Well, I think a lot is in a name. It is a common practice to name a child after someone in the Bible or after a saint, with the hope that the child will become someone of faith themselves or exhibit the good qualities of the person they're named after. Names, in a large part, end up defining who we are. I'm a Debbie; I can't imagine being named anything else. Our names are one of the first words we learn. We learn to respond to it before we know how to talk. It's one of the very first words we learn to spell and write. Whether we like it or not, we're stuck with our names for life, for the most part. Our names aren't like a pair of shoes; if you don't like your name, it's not easy to get rid of it As a result, I think parents give a lot of thought to names. Well, most parents that is.
I've been doing quite a bit of paperwork at school this week, and I've come to realize that some parents may not view naming a child with the long term consequences of giving their child a particular name. Either that or they were completely on drugs, both legal and illicit, when choosing their children's names. How do I know this? Here is my proof - names of students either I have now or have had in the past:
Chiquita (as in the banana)
Campbells (as in the soup)
Boston (after the band, not the city) (Okay, maybe I can let that one slide.)
Nutter (Don't ask! This is a boy's given name in our school- I checked out the copy of his birth certificate in his permanent file. Perhaps after Nutter Butters?)
Tiass (I have no idea, but you can imagine how she got made fun of the year I had her in class.)
Tarantula (Yep, like the spider.)
and my last two personal favorites
Diamond
and
Desire
Honestly, I think the parents of the last two girls didn't realize that they were giving their daughters stripper/hooker names. At least I hope they didn't. Unfortunately, their preteen daughters come to school every day dressed like women who practice those professions. So, maybe our names help give us a sense of who we are or at least a sense of style. I don't know. I just hope I'll stop and think about the names I give to my child and don't saddle them with a name that is cheap or brings about lifelong taunting by their peers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
great post, Deb! I can't believe all the names you have seen! Since my sister is expecting her first child, we have been talking about names A LOT. Luckily, Bob and I had Eva and Eli picked out before either of them was even on the way. Though I remember trying to explain to my mom that we weren't naming Eva so much after a dictator's wife as were a musical heroine, etc...) Anyway, it's hard to believe some people are as cavalier as it sounds like they are. Of course, if even a strange name has significance to the parent, I guess I can see that...one of Eva's classmates is names Cheyenne Sapphire and you can tell it was like some sort of dream fulfillment for her mom to get to name a little girl that. But, I have decided I really shouldn't talk about names (even though clearly I am) because I always had a problem with names that were spelled "funny" and names that it seemed like people made up. Well guess what? Everyone thinks Eva should be spelled Ava and that Rell is something I concocted (instead of it being after my grandma).
:)
p.s. My sister and brother-in-law decided on Henry. :)
I once worked with a girl named Sparkle and went to school with a girl named Tequila. Hopefully they've both overcome the stigmas of their given names, but I have a feeling they're probably both hugging a brass pole somewhere right now!
Post a Comment