In English is there a synonym for "godchild" (or the gender-specific versions) without a religious connotation but without necessarily having other specific connotations?
All the words I'm coming up with mean (or at least imply) that the child is living with me, or that I'm acting in loco parentis in some way. I don't want that.
- "orphan", "foster child", "adopted child": these all mean that the child has lost his or her natural parents and is living with a different family or in an orphanage.
- "protégé": this is closer, but to me it still implies that the child lives with the mentor rather than the parents.
What I am looking for is something that describes a similar relationship to "godchild" (i.e. I care about the child's well-being, but he lives with his parents, not with me) without actually having the religious connotation or implying anything about the child.
(As some commenters mention, "godchild" is sometimes used outside of a religious context these days, but it still carries that connotation; it can't really be separated from its origin.)
Best Answer
Both my children, and my four nieces and nephews, all have 2-3 godparents each.
All except one of the godparents are also aunt/uncle to the protectee, if it were felt necessary to avoid the word "god". But despite the fact that all bar none of the godparents are staunch atheists, I don't recall anyone ever objecting to the standard terms godson, goddaughter, godparent.
So far as we're concerned, a godparent is primarily someone charged with taking "greater-than-might-otherwise-be-expected" responsibility for the child's development of a "moral compass". There's often an implication that the godparent is first choice for "adoptive parent", if the biological parents meet with disaster - but that's got no legal significance in the UK, so it's really just a symbolic role.
As @John Y says, for many today the god in godparent has no more religious significance than the x in xmas, or the christ in for chrissake. So I would cite the fact that we don't bother to popularise an alternative "secular" term as evidence that most people simply don't feel a need for it.