiring parents to give their children sex-specific names. Names may have different gender connotations from country to country or language to language. Within anthroponymic classification, names of human males are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name), while names of human females are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name). The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows
3060-580: Is the Baby Name Game that uses the Elo rating system to rank parents preferred names and help them select one. Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" (anglicisation of Irish name Ciara) respectively became
3162-542: Is the official naming order used in Arabic countries (for example Saudi Arabia , Iraq and United Arab Emirates ). In many Western cultures , people often have multiple given names. Most often the first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or
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3264-839: The Germanic , Celtic and Slavic peoples, and includes the ideals of the Middle Ages , the Renaissance , Reformation and the Enlightenment . While the concept of a "West" did not exist until the emergence of the Roman Republic , the roots of the concept can be traced back to Ancient Greece . Since Homeric literature (the Trojan Wars ), through the accounts of the Persian Wars of Greeks against Persians by Herodotus , and right up until
3366-514: The Greek East and Latin West divide, separated Europe into religious and cultural regions present to this day. Until the Age of Enlightenment, Christian culture took over as the predominant force in Western civilization, guiding the course of philosophy, art, and science for many years. Movements in art and philosophy, such as the Humanist movement of the Renaissance and the Scholastic movement of
3468-640: The Hellenistic Jewish culture from which the earliest Christians and the Greek New Testament emerged. The eventual Christianization of Europe in late-antiquity would ensure that Christianity , particularly the Catholic Church , remained a dominant force in Western culture for many centuries to follow. Western culture continued to develop during the Middle Ages as reforms triggered by
3570-606: The High Middle Ages , were motivated by a drive to connect Catholicism with Greek and Arab thought imported by Christian pilgrims. However, due to the division in Western Christianity caused by the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment, religious influence—especially the temporal power of the Pope—began to wane. From the late 15th century to the 17th century, Western culture began to spread to other parts of
3672-582: The Industrial Revolution , transformed Western society. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the influence of Enlightenment rationalism continued with the rise of secularism and liberal democracy , while the Industrial Revolution fueled economic and technological growth. The expansion of rights movements and the decline of religious authority marked significant cultural shifts. Tendencies that have come to define modern Western societies include
3774-733: The Mediterranean basin and Europe , and later circulated around the world predominantly through colonization and globalization . Historically, scholars have closely associated the idea of Western culture with the classical era of Greco-Roman antiquity . However, scholars also acknowledge that other ancient cultures, like Ancient Egypt , the Phoenician city-states , and several Near-Eastern cultures stimulated and fostered Western civilization. The Hellenistic period also promoted syncretism , blending Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures. Major advances in literature, engineering, and science shaped
3876-774: The Orient ("the East") became the Near East as the interests of the European powers interfered with Meiji Japan and Qing China for the first time in the 19th century. Thus the Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895 occurred in the " Far East " while troubles surrounding the decline of the Ottoman Empire occurred simultaneously in the Near East. The term "Middle East" in the mid-19th century included
3978-685: The Ottoman Empire . The process was accompanied and reinforced by the Age of Discovery and continued into the modern period. Scholars have proposed a wide variety of theories to explain why the Great Divergence happened, including lack of government intervention, geography, colonialism, and customary traditions. The Age of Discovery faded into the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, during which cultural and intellectual forces in European society emphasized reason, analysis, and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It challenged
4080-904: The Philippines . The order family name – given name , commonly known as Eastern name order , is primarily used in East Asia (for example in China , Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , and Vietnam , among others, and by Malaysian Chinese ), as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India , and as a standard in Hungary . This order is also used to various degrees and in specific contexts in other European countries, such as Austria and adjacent areas of Germany (that is, Bavaria ), and in France , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece and Italy , possibly because of
4182-528: The Renaissance of the 12th century and 13th century. Medieval Christianity is credited with creating the first modern universities. The Catholic Church established a hospital system in Medieval Europe that vastly improved upon the Roman valetudinaria and Greek healing temples. These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to
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4284-477: The Second Industrial Revolution in the transition years between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic progress continued with the increasing adoption of steam transport (steam-powered railways, boats, and ships), the large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the increasing use of machinery in steam-powered factories. Tendencies that have come to define modern Western societies include
