Given name
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A given name is a name which is used for a single person, to separate it from a group of people, especially if these all have the same family name. A given name is a name given to a person, while a family name is inherited.
Example: A man named John Smith and his daughter named Mary Smith. Then Smith is the family name, while John and Mary are given names.
In most Western countries the given name is often called the "first name" because it comes first (before the family name). However, in many Eastern countries such as Japan and China it comes after the family name, and occasionally also in Europe, e.g. in Hungarian. Christians often call their first name their "Christian name".
