What's In a Name, Really?

Nowaysis · 18-12-06 17:35:32

I originally meant to post this on the eleventh of December, for the simple reason that in the Swedish calendar, that's my day. But as that probably differs from country to country, it doesn't really matter that I missed the date by a week.

However, that day made me think about something we often take for granted, but which at one time or another probably (and hopefully) caused our parents some significant bother namely... eh, our names.

If it feels like too much of an invasion of privacy or anonymity, I won't ask anyone to actually tell us their name, but there were a couple of thoughts I'd like to run by the esteemed membership.

* Do you know if your name has any meaning? (It seems most common names usually have some meaning or other, mine for example, is a Hebrew name meaning "God is my Judge" (roughly translated from Swedish).)

* If so, does that meaning have any significance to you?

* Also, on a more general note, what is your own attitude towards your own name? Not necessarily pertaining to the meaning of the name, but just the abstract concept of your name.

I won't say too much, in hopes of inspiring discussion, instead of killing it before it even sees the light of day, but personally, my relationship to my name isn't without its complications. It has, for example, taken me a lot of deliberate effort to become even marginally comfortable with the sound of it uttered by myself. This is perhaps natural, our names are after all mostly used by other people, but I feels that one aught to be comfortable with something that to others is so intimately linked to one's person, personality and individuality.

Also, I sometimes ponder the fact that my name has such an overt connection to judeo-christian religion. It leads me to suspect that it was chosen because my mother is very religious, something I'm definitely not. It's an extremely academic issue, that really has no practical bearing on anything at all, but what am I, as an almost devout agnostic and certainly sceptic to do with this message from 23 years ago, saying I should look to God for judgement and guidance?

Siobhan · 18-12-06 18:58:43

Great subject for a thread, and great opening, Nowaysis.

I, too, have a biblical name, but it's my surname, and it's always made me feel very uncomfortable.

My "first" name, what we also call a "given" name or, interestingly, a "Christian" name, has a great deal of significance. I love the name, but I don't like the way it sounds; I never have. I have often wanted it to be my surname, where it would sound better.

But without writing my actual name, this conversation is kind of difficult! I'll thus defer to others, and return when I know how to make more sense.

Thanks again for a very interesting thread, Nowaysis.

Nowaysis · 18-12-06 19:14:38

You're welcome, I aim to please.

Last edited by Nowaysis (18-12-06 19:15:08)

The_Elfman · 19-12-06 00:14:27

My first name is Pete. I hate being called Peter. (That isn't my name). My surname is Anglo Saxon and means "long legs" and it sounds very rude .

Elfman

polarchill · 19-12-06 01:41:47

My first name, "honouring God". My last name, well, that would be saying too much, and besides, I hate the meaning. It's embarassing. No dignity at all. Hmmph.

jerryb76 · 19-12-06 02:22:12

I am named after a Saint, but not because my parents are religious. He is a pretty boring Saint anyway, he translated the bible from ancient greek, I think, to Latin. My father's roomate from college was killed during the Korean war and I am named after him. One intersting thing about my name is my Dad and I have the same initials, but I am not a junior.

padraic · 19-12-06 03:03:06

My surname is Gaelic and is more or less the equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon 'Armstrong'. I have two given names and was always called by my middle name rather than my first. This has always suited me just fine as my first name is the same as my father's was, and I never wanted to be confused with him.

Arielle · 19-12-06 03:51:43

My name means "God is Gracious" or "By the Grace of God" and my last name literally translates to "Son of Pol" This upsets me sometimes as Im not always sure that God is either Gracious or actually there at all, and Im most defintely not a Son. We went on a school excursion to the National Library Geneology Centre and when we found out about Son of Pol the class surmised it must have been Pol Pot.

My dad (typically) didn't confer with my mum over the choice and picked something my sweet Chinese mother and the majority of her family cant even pronounce correctly.

This caused much confusion growing up as a child in Asia as my peers seemed to think my name was Cheenee Poison.

Poison happened a few times, until I learnt to make the L a lot longer than an I.

Parents dont realise how much influence a name has on a child.

bolero · 19-12-06 04:54:06

I have more than two names including my surname (last name or family name). In fact, I have more than three nay more than four names and each one of them has a very meaningful and traditional derivation. In my culture we tend not to give names which don't have meaning although that's a practice which is less than universally followed these days. Anyone immersed in the culture and the language of the culture, however, tend to give names which have deep significance; and significance, moreover, beyond the "namer". When I was young, like Nowaysis, I had considerable "auditory bother" with my name, so when someone asked me what my name was it sounded like corrugated iron being stripped off a roof as it came out of my mouth. As I grew older and learned the history of my people and my own family in particular, I developed a new and enduring respect for the various titles which had been bestowed on me. When my father named me - and in my culture the father always names the children - I now believe he did so with the insight of a visionary. So yes - I'm pretty pleased with my name, but not that pleased that I'm going to shout it out loud here! In certain fields of my life I have been fortunate enough to experience a fair measure of success. Names are always identified with success and I'm pretty sure that it's not the other way around, so that's been rewarding too. People's stories on this thread are really interesting. I hope we hear many more before the thread starts to wear thin on its tread.

