Personally, I LOVE names. They're one of my long-time obsessions. {...*adds it to sidebar list*} I love naming things, and I love making up names. But I got to thinking about it, and names shouldn't be like labels. A long time ago, they weren't. Names were something intimate and almost destiny-shaping. Names used to MEAN something.
In Ghana, the first part of a kid's name depended on the day he was born.
In Nigeria, kids were given 3 names: first, a name that relates to the family's circumstances. Second, an attribute the kid is hoped to have. Third, a family name.
In Hispanic countries, kids used to be named according to which saint's day they were born on.
In ancient Hebrew times, kids were just simply named something meaningful.
Wouldn't it be cool if it were still like that? You'd tell someone your name was Sarah, and they'd automatically know that meant "princess." Or maybe a baby was conceived in Hawaii, so the parents name it Innis, which means "island." Or say you want your child to be brave, so you name him Drystan, meaning "bold."
Then there's the downside, though. I mean, some names have awesome meanings, but sound...awful. Like Kuonrat {"bold counsel"}. Or Leofwine {"dear friend"}.
But still. Wouldn't it be cool to live in a name-oriented culture, where names are meaningful and intentional? I think it'd make everyone feel special to be named for a real reason. It would almost feel like people were "worth more." Haha, isn't that a totally twisted thought?
I used to hate my name. A lot. I thought Stephanie was completely boring, right up there with Jane and Martha (no offense to anyone named that). I changed it several times growing up.
Now, I really like my name. I really do. "Stephanie" is Greek, and Greek is my favorite language. I like the "ph" because it shows the Greek-ness. And I like that it means "crowned." To me it's a way of saying "royalty" without the implied prissiness of "princess." I dunno. I just like it. I'm not sure if my parents put THAT much thought into it before they named me, but it's cool that it still worked out.
What about you guys? Do you like your name? Were you named for a reason?
~Stephanie
