Appendix K: About Traditional Klallam Names
by Adeline Smith and Beatrice Charles, as told to Timothy Montler
It is a great honor to receive or give a traditional name. Names are important because they identify you with your family and your land of origin. Names form the foundation of the traditional culture, tying family and villages together and keeping them distinct. Being given a traditional name permanently links one to one’s family, community, and its history. Accepting and using a traditional name commits one to living up to the name and honoring it. These are the rules for giving, receiving, and using traditional names. These rules have been passed down generation after generation from time beyond reckoning.
Names are owned by families and the lands they come from; individuals do not own names. An individual who is given a name can only carry a name and use it; he or she cannot give it away without the permission of the oldest members of the family. As names are passed down through the generations within families, every name has a history that links the present to the past.
Nobody may use a name that has not been formally given to them. Nobody may use a name that does not come from their own family unless special permission is obtained. Nobody may use a name that has not been approved by the oldest members of the family that the name descends from.
Approval of a name. To get approval for a name, one must formally go to an elder in one’s family and request it. The person to receive the name must be leading a decent life to prove that a name is deserved. The elder thinks about the person to receive the name, their life and personality, and then releases an appropriate name. An elder may reserve a name but hold approval for it depending on some accomplishment, such as graduation from school.
If one wants to give a particular name to one’s child or grandchild, permission must first be obtained from the oldest member of the family. The elder may then release the name for giving.
Although it is not common practice, a single name may be used by more than one living person. To give a name that is already being used by someone, one must get permission from the person using the name as well as from the family elders. In some families the person already using the name is given a special blanket out of respect for the honor of their permission.
There are a limited number of names. Many names have been lost. If no names are available within a family, one may request a name from another family. The other family then meets and discusses the request among themselves. If they agree, an elder in that family then formally releases the name to the other family. There have been rumors of people selling names for cash, but this is generally considered a violation of tradition.
As another solution to the problem of the limited number of names, one may modify an existing name. Modification may include making the name diminutive, adding or subtracting an ending to make the name masculine or feminine, shortening or lengthening the name. Such modifications are suggested to family elders for their approval.
Occasionally an elder will make up a new name. If there are no available names within the family and a name cannot be found outside the family, then an elder may make up a new name for a deserving family member. Such new names follow the pattern of the sound of traditional names, and some are similar to existing traditional names.
Giving a name. Once a name has been approved and released for giving by the elders, the family giving the name must do so before witnesses. Often the naming is done in a large public ceremony and the hosting family feeds and gives gifts to all in attendance. Up to the middle of the twentieth century, namings were often very large gatherings with hundreds of people coming from all over. Gifts given at a naming may be anything, such as food, dishes, towels, blankets, and all sorts of handmade items. Some name givers plan and save for years for a big naming ceremony. If the giver holds a particular witness in high regard, a special gift that the witness will cherish may be given. This indicates special friendship, love, and caring, and helps cement the witness’s memory of the naming. The naming may also be done at a dinner in a smaller setting of family and friends. In either case the name is proclaimed and the receiver of the name pronounces it.
The giver of the name describes the process by which the name was approved and tells the history of the name, who previously carried it, and where the name comes from. If the previous user of the name was particularly noteworthy, the giver will speak about the life of that person. The giver tells the receiver to learn the history of the name and to protect the name carefully.
Disagreements about a name. If one is given a name, it is a high insult to the giver to refuse it. Once a person has refused a name they cannot receive that name or any other name from that family.
If two people want the same name, the whole family must discuss it and the oldest members have the final say about who gets it. If no decision can be finally agreed to, the name is left ‘floating around,’ possibly for many years.
If two families disagree about who has the right to pass on a name, the elders of the two families meet to discuss the situation and come to an agreement. Again, if there is no agreement, the name is left floating.
Disagreements about a name can lead to bitter disputes between and within families. Prolonged disputes can dishonor a name and even cause its loss. It is best to come to an agreement quickly and follow elders’ advice.
Using a name. A name can be honored by the high accomplishments of its user and a name can be ruined by a bearer’s bad behavior. One must take care never to disgrace the name one is using.
Names may be used any way that personal names are generally used. They are always used in formal, traditional ceremonies and in speeches. In the old days people used the traditional names all of the time. Today they should be used as much as possible so that they are not forgotten. Elders especially like to use the names they have given and use them whenever they can.
A person may have more than one name. One may be given a name as a child and another as an adult. A person may be given a name by both sides of the family. Generally people with more than one name are considered siʔám̓, having high social status. A person with more than one name may use either, but generally favors the most recently received name.
The meaning of names. Unlike names among the Plains tribes, traditional coast names generally have no translation into English. They are simply proper nouns, like many English names. A name can be given a kind of meaning by the behavior of its user. For example, Tom Charles was told that his traditional name meant ‘guardian, protector,’ because it had previously belonged to a man who protected his village. His name has nothing to do with the common Klallam words meaning ‘guard’ or ‘protect.’
There are a few traditional names that do have identifiable meanings based on common words. For example, some names are clearly based on the word siʔam̓, meaning ‘noble, high class, respected,’ so those names are sometimes translated ‘princess’ or ‘prince.’
Men’s names and women’s names. Usually women’s names are given to women and men’s names are given to men. Women’s names are often distinguished from men’s names by the ending. A fluent speaker of Klallam can usually tell whether a name is a man’s or woman’s, but sometimes it is impossible to tell without knowing who it belongs to or where it came from. Women’s names generally end in ‑c̓aʔ, -uʔ, -wət, -u, ‑əw, or ‑i. Men’s names generally end in ‑n, -m, or ‑cut. There are many exceptions, and there are some names that can be used by either a man or a woman. Names can be converted from women’s to men’s and vice versa by changing the ending.
Conclusion. Traditional personal names are the cherished private property of families. Names must be treated with the greatest respect.