aven frey · 19-12-06 07:21:10

Crikey there are a lot of god names around!
Bridgett (Ropelover) actually informed me that my surname was stolen from the Irish by the English back in the olden days. Was there anything they didn't lay claim to!!??
There is no god in my name, though there is a fair ammount of hippy. My mum thought it would be funny to make my middle name Starshine! It's good cause it makes people laugh!

polarchill · 19-12-06 07:52:18

max wrote:

Crikey there are a lot of god names around!
Bridgett (Ropelover) actually informed me that my surname was stolen from the Irish by the English back in the olden days. Was there anything they didn't lay claim to!!??
There is no god in my name, though there is a fair ammount of hippy. My mum thought it would be funny to make my middle name Starshine! It's good cause it makes people laugh!

Get tired of people waking you up and saying "The earth says hello"?

Nowaysis · 19-12-06 10:29:04

You twinkle above us... in a ferris wheel!

Like padraic, and probably many others, I have more than one name. Infact, since my parents got divorced, I have five(!) names: my father's surname (which all us children have had since we were born), my mother's maiden name (which she added to our identity papers in a spout of righteous ex-spousal vindication), and my three given names. Of the three given names, I'm actually called by the last one. The two others are the exact same as an uncle has, so using either of them could be very confusing.

Of the three given names, I really couldn't imagine being called by any of the others anyway. They are never used, except when filling in governmental forms that require you to fill in your entire name, and as such I'm not used to them at all. It's as if I would have been a completely different person if my parents hade decided to call me by either of those names, not in the least because I know several people who go by those names, and now, in the individual I have grown into, I associate those names with other people, and imagine I would somehow have become more like them if I had borne one of those names as my callsign.

The_Elfman · 19-12-06 13:08:20

max wrote:

My mum thought it would be funny to make my middle name Starshine

Your Elven (Sindarin) name will be Tinusila then. (The accent on the "u". The "a" and both "i"s are soft. Pronounced Tin-oo-silla). So shall you be known amongst us, Elf-friend.

Elfman.

polarchill · 19-12-06 13:32:44

The_Elfman wrote:

max wrote:
My mum thought it would be funny to make my middle name Starshine
Your Elven (Sindarin) name will be Tinusila then. (The accent on the "u". The "a" and both "i"s are soft. Pronounced Tin-oo-silla). So shall you be known amongst us, Elf-friend.
Elfman.

This is going to lead to a song, isn't it?

The_Elfman · 19-12-06 13:56:55

Indeed. And long shall it be in the singing. There'll be dancing too and much drinking of wine (and perhaps some nibbles) and fair Tinusila shall dance naked amongst us until she falls over and is sick in the corner. So decree I, Edheladan the Elfman, greatest and wisest of all lore-masters in this realm.

blissed · 19-12-06 15:21:24

And I bravely volunteer to catch her when she falls I dunno about the being sick part tho. In my version she does that later on the train home.

.

The_Elfman · 19-12-06 16:48:18

Don't know about the train. She might decide to hang out at my place for a while.

Back to names. Why am I Edheladan?

edhel = elf
adan = man

padraic · 19-12-06 19:21:33

Nowaysis wrote:

Of the three given names, I really couldn't imagine being called by any of the others anyway. They are never used, except when filling in governmental forms that require you to fill in your entire name, and as such I'm not used to them at all. It's as if I would have been a completely different person if my parents hade decided to call me by either of those names, not in the least because I know several people who go by those names, and now, in the individual I have grown into, I associate those names with other people, and imagine I would somehow have become more like them if I had borne one of those names as my callsign.

Like you, Nowaysis, my first name is only used (by me) when filling out official forms that have to have one's full name on them. I don't even normally associate my first name with myself. I've been in offices or banks when someone called out my first name trying to get my attention, and I completely ignored them because that name just doesn't feel like 'me'.

blissed · 19-12-06 21:48:23

Ha ha thats three of us then! I use my middle name. It's nice to have the choice.

Elf thats the grove park inn. I didn't know you lived there.

.

Last edited by blissed (19-12-06 21:55:07)

jwhite · 20-12-06 00:22:37

The only Time I've ever heard my full name was when my mom was really, really, REALLY angry.

aven frey · 20-12-06 00:44:22

I like Tinusila, not sure about dancing naked amongst elves, they can be shifty buggers from some accounts, they would have to be naked too and put away their mobile camera phones.

blissed · 20-12-06 02:14:09

Sounds like a great idea for a video! I have heard elves are quite hard to find tho.

.

Arielle · 20-12-06 03:44:37

Isn't that an elf on the t-shirt you are wearing today Max?

aven frey · 20-12-06 03:49:57

Yes and he's jumping over a mushroom. Out of all the t-shirts I own this is actually my most favorite one.

polarchill · 20-12-06 10:44:18

max wrote:

Yes and he's jumping over a mushroom. Out of all the t-shirts I own this is actually my most favorite one.

Pssst . . . Max . . . that's not a mushroom . . .

#1 18-12-06 17:35:32

What's In a Name, Really?

#2 18-12-06 18:58:43

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