Although amuletic names were sometimes given as a second name when a child was older, this was not always the case — some children were given these names at birth, with the hope that they would live to fulfill the meaning of their names.

Illustrated above is the birth registration of my great-great-grandfather, born in Chęciny, Poland in 1856.  He is clearly given the name "Alter" (meaning "old man") at birth.  Why would parents give their baby a name meaning "old man"?