4386-469: The Southern United States . Double names are also common among Vietnamese names to make repeated name in the family. For example, Đặng Vũ Minh Anh and Đặng Vũ Minh Ánh, are two sisters with the given names Minh Anh and Minh Ánh. Sometimes, a given name is used as just an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (such as with H. G. Wells ), and more rarely as an initial while
4488-775: The Trojans in Iliad ) as well as their Northern neighbours (who they considered barbarians ). Concepts of what is the West arose out of legacies of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. Later, ideas of the West were formed by the concepts of Latin Christendom and the Holy Roman Empire . What is thought of as Western thought today originates primarily from Greco-Roman and Christian traditions, with varying degrees of influence from
4590-620: The cradle of civilization . Ancient Egypt similarly had a strong influence on Western culture. Phoenician mercantilism and the introduction of the Alphabetic script boosted state formation in the Aegean and current-day Italy and current-day Spain, spawning civilizations in the Mediterranean such as Ancient Carthage , Ancient Greece , Etruria , and Ancient Rome . The Greeks contrasted themselves with both their Eastern neighbours (such as
4692-574: The medieval renaissances , the influence of the Islamic world via Al-Andalus and Sicily (including the transfer of technology from the East, and Latin translations of Arabic texts on science and philosophy by Greek and Hellenic-influenced Islamic philosophers), and the Italian Renaissance as Greek scholars fleeing the fall of Constantinople brought ancient Greek and Roman texts back to central and western Europe. Medieval Christianity
4794-500: The radiotelephone ) played a decisive role in modern globalization. The West has contributed a great many technological, political, philosophical, artistic and religious aspects to modern international culture: having been a crucible of Catholicism , Protestantism , democracy, industrialisation; the first major civilisation to seek to abolish slavery during the 19th century, the first to enfranchise women (beginning in Australasia at
4896-460: The social norms , ethical values , traditional customs , belief systems , political systems , artifacts and technologies primarily rooted in European and Mediterranean histories. A broad concept, "Western culture" does not relate to a region with fixed members or geographical confines. It generally refers to the classical era cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome that expanded across
4998-449: The "Latin" West. With the exception of Italia , the wealthiest provinces of the Roman Empire were in the East, particularly Roman Egypt which was the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italia. Nevertheless, the Celts in the West created some significant literature in the ancient world whenever they were given the opportunity (an example being the poet Caecilius Statius ), and they developed
5100-690: The 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie. Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin: Frequently, a given name has versions in many languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew version, Shoshannah , its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana , its French version, Suzanne , its Polish version, Zuzanna , or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna . Despite
5202-625: The 1st century BCE. Following the Roman conquest of the Hellenistic world, the concept of a "West" arose, as there was a cultural divide between the Greek East and Latin West . The Latin-speaking Western Roman Empire consisted of Western Europe and Northwest Africa, while the Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire consisted of the Balkans , Asia Minor , Egypt and Levant . The "Greek" East was generally wealthier and more advanced than
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#17331147225345304-476: The 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley . In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback . Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following
5406-488: The African-American community. Since the 1970s neologistic (creative, inventive) practices have become increasingly common and the subject of academic study. Western culture Western culture , also known as Western civilization , European civilization , Occidental culture , Western society , or simply the West , refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world . The term "Western" encompasses
5508-521: The East–West contrast is sometimes criticized as relativistic and arbitrary. Globalization has spread Western ideas so widely that almost all modern cultures are, to some extent, influenced by aspects of Western culture. Stereotypical views of "the West" have been labeled " Occidentalism ", paralleling " Orientalism "—the term for the 19th-century stereotyped views of "the East". Some philosophers have questioned whether Western culture can be considered
5610-530: The European Union where some member states have experienced falling church attendance and membership in recent years, and also elsewhere. Secularism (separating religion from politics and science) increased. Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western world, where 70% are Christians. The West went through a series of great cultural and social changes between 1945 and 1980. The emergent mass media (film, radio, television and recorded music) created
5712-440: The Hellenistic world. The most important Hellenistic centre of learning was Ptolemaic Egypt , which attracted Greek, Egyptian , Jewish, Persian , Phoenician and even Indian scholars. Hellenistic science, philosophy, architecture , literature and art later provided a foundation embraced and built upon by the Roman Empire as it swept up Europe and the Mediterranean world , including the Hellenistic world in its conquests in
5814-448: The Reformation and Enlightenment, the ideas of civil rights , equality before the law, procedural justice , and democracy as the ideal form of society began to be institutionalized as principles forming the basis of modern Western culture, particularly in Protestant regions. In the 14th century, starting from Italy and then spreading throughout Europe, there was a massive artistic, architectural, scientific and philosophical revival, as
