Everything has a name．All people, places, and things have names．For example, Jenny is the name of a student from England．England is the name of her country．Cities and towns have names, too．Schools and office buildings also have names．All things have names．For example, tomato, potato and bean are names of vegetables．Apple, orange and banana are names of fruits．Names are important.
We use names every day．When we meet a new person, we usually ask, 'What's your name?' It is important to learn a person's name．Most people have two names．Some people have more names．Names are different all over the world．In Jenny's class, Jenny must learn the names of students from all over the world．This is very difficult because the names are very different.
In the United States, most people have a first name, a middle name, and a last name．Parents, choose the first and middle names for their baby．There are names for boys 'and names for girls．For example, John, Peter, Tom, and Mike are all names for boys．Elizabeth, Betty, Susan, and Mary are all names for girls, The last name is the family name．Usually it is the father's family name．In a family, the mother, the father, and the children usually have the same last name.
Sometimes a person has a nickname (绰号) , too: A nickname is a special name．It is not a person's real name．Abraham Lincoln's nickname was 'Honest Abe'．An honest person always tells the truth, and Abe is short for Abraham．Because he was an honest person, his nickname was 'Honest Abe'．Pele (贝利) is a nickname, too．The football player's real name is Edison Arantes de Nascimento, but everyone calls him Pele．Do you have a nickname?
Names are different all over the world．They can be long or short, but they are always very important.
Why does everything have a name?