Do You Like Your Name?

Do you like your name?

Have you ever wished your parents had given you a different name?

Choosing names for a child is a wonderful opportunity and an awesome responsibility.

I’ve often wondered how much of a child’s personality, if any, is shaped by his or her name; if children befriend others with similar-sounding names more than they befriend those with unusual names; if teachers show any kind of preference – even sub-consciously – to students with traditional names.

When it comes to later in life, are job opportunities somewhat different based on names. Do some names indicate more creativity than do others? Do some represent stability and maturity?

And, finally, if a person’s identity is strongly tied to his or her name, what happens to a woman’s identity when she changes her name at marriage?

All of these thoughts are swirling through my head because I just read that we are in the midst of “Celebrate Your Name Week.”

Not only is there a special week about names, the days in it include observances: Sunday was “Namesake Day”; Monday, “Fun Facts About Names Day”; Tuesday, “Unique Names Day”; Wednesday, “Learn What Your Name Means Day”; Thursday, “Nametag Day”; and Friday, “Middle Name Pride Day.”

I’ve had so many last names that it might take the whole month for me to celebrate!

Most of us like to protect our names; we take a certain kind of pride in our names. For example, my name is spelled “Sherry.” I can’t stand to have it spelled “Sheri” or “Sherrie” or any other way. There’s nothing wrong with those spellings; they just aren’t my name.

Mom’s name is “Elsie.” It’s occasionally written as “Elise” and she doesn’t like that. And I know two people named “Elise” who don’t like to be called “Elsie.”

Sister Christy probably has her name spelled incorrectly on occasion, as do brother Shawn and sister Lorri. Our late brother Rod probably didn’t have as many problems with the spelling of his name, although he – like any of us who have ever been involved in politics – often was called many other names, and not so complimentary ones either.

Ah, a rose by any other name: would it really smell as sweet?

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