Abstract
Balode and Lulle draw on research focusing on migrant mothers’ and children’s experiences of migration between Finland, Latvia and the UK during the 2010–2014 period. The forename is a crucial element of one’s translocal identity and an embodied signifier in migration processes. The authors argue for a more nuanced understanding of the dynamic meanings attached to the forename in different times, spaces and social contexts. The name becomes a boundary work through which to signify a new ‘family-making’ as well as emphasising belonging to certain identities. This boundary also implies a future horizon as it is important for parents to imagine how a child will relate to his or her name throughout the life course in different cultures.
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Balode, M., Lulle, A. (2018). Doing Translocal Families Through Children’s Names. In: Assmuth, L., Hakkarainen, M., Lulle, A., Siim, P. (eds) Translocal Childhoods and Family Mobility in East and North Europe. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89734-9_3
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