Everything you need to know about baby naming ceremonies in Ireland

“Both our families think along the same lines as us — it might have been different if our grandparents were alive.”

Siobhán Walls, celebrant with Humanist Association of Ireland ( www.humanism.ie), officiated at the ceremony, attended by 70 guests and held in a venue overlooking Blessington Lakes, Co Wicklow.

“We chose it for the scenery,” says Keenan, who works in market research.

The couple’s main chosen ritual was tree planting. 

“We had the tree — a conifer — in a pot on the table. Carl’s mum, Sandra, brought soil from her garden, where Carl grew up in Donnybrook. My parents, Richie and Monica, don’t have grass in their garden so they brought water from my home in Tallaght.

“Sandra and her partner put the soil in the pot and my parents put it in the water. The plan was to take the tree home and plant it in our garden in Naas, which we’ve done.

“Sandra and my dad did readings. Siobhán gave us ideas. Sandra’s poem wished Finn well in his life. My dad’s had a comedy element, with advice for parents — ‘live long enough to get your own back on your children’ — and advice for children: ‘if you’re going to draw on the wall, do it behind a couch’.

“I did a reading, which I sourced online — I wished Finn courage to live the life he wanted to live and to be his own person.”

None of the guests had ever attended a naming ceremony before, says Keenan. “A lot of people commented on how personal it was.”

“The party was lovely — spending the day with people we hadn’t seen in so long because of Covid. But the ceremony meant a lot, as a ritual to mark the occasion of Finn’s birth and to welcome him into the family,” says Keenan.

Baby naming ceremonies are on the rise in Ireland. In 2007, the Humanist Association of Ireland conducted just four — ten years later this had risen to 107 — and 2022 estimates predict between 170 and 180 by year’s end.

Rev Lorraine McCarthy, founder of Celebrant Ireland ( www.celebrantireland.ie), says enquiries about naming ceremonies have quadrupled this year. “And this year, for the first time ever, I’ve found naming ceremony cards in the local card shop, alongside baptism cards.”

She cites the lifting of the so-called baptism barrier to primary school entry as a key factor in the interest upsurge, but adds: “Naming ceremonies are more intimate and personal than, say, a group baptism in a church. And all family members can take part.”

Walls finds couples like the ceremonial aspect. “They feel if they don’t have an actual ceremony with a bit of ritual and formality, the event is just the same as a birthday party.”

The age range of the babies varies. When McCarthy spoke to the Irish Examiner, she was just about to conduct two naming ceremonies — one for a two-and-a-half-year-old, the other for a three-month-old. Walls says many couples organise it for around the baby’s first birthday.

Location varies too, with the family home being the most common venue in McCarthy’s experience. 

“Either inside or outside with a bubble machine and bouncy castles. I’ve also had families hiring a room in a local hotel, or an outdoor space on hotel grounds. Also, parks, where there are playgrounds, or sometimes even the grandparents’ home.”

Walls too has done quite a number of outdoor ceremonies — in the middle of woods or beside the sea. 

“I’ve done a few in Dublin Zoo.” 

She says it can be difficult to hold people’s attention at a naming ceremony — having a focal point is vital. A big part of creating meaning is the ritual or enhancement. “Couples would do at least one ritual,” says Walls.

“Finger-print trees are popular. The family bring a print (picture) of a tree — black on a white page. Using coloured ink pads, each guest puts their finger or thumbprint on a branch and signs their name. Parents then frame it as a memento for the child.”

Candle-lighting is very popular — typically with three candles, one for each partner’s family and the third for the baby. 

“If there are grandparents, we ask them to light the family candles and the parents light the baby’s candle together. I’ve often had four grandparents standing up at the same time.

“Time capsules are popular enough too — everybody’s invited to write a message and leave that, and maybe a small gift, in a box to be opened when the baby’s older,” says Walls, who did her own grandson’s naming ceremony last year.

“My daughter’s partner’s from Romania, so his Romanian grandmother brought sand from there and we brought sand from a beach in North Dublin and at the ceremony we poured and blended this physical piece of Romania and Ireland together.” 

McCarthy is often asked about the ‘hand and footprint’ ritual. 

“A print or cast is created during the ceremony of the baby’s tiny hands and feet, capturing their size and shape on that very day. Siblings and parents can also be included — a beautiful way to include the family.”

She loves to explore the meaning of the baby’s name(s) and sees it as the ceremony’s centre-piece. 

“It gives purpose and meaning to the actual naming of the child. To find the meanings, we do a Google search, and we also ask the parents the reasons behind choosing the name.”

McCarthy likes how naming ceremonies can be customised to family circumstances. 

“They can incorporate rituals from their culture or country, or even personal family rituals. For example, the ‘bread and salt welcome’ — it’s super-popular in Poland and in Slavic, Baltic and Nordic countries. The parents welcome the baby into their family with bread so this child may never know hunger — and with salt so their life may always have flavour.”

And what about the words? Walls has read from Dr Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Erin Hanson’s poem ‘Little Stargazer’ is popular, while ‘Irish Blessing for a New Baby’ has been translated into Gaeilge quite a few times.

And when it comes to songs, McCarthy says Mary Black’s ‘Wonder Child’, George Ezra’s ‘Hold My Girl,’ and Paul Brady’s ‘It’s a Wonderful World Now You’re Here’ are all favourites.

Godparents continue to be important, though they may be described in different terms, for example,  ‘guide parents. Walls can only recall two naming ceremonies where godparents didn’t feature.

“Pretty much everybody has them. I did a second baby naming ceremony for a family recently, who opted to have mentors. All of the child’s uncles and aunts on both sides were asked to stand during the ceremony, and I named them all and asked them to be there for the child.”

She highlights the god/guide parent/mentor role during the ceremony. 

“I see the guide parent as having a deep and special bond with the child. Someone who’ll stand quietly behind him/her, encouraging the child to be him/herself and sharing their life experience with the child.”

With no upper or lower limit on guest numbers, Walls and McCarthy have officiated at tiny gatherings of just close family right up to groups as big as 80. How do extended family — particularly older members — like naming ceremonies?

McCarthy has had older family members asking at the outset: ‘Why aren’t we in a church? What’s this all about?’ I’ve had grandparents not attend because they didn’t agree with the couple’s decision not to go to a church.” 

But those who attend — despite misgivings — are often very positive at the end. “They say the ceremony was more intimate and personal.” Walls has had similar experiences.

“I’ve had occasions where grandparents, but more typically great-grandparents, have been a little sceptical, a bit disappointed the child’s not in the church being baptised.

“But generally, I get positive feedback. People come without any idea of what to expect but they like what they see and hear. They find the ceremony — while short — very meaningful.”