How could I find out the meanings of "name a child for her" or "name a child after her?"

Question

There is a song (called "Kilkelly"), and in the song, "you" (the person the narrator is singing to) had a child. And there is a lyric:

"And Bridgette is happy you named the child for her."

And, to my anglophone ears, I realize that this sentence could mean two different things. It could mean something like

1. "Bridgette had the responsibility of naming your own child, instead of you choosing your child's name. But she didn't want this responsibility, and is happy that you took the responsibility instead", or
2. "You named your child to have the same name as Bridgette".

And indeed, there is ambiguity in a different sentence:

And Bridgette is happy you named the child after her.

This sentence could mean

1. the same as #2 above (ie, that you named the child to have the same name as Bridgette), or
2. The nurse asked Bridgette "What's the name of this child? I have to write a name on the child's birth certificate", and Bridgette gave her idea of a name. And then after she did that, you told the nurse "No, don't listen to Bridgette. I'm going to name the child, now".

Question:
1) Suppose I was learning English as a second language. What online resource could I use to find out each of the two meanings of each of these two sentences?

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Extra remarks / background:

I am a native English speaker, and I am learning French.

The more I learn about French, the more I have questions that want an answer that teaches me about linguistics. However, every time, I never realize that I actually wanted that linguistic information until someone sees my French-related question, and then compares French, English, and other languages, to thus give me a linguistics-related answer.

I am having a lot of difficulty with prepositions, in my French learning. It feels that prepositions are fuzzy in meaning. And now, I am sometimes realizing that prepositions are fuzzy in meaning in English, too, where two different prepositions could be chosen, only with a slight nuance in meaning; or where the meaning of the preposition in a particular sentence could not have been guessed given that preposition's usual meaning.

I'm craving strategies that could 1) help me identify this murky discomfort about prepositions -- what exactly about them make me uncomfortable? What patterns exist that can be identified as making me uncomfortable? and 2) linguistic information/ideas that might help me make sense of how prepositions are used.

Answer 1

In this case, 'name the child for her' or 'name the child after her', mean the same thing. You had a child and called it Bridgette, and Bridgette is pleased to have the child share her name.

The alternate meanings that you raised for both phrases are not incorrect in theory, but both of these phrases are almost always used for the sole purpose of indicating that you have chosen a name for your child to show your respect, or friendship, for the person who already carries that name.

You are correct, prepositions are murky monsters in almost every language. They are frequently used in idiosyncratic ways that simply have to be learned. Their use can't be deduced simply from a knowledge of the individual words in a prepositional phrase or phrasal verb. Expressions such as 'fitting in', 'slipping up', 'sleep over', etc., have to be learned as separate units. And to make matters worse, different languages will often use different combinations of verb and preposition to mean the same thing.