What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title:--Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself."

The powerful and immortal words of Juliet as written by Shakespeare consistently show great wisdom. In this paragraph, however, she says something that is not so very wise at all.

To say that a rose would still smell the same were it not a rose, may indeed be true, but to say that Romeo's name is no part of him is to say something quite different. So why am I talking about Shakespeare? Because he is the best way to start any conversation about humanity, even if his lines seem to speak in opposition to the point I am going to get across.

Were I asked, "What's in a name?" My response, could very well be, "Everything." At the very least, it is highly important. Now, without getting into a religious sidetrack, I believe that whatever being(s) or force of nature created the universe gave man, or else man developed, an incredible power over the world with the use of names. Many ancient religions have hinted around that this is true, and many modern "affirmation" speakers, programs and linguists have revisited the power that language has on the world. I think the impact is dramatic.

Giving something a name delineates it from something else. That something else may be nothing, or it may be something similar. What do I mean by that? Well, if there is a new creation, such as the internet, we created it by giving it a name. When we discovered the difference between the tulip and the rose, we delineated them both from simply being flowers. They have distinction from one another, where the internet has distinction from nothing, since it never existed before.

In Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve, Adam is exasperated by Eve's penchant for naming things. Throughout the story though, even he admits that the world begins to take shape, animals show more personality, etc. as the names are given. Not only is there a distinction in their minds, but the world itself seems to partially conform in agreement.

If you know the story of the brontosaurus, you know exactly what I am talking about, though it may have been man's error that brought it on. Until about a decade ago, there was indeed believed to be a dinosaur called a brontosaurus. It was scientifically discovered that this creature may not have ever existed, but was in fact, a brachiosaur. Children who knew this, were confused, because in no way was a brontosaurus a brachiosaur. They didn't even look the same. (For you non dino people, Littlefoot, in The Land Before Time was a brontosaurus, and the long necks with the weird heads in Jurrassic Park were brachiosaurs. Similar maybe, but definitely distinct).They had developed completely differently in our minds, and as such, no longer were the same, but were completely distinct, even if one technically never existed. If ever such a creature did exist, or existed again, it would automatically be a brontosaurus.

Another example of this power is when people try and translate names. It is so hard to do properly, to where it will actually encompass all that something is, that they either fail, or they simply make slight alterations to the already existing name. Look at different cultures, and you will see it's true. Watch a movie in a language that you can't speak, and I guarantee the one thing that you will understand will be the names.

Of course, most of us can't go around naming things, as they already have names, which brings me to my most significant example. There is one thing that we get to name all the time, humans. There are 2 main ways that we do this: labels, and, well, names. Labels are easy to see, and as I have mentioned once or twice in my writings, labels are important, so long as they illustrate fact, not stereotypes. Sometimes we willingly apply labels to ourselves for that very reason. I want people to know that I am a student and a businessman. Sometimes I really want people to know that I am gay. Of course, I don't want people to change that around to think that I am immature, or greedy, or girly. I am simply what my label implies. Before I digress further, I think you get what I am trying to say. Knowing which labels apply to a person can give us great insight into who they are, and if we apply them to ourselves or each other, it can show us who we want ourselves or someone else to be.

Lastly, and I would say most significantly is naming of a person. I think parents on some level have an idea what they are doing when they name their child, though they may not consciously think about all the details. Think about how much time people spend looking at baby name books. But this in itself is not proof. Try these on for size. Why is it that in every book you ever look in, in any culture in the world, Richard and its derivatives means leader? Why is it that Michael, even in areas of the world where Christianity was not permeated, means beloved? (Micheal was the most beloved of all the arch-angels in Christianity). This can be seen over and over again, and even if I believed in coincidence, that connection is too much to be one.

On top of that, you can look at people that you know and see similarities. It was funny. One day at work, Bryan asked if all the Emilys in the world were hot. After I laughed, I thought about it, and though I would change it to beautiful or good looking, he had a point. Even those who weren't model beautiful, seemed to have something about them that made them incredibly attractive. I decided to ask more people, and sure enough, most of them could say that every Emily they knew was indeed attractive. I have "tested" lots of other names, and while I am not, and never will be a researcher, I have noticed similarities. Most people can think of a Josh they know that is "tough." Many know Ashley to be complicated. Like I said, I have no way made this a science, but it is something to think about.

The last thing that I want to bring up is when people change their names. Many people who have done this, say they do so because it feels right. When we adopted my little sister, my mom changed her name from Ashely to Nicole, because "she looked and felt more like a Nicole." Strangely enough, knowing my sister like I do, she seems to embody a little bit of Ashley with a lot of Nicole (according to what the names are supposed to mean). We all know people who hate one incarnation or another of their name. My sister Jessica refuses to be anything but Sica. To her, it fits, and if you know her, it does indeed even though Jessica was her name her entire life. We know the people who abandon their names for their initials, creating something of a new name. We know people who use their full name, or refuse to do so. I know when I changed my name, it was with careful diliberation, and though I did not realize it at the time, it was finding a name that was indeed me. Taking names from throughout my family was something that since that time has become significant to me. Those who have known me throughout my life have said that Rick Raven is indeed the right name for me.

I don't pretend to know all the reasons behind all of this, but I wanted to put my thoughts down. Perhaps more will come from this in the future, and in the meantime, I bet it is something you can think about and debate me on, which of course is the best thing in the world.