Cousins

[sb70012]

Hello,

Is Cousins a male name or not?

Thank you.

 

[SoothingDave]

Cousins can be male or female. It is not normal for anyone to be named "Cousin" like someone would be named Joe or Sue.

 

[5jj]

Both males and females can have the surname Cousins.

It is not used as a forename.


My cousins are the male or female offspring of the siblings of my parents.

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't think I've ever heard "forename." First name or given name. I was asked my "Christian name" on a form in Germany once.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think I've ever heard "forename." First name or given name. I was asked my "Christian name" on a form in Germany once.

We used to use "Christian name" in the UK until the political correctness police found out and it was deemed inappropriate and offensive to other religions, so we went over to "forename" (on official forms) and "first name" in normal speech.

 

[bhaisahab]

We used to use "Christian name" in the UK until the political correctness police found out and it was deemed inappropriate and offensive to other religions, so we went over to "forename" (on official forms) and "first name" in normal speech.

That's how it should be. I am not a Christian and I don't have a "Christian name".

 

[emsr2d2]

That's how it should be. I am not a Christian and I don't have a "Christian name".

I agree with the logic but I have never met anyone of any religion who actually found the term "offensive". That is a word which is bandied around far too much these days when all that is meant is "they don't like it". As an atheist, I agree that I don't consider my first name to be my Christian name, but I'm not offended or affronted by the term.

 

[Grumpy]

As a baby, I was baptised with my name by a minister of the Church of Scotland. That's what made it my Christian Name, and it always will be.

 

[emsr2d2]

As a baby, I was baptised with my name by a minister of the Church of Scotland. That's what made it my Christian Name, and it always will be.

I don't know about Scotland, but if you fill in an official form in England, you will not see that term on any paperwork, only "forename".

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with the logic but I have never met anyone of any religion who actually found the term "offensive". That is a word which is bandied around far too much these days when all that is meant is "they don't like it". As an atheist, I agree that I don't consider my first name to be my Christian name, but I'm not offended or affronted by the term.

I agree with you; I am not a big fan of political correctness. But in our now global society, the label "Christian name" is no longer logical. In addition to "forename" there is "given name" as an alternative.

 

[Barb_D]

We seem to be straying from the point... I'm happy to move a thread on "Christian names" or "political correctness" to the Discussion forum, though

While names in the US get weirder and weirder all the time, "Cousins" is still not one I've seen as a first/given/forename.

 

[Rover_KE]

Perhaps sb70012 will let us know if he/she has actually encountered anybody whose first name is 'Cousins'.

If not, what prompted the original question?

 

[5jj]

We seem to be straying from the point... I'm happy to move a thread on "Christian names" or "political correctness" to the Discussion forum, though

Good Point. I wasn't sure where to split this thread, so I merely copied the 'Christian name' posts and started a new thread here:Christian names and political correctness If any of ypu wish to continue this line, that will be the place. Can we please stick to 'cousins' in this thread? Thanks

 

[sb70012]

Perhaps sb70012 will let us know if he/she has actually encountered anybody whose first name is 'Cousins'.

If not, what prompted the original question?

You know why I asked the question? Because the word Cousins is used in my book in a way that I thought it's a male name.
Look at the exercise:

Direct = Cousins’s doctor said, “We’ve tried everything possible to cure his illness.”
Indirect = Cousins’s doctor said that they had tried everything possible to cure his illness.

Direct = Cousins thought, “I’ve been cured.”
Indirect = Cousins thought that he had been cured.

Direct = Cousins said, “Don’t lose hope when a doctor says survival is impossible.”
Indirect = Cousins said not to lose hope when a doctor says survival is impossible.

 

[Raymott]

"Given name" and "Family name" solve the problem of which name appears first in a language. "First name, last name" doesn't work, and "forename" by itself is not much better.
By the way, 5jj's definition of cousin applies to "first cousins" only. That's how it's normally used. But occasionally a 'cousin' is a second cousin, or a distant cousin. We are all cousins if you go back far enough.

 

[emsr2d2]

You know why I asked the question? Because the word Cousins is used in my book in a way that I thought it's a male name.
Look at the exercise:

Direct = Cousins’s doctor said, “We’ve tried everything possible to cure his illness.”
Indirect = Cousins’s doctor said that they had tried everything possible to cure his illness.

Direct = Cousins thought, “I’ve been cured.”
Indirect = Cousins thought that he had been cured.

Direct = Cousins said, “Don’t lose hope when a doctor says survival is impossible.”
Indirect = Cousins said not to lose hope when a doctor says survival is impossible.

In that context, I would have to assume that it is "Mr Cousins". We know he is male because it goes on to say "his illness". In the first two sentences, I would omit the final "s" from "Cousins's" and just put "Cousins' doctor said ..."