I of course had to name this post "What's In A Name II" because I have in the past named another post "What's In A Name..." not that you really care, but still...Anyways...
When you sit back and ponder it for a moment what is the origin of your name? Do you know from whence it came? You see, I chuckle every time I think I have a "plain" name and don't like it very much until my Mom reminds me that I was almost "Mamie Jean (like my dear Grandma)." I am also on the verge of tears when I hear chatter about soap operas and am further reminded that my 2 cousins and I were named after characters on "All My Children" and "The Young & The Restless." I guess our parents didn't have the desire to do much during the day...but I digress.
I get semi-excited when I think about other people and places that have my name (even if it's spelled as if it's pronounced TAR-uh) like, in Gone With the Wind, but am bubbling over with joy (okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but you get the point) to know that it means--in many translations--Mother Earth.
Even though they are named after their fathers, I believe I have given my boys nice, strong names. Dameus (pronounced DAY-me-us) doesn't really have an origin or meaning of sorts, but I still think it sounds like it possesses authority and demands one's undivided attention. William, which means, "protector of the kingdom" always reminds me of royalty.
So what about you? Were you named after someone? Do you believe that your name defines you? Does your name determine how far you will go job/career-wise? How does it look on a resume? Well when I was talking to my cousin today, she reminded me about a visit that I had at my "doctor's office" a couple of years ago. I (over) heard a conversation that went a little like this:
Setting: There was a mother sitting the waiting room with her 3...or maybe 4...children waiting to be seen. The children were kind of all over the place, meddling with this and that while she dilly-dallied around in her purse. Just then one of the doctors entered...
Doctor: (as she s-l-o-w-l-y and with a VERY HIGH level of uncertainty reads the clipboard, which apparently had a name spelled "Zava") Zava? Yes, Zava please follow---
Rude and Super-Country: (Smacking teeth) Um ex-ca-yoose me, his name IS Zava (pronounced Zah-Vee-AY)...
Doctor: Oh I'm sorry Ma'am, the way it's spelled, it looks like--
Rude and Super-Country: (Cutting off the Doctor mid-sentence again) No, it's Zah-Vee-AY....spelled Z-a-(you ready for this?) LONG V-a.
Sigh.
While I am still trying to figure out how I picked up my jaw without her noticing and got over my sheer disappointment, pure disbelief, and utter amazement, your thoughts?
9 comments:
my dad had this annoying (but eventually endearing) habit of renaming us almost on a weekly basis. Sometimes when he really liked a name he used it for a while. they were always creative names, sometimes funny, always said with love. now that he has passed away, we all do it to each other. damn even my poor cat has about 15 names : ) so my point, I guess I think names are important for legal reasons but in the end, "a rose by any other name is still a rose" besos
Es~Muy interesante!!! And ah the "rose" quote...if you'll notice in my other post with this name, that was the photo used. Everyone doesn't get that :-)
P.S. Funny thing...a few of our family members have more than one name. In fact, if my wonderful Granfather were still around, I would totally be Tera, Carol, and Karen!
3GK~You're absolutely right! Nobody can! ;-) Hmmm, on the kids...you don't say!
Tera--Don't get me started on names. Whenever I have a pregnant colleague at work at The Rock, I read the absence list aloud...as a "Don't You Dare" list. No wonder these kids don't show up to school. With names like these, they're probably embarrassed. The latest Don't: "Di-Naz'Jan". WHAT!!??!!!???!!!??
Nance~You're kidding right??? Like, that's not even funny! How in the hell do you even pronounce that?! Sigh
I was wondering how your boyz are doing... how are they??
I think my parents just liked my name. The boys were all Bible names, and they got creative with the girls's first names (our middle names are family names). What I like the most is that my middle name is the same as my mom's official middle name, though she has used a different one all her life. Interesting.
People who name their kids with weird names should spell it out like it should be pronounced. Poor child though in either case.
Pamela~The boys are doing great! Trying me on a daily basis as usual, but that's and entirely different blog post! Biblical names...hmmm, I've always liked that idea too. We also do the middle name thing in our family too!
I remember at a job I had there was a family with several children, and of the names that I can remember, there was Honesty, Charity, Purity, Unity, and the boy's name was Virtue. Not too sure how I felt about that one...
My first name is a combination of the names of two girls that my brother liked...and yes, my mom let him name me (her hormones were fucking with her ability to think).
BCU~Oh my! Really? How VERY interesting!
Post a Comment