5916-457: The Roman Empire from the Eastern Roman Empire to the Frankish King Charlemagne in the form of the Holy Roman Empire in 800, the Great Schism of 1054, and the devastating Fourth Crusade of 1204. Conversely, traditions of scholarship around Plato , Aristotle , and Euclid had been forgotten in the Catholic west and were rediscovered by Italians from scholars fleeing the 1453 fall of the Eastern Roman Empire . The subsequent Renaissance ,
6018-448: The United States first on radio in the 1930s, then a couple of decades later on television. The music video was also developed in the West in the middle of the 20th century. Musical theatre was developed in the West in the 19th and 20th Centuries, from music hall , comic opera , and Vaudeville ; with significant contributions from the Jewish diaspora , African-Americans , and other marginalized peoples. Western literature encompasses
6120-443: The West have come to see widespread use all over the world; among them are the guitar, violin, piano, pipe organ , saxophone, trombone, clarinet, accordion , and the theremin . In turn, it has been claimed that some European instruments have roots in earlier Eastern instruments that were adopted from the medieval Islamic world . The solo piano, symphony orchestra , and the string quartet are also significant musical innovations of
6222-474: The West in certain characteristic ways. In Western dance, music, plays and other arts, the performers are only very infrequently masked. There are essentially no taboos against depicting a god, or other religious figures, in a representational fashion. In music, Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church, and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through
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#17331147225346324-428: The West. Jan van Eyck , among other renaissance painters, made great advances in oil painting , and perspective drawings and paintings had their earliest practitioners in Florence . In art, the Celtic knot is a very distinctive Western repeated motif. Depictions of the nude human male and female in photography, painting, and sculpture are frequently considered to have special artistic merit. Realistic portraiture
6426-508: The ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music and its many derivatives. The Baroque style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor. The symphony , concerto, sonata , opera, and oratorio have their origins in Italy. Many musical instruments developed in
6528-423: The antecedents of modern theatre, and forms such as medieval theatre , Passion Plays , morality plays , and commedia dell'arte are considered highly influential. Elizabethan theatre , with playwrights including William Shakespeare , Christopher Marlowe , and Ben Jonson , is considered one of the most formative and important eras for modern drama. The soap opera, a popular culture dramatic form, originated in
6630-755: The authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as the Catholic Church; there was much talk of ways to reform society with toleration, science and skepticism . Philosophers of the Enlightenment included Francis Bacon , René Descartes , John Locke , Baruch Spinoza , Voltaire (1694–1778), Jean-Jacques Rousseau , David Hume , and Immanuel Kant , who influenced society by publishing widely read works. Upon learning about enlightened views, some rulers met with intellectuals and tried to apply their reforms, such as allowing for toleration, or accepting multiple religions, in what became known as enlightened absolutism . New ideas and beliefs spread around Europe and were fostered by an increase in literacy due to
6732-524: The authority of the Catholic Church and promoted ideas of individual freedom and religious reform , paving the way for modern notions of personal responsibility and governance. The Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries shifted focus to reason , science , and individual rights , influencing revolutions across Europe and the Americas and the development of modern democratic institutions. Enlightenment thinkers advanced ideals of political pluralism and empirical inquiry , which, together with
6834-738: The character when used in given names can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many Westernised Asian locations, many Asians also have an unofficial or even registered Western (typically English) given name, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia as well as among international businesspeople. Most names in English are traditionally masculine (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are unisex names as well, such as Jordan , Jamie , Jesse , Morgan , Leslie/ Lesley , Joe / Jo , Jackie , Pat , Dana, Alex, Chris / Kris , Randy / Randi , Lee , etc. Often, use for one gender
6936-470: The concept of political pluralism , individualism , prominent subcultures or countercultures (such as New Age movements) and increasing cultural syncretism resulting from globalization and immigration. Western culture has been heavily influenced by the Renaissance, the Ages of Discovery and Enlightenment and the Industrial and Scientific Revolutions . In the 20th century, Christianity declined in influence in many Western countries, mostly in
7038-502: The concept of political pluralism , individualism , prominent subcultures or countercultures , and increasing cultural syncretism resulting from globalization and immigration . The West as a geographical area is unclear and undefined. There is some disagreement about which nations should or should not be included in the category, when, and why. Certainly related conceptual terminology has changed over time in scope, meaning, and use. The term "western" draws on an affiliation with, or
7140-609: The corresponding statistics for England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favour in the English-speaking world, but the overall distribution of names has also changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents may choose
7242-415: The emergence of modern science , during which developments in mathematics , physics , astronomy , biology (including human anatomy ) and chemistry transformed views of society and nature. While its dates are disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus 's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ( On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres ) is often cited as marking the beginning of
7344-585: The end of the 19th century) and the first to put to use such technologies as steam , electric and nuclear power . The West invented cinema, television, the personal computer, the Internet and video games; developed sports such as soccer, cricket , golf , tennis , rugby , basketball , and volleyball ; and transported humans to an astronomical object for the first time with the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon Landing . While dance, music, visual art, story-telling, and architecture are human universals, they are expressed in
7446-604: The end of the Byzantine Empire with the fall of Constantinople. From Late Antiquity , through the Middle Ages, and onwards, while Eastern Europe was shaped by the Eastern Orthodox Church , Southern and Central Europe were increasingly stabilized by the Catholic Church which, as Roman imperial governance faded from view, was the only consistent force in Western Europe. In 1054 came the Great Schism that, following
7548-501: The examples above—the two characters together may mean nothing at all. Instead, they may be selected to include particular sounds, tones , or radicals ; to balance the Chinese elements of a child's birth chart ; or to honor a generation poem handed down through the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront , not an honor, to have a newborn named after an older relative and so full names are rarely passed down through
7650-505: The families of both parents. The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is commonly used in Portuguese -speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today, people in Spain and Uruguay can rearrange the order of their names legally to this order. The order given name - father's given name - grandfather's given name (often referred to as triple name )
7752-515: The historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse. Christianity played a role in ending practices common among pagan societies, such as human sacrifice, slavery, infanticide and polygamy. Francisco de Vitoria , a disciple of Thomas Aquinas and a Catholic thinker who studied the issue regarding the human rights of colonized natives, is recognized by the United Nations as a father of international law, and now also by historians of economics and democracy as
7854-582: The importance of freedom in the Ancient Greek world, as opposed to the perceived slavery of the so-called barbaric world. Alexander's conquests led to the emergence of a Hellenistic civilization , representing a synthesis of Greek and Near-Eastern cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Near-Eastern civilizations of Ancient Egypt and the Levant , which came under Greek rule, became part of
7956-493: The increasing use of steam power , and the development of machine tools . These transitions began in Great Britain and spread to Western Europe and North America within a few decades. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists say that
8058-447: The influence of bureaucracy, which commonly puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations. The order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is commonly used in several Spanish -speaking countries to acknowledge
8160-501: The integration and reshaping of Roman ideas through Christian thought. The Eastern Orthodox Church founded many cathedrals , monasteries and seminaries , some of which continue to exist today. After the fall of the Roman Empire , many of the classical Greek texts were translated into Arabic and preserved in the medieval Islamic world . The Greek classics along with Arabic science , philosophy and technology were transmitted to Western Europe and translated into Latin , sparking
8262-504: The literary traditions of Europe, as well as North America, Oceania and Latin America. While epic literary works in verse such as the Mahabharata and Homer's Iliad are ancient and occurred worldwide, the prose novel as a distinct form of storytelling, with developed, consistent human characters and, typically, some connected overall plot (although both of these characteristics have sometimes been modified and played with in later times),
8364-439: The major impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living for the general population began to increase consistently for the first time in history, although others have said that it did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th and 20th centuries. The precise start and end of the Industrial Revolution is still debated among historians, as is the pace of economic and social changes. GDP per capita
8466-435: The middle name is not one (such as with L. Ron Hubbard ). A child's given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony , with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate , or its equivalent. In Western cultures, people normally retain
8568-505: The names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures. For example, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed . There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. An example
8670-571: The old East. The philosophy and science of Classical Greece were largely forgotten in Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, other than in isolated monastic enclaves (notably in Ireland, which had become Christian but was never conquered by Rome). The learning of Classical Antiquity was better preserved in the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis Roman civil law code
8772-558: The re-forming boundaries between East and West. In the Catholic or Frankish west, Roman law became the foundation on which all legal concepts and systems were based. Its influence is found in all Western legal systems, although in different manners and to different extents. The study of canon law , the legal system of the Catholic Church, fused with that of Roman law to form the basis of the refounding of Western legal scholarship. During
8874-642: The rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus (who was named Destiny at birth). Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives , the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy , and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela , invented by Sir Philip Sidney for
8976-416: The royal example, then spread to the general population and became common by the end of the eighteenth century. Some double-given names for women were used at the start of the eighteenth century but were used together as a unit: Anna Maria, Mary Anne and Sarah Jane. Those became stereotyped as the typical names of servants and so became unfashionable in the nineteenth century. Double names remain popular in
9078-409: The same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by following legal processes or by repute. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions, a government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name for the reasons that it may cause a child harm, that it
9180-419: The scientific revolution, and its completion is attributed to the "grand synthesis" of Newton's 1687 Principia . The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power ,
9282-494: The territory east of the Ottoman Empire but west of China— Greater Persia and Greater India —but is now used synonymously with "Near East" in most languages. The earliest civilizations which influenced the development of Western culture were those of Mesopotamia ; the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system , largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq , northeastern Syria , southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran :
9384-444: The time of Alexander the Great , there was a paradigm of a contrast between Greeks and other civilizations. Greeks felt they were the most civilized and saw themselves (in the formulation of Aristotle ) as something between the advanced civilizations of the Near East (who they viewed as soft and slavish) and the wild barbarians of most of Europe to the north. During this period writers like Herodotus and Xenophon would highlight
9486-517: The top 1,000 before. Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion . Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released " Kayleigh ". Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came into
9588-474: The top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . On the other hand, historical events can influence child-naming. For example, the given name Adolf has fallen out of use since the end of World War II in 1945. In contrast with this anecdotal evidence,
9690-757: The uniformity of Chinese surnames , some Chinese given names are fairly original because Chinese characters can be combined extensively. Unlike European languages, with their Biblical and Greco-Roman heritage, the Chinese language does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names: any combination of Chinese characters can theoretically be used as a given name. Nonetheless, a number of popular characters commonly recur, including "Strong" ( 伟 , Wěi ), "Learned" ( 文 , Wén ), "Peaceful" ( 安 , Ān ), and "Beautiful" ( 美 , Měi ). Despite China's increasing urbanization, several names such as "Pine" ( 松 , Sōng ) or " Plum " ( 梅 , Méi ) also still reference nature. Most Chinese given names are two characters long and—despite
9792-457: The western part of the old empire. However, this would become the center of a new West. Europe fell into political anarchy, with many warring kingdoms and principalities. Under the Frankish kings, it eventually, and partially, reunified, and the anarchy evolved into feudalism . Much of the basis of the post-Roman cultural world had been set before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, mainly through
9894-495: The world through explorers and missionaries during the Age of Discovery , and by imperialists from the 17th century to the early 20th century. During the Great Divergence , a term coined by Samuel Huntington the Western world overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world civilization of the time, eclipsing Qing China , Mughal India , Tokugawa Japan , and
9996-451: Was all but extinguished, and antisemitism became increasingly entrenched or even integral to Christendom. Much of art and literature, law, education, and politics were preserved in the teachings of the Church. In a broader sense, the Middle Ages , with its fertile encounter between Greek philosophical reasoning and Levantine monotheism was not confined to the West but also stretched into
10098-444: Was broadly stable before the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of the modern capitalist economy, while the Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita economic growth in capitalist economies. Economic historians are in agreement that the onset of the Industrial Revolution is the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals, plants and fire. The First Industrial Revolution evolved into
10200-422: Was created in the East in his capital of Constantinople, and that city maintained trade and intermittent political control over outposts such as Venice in the West for centuries. Classical Greek learning was also subsumed, preserved, and elaborated in the rising Eastern world, which gradually supplanted Roman-Byzantine control as a dominant cultural-political force. Thus, much of the learning of classical antiquity
10302-493: Was gradually replaced by Christianity, first with its legalisation with the Edict of Milan and then the Edict of Thessalonica which made it the State church of the Roman Empire . Catholic Christianity, served as a unifying force in Christian parts of Europe, and in some respects replaced or competed with the secular authorities. The Jewish Christian tradition out of which it had emerged
10404-556: Was slowly reintroduced to European civilization in the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The Medieval West referred specifically to the Catholic "Latin" West, also called "Frankish" during Charlemagne 's reign, in contrast to the Orthodox East, where Greek remained the language of the Byzantine Empire. After the fall of Rome , much of Greco-Roman art, literature, science and even technology were all but lost in
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