The Journal
Stories about names, and the people who choose them.
Where names come from, how they travel, the traditions behind them, and what a century and a half of records can show.
Honoring someone you loved, without repeating their nameYou don’t have to use a grandparent’s exact name to carry them forward. Families around the world honor relatives through a letter, a sound, a meaning or another language.September 27, 2026When a surname becomes a first nameHarper, Parker, Madison, Mackenzie and Kennedy all began as family names. Here’s how a surname crosses over, and why so many families carry one forward.September 25, 2026