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Did you know that the first full week in March is “Celebrate Your Name Week?” Created by American onomatology (AKA onomastics, the study of the origin, history, and use of proper names) hobbyist, Jerry Hill, in 1997, Celebrate Your Name Week (CYNW) is a time to learn all about names, their origin and history and to just have fun with activities centered around names. Each day of the week has a designated focus.
SUNDAY - Namesake Day – How was your name decided upon by your parents? Were you named after someone or something in particular? If so, learn more about that person or thing. Write a brief history of how you were named.
MONDAY - Name Fun Facts Day – Is there anyone else who has your name? Anyone famous? Make a list of those people and what they were famous for.
TUESDAY - Unique Names Day – Do you know anyone who has a special name that makes it hard to find off-the-rack personalized products? String letter beads to make them their own personalized keychain.
WEDNESDAY - Learn What Your Name Means Day – Dig deeper into the meaning of your name. If your name is unique (or you want to be creative) make up your own definition and decide for yourself what your name means to you. Search for the history and meaning of your name on this website.
THURSDAY - Name Tag Day – Create and wear your name on a nametag around the house. (Please do not allow children to wear nametags in public for safety reasons). Or instead of making name tags, research the history of visiting (calling) cards here and create your own visiting cards.
FRIDAY - Middle Name Pride Day – Do you have a middle name? Explore its meaning and why it was given to you. Learn about the origination of middle names here.
SATURDAY - Genealogy Day – Create a family tree with all your family members names. Dig even deeper and add other geological info to your tree. You can find some free family tree templates to fill in here.
Here are a few more ideas to help you and your children to celebrate their names.
Take a trip to the library and find books about names or a book with your name in the title.
Make name bookmarks with this free template.
Write an acrostic poem from your name. An acrostic poem is one where the first letter of each line starts with each letter of a word, in this case your name and spells out the word, name, or phrase when read vertically.
Create a name alien. You can find instructions here and here.
Create an abstract work of art using your name. Write your name in cursive at least 10 times in different sizes and in various directions on the paper, making sure that each name touches another. Then color in the different sections that were created. You can find more instructions and examples here.
Make a paper family quilt using construction or scrapbooking paper cut into quilting squares, glued to posterboard, and adding family names and other family information to each square. You can keep it simple and cut square pieces for your quilt or make it more challenging and use one of quilting square templates found here.
Visit the Names Universe website for more ideas and resources for celebrating CYNW.
