Baby Naming

A naming ceremony is an ideal way of celebrating the birth of a new baby. Many couples feel that it is appropriate to have a special occasion to celebrate the birth of a baby that can be shared with their family and friends. They can also be used to celebrate adoptive children and step children becoming part of a new family.

The event is a dignified and formal way to:

Welcome the child into the family unit
Announce the names that have been chosen for the child (and possibly the reasons behind the choice of names)
Make promises and commitments to nurture and support the child through to its adult life
Choose other adults and family members who are prepared to promise a special supportive relationship to the child

Any parent can arrange a naming ceremony, whether they are married or not and irrespective of spiritual, religious or cultural backgrounds.

The ceremony

Specially written ceremonies are available containing choices to make your naming ceremony unique and something that you and your family will remember. To see the choices available please download the PDF file below.

PDF File Icon Baby Naming Choices PDF

You will be able to choose promises to make to the child, promises to make to your partner. Supporting adults and other members of the family will also be able to make promises to the child.

You can also choose from a selection of poems and readings to personalise your ceremony and can choose to present your child with a special gift to mark the occasion.

A souvenir certificate of the ceremony will be signed and presented during the ceremony. It should be noted however that neither the naming ceremony nor any documents issued as part of the proceedings has any legal status.

Venues for the ceremony

Register Offices

You may wish to hold your ceremony at one of the many register offices throughout the county.

In Staffordshire there are 8 register offices providing dedicated ceremony rooms in which your naming ceremony can take place. Many have gardens and car parking and all are decorated and furnished to a high standard. The register offices which currently have ceremony rooms are:

Cannock
Tamworth
Lichfield
Newcastle under Lyme
Wombourne
Stafford
Leek, and
Burton on Trent

In having your ceremony in one of the register offices you will be dealing with professional people who will work hard to make sure that your ceremony is really special. Staff from Staffordshire Registration Services pride themselves on their professionalism. To view details of each of the register offices please use the link.

Approved venues

As an alternative to having your naming ceremony in a register office you could chose to have your ceremony at one of the increasing number of approved venues throughout the county.

In Staffordshire there are numerous options for venues in which to hold your ceremony ranging from stately homes to hotels and restaurants. Please use the link provided to view details of the approved premises available.

If you choose to have your ceremony at one of the approved venues, then you will need to make arrangements with the proprietor regarding dates and times as well as with Registration Services to make sure that there is a Registrar who is available on the required date and time.

The Council sets the fees for registration officers to attend a ceremony at one of the approved venues and these vary according to the day and time. Please use the link to view details of our current fees. The fees charged by Registration Services are in addition to those that may be charged by the proprietor for use of the approved venue.

Booking your naming ceremony

To book your naming ceremony, you should contact Registration Services using our contact details. Details of fees payable for naming ceremonies can be found by looking at our fees and charges page.

Last Modified: 27/06/2007 13:09:02
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