These ceremonies are an alternative rite of passage to a christening or baptism and are growing in popularity. The ceremony is usually held in the comfort of your own home or in a park setting. The child receives an A4 parchment certificate with an area on the back for your guests' signatures as a memento of the day. The Guardians (or Godparents) also receive a certificate.

A Name Giving Ceremony has long been the rite which society has used to welcome a child into the family, to the wider family of their relatives, and to the community of their friends.

Today, Civil Celebrants provide families with a wonderful opportunity to officially welcome their child into a loving circle of family and friends. Preparing a carefully worded ceremony often deepens relationships within families, and the parents and godparents, or mentors, become more aware of their responsibilities.

A Name Giving Ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to culturally express joy, hope and acceptance, and a chance to express these feelings in poetry and words of commitment. This can also be symbolised by lighting of candles, planting and dedicating a tree, releasing of balloons or reading special verses.

The ceremony is not a baptism, or christening, because such ceremonies are religious. The name giving ceremony that I provide will in no way prohibit the child from making any future religious or Non-religious commitment of belief. In fact during the ceremony it will be stated that, it is the duty of all of us, in the coming years to present the child with a broad view of life and encourage them in the virtues that we all agree as good - integrity, honesty, concern, fairness and love towards their fellow human beings.

A Certificate of Name Giving is prepared for the child, and either Godparent, Mentor or Guardian Certificates for the people who undertake these responsibilities.