Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Why were You Given Your Name?

Another topic to write on for your personal history is:

Why were you given your name?

There are many reasons why parents may choose names for their children.  Names go through times of popularity and some studies suggest if you have a popular name you will be more popular.  My name is quite uncommon, and I have never been popular; but I really like my name.  My mother heard it in a song on the radio, and she liked the sound of it.  

When I named my daughters, I considered the names their fathers suggested, looked up the meanings and picked a name that I like the meaning of.  

My parents both went by their middle names.  They didn't want to be called by their first names.  My father's first name was his grandfather's name.  His middle name came from the name of a church leader at the time he was born.  A few years ago I heard a current church leader talk about his parents growing up in the same are my father's parents lived in.  He told about a meeting being held in that area the year my dad was born.  One of the speakers at that meeting was the man my father was given his middle name from.  It would be interesting to talk with my dad's parents and find out why they gave him that name.  Were they so impressed by meeting the man or hearing his talk that they wanted their son to become like him, or did they just like the name?  My father was never called by his first name.  One time a government official came by my father's farm and asked if he knew someone.  My father stood there thinking about it and was about ready to say he didn't know anyone by that name when he realized the name was his.  He wasn't used to hearing his first name and without hearing his middle name too he didn't even recognize it at first.  

My mother's first name was also her mother's and her grandmother's first name.  Her middle name was a longer version of a common name.  She preferred to go by the shortened version of her middle name.  I looked up the meanings of her names, and they meant princess, lady, and beautiful--all wonderful meanings.

Write down why you were given your name.  Put down any stories behind it.  Write down the meaning of your name or if you were named after someone.  Write down why you named your children their names.  You may also want to include any nicknames and why you got the nickname.  My parents never called us by nicknames.  Some nicknames come from names of endearment, but some may come from negative or embarrassing moments.  Names definitely affect our lives and are a very important part of our lives.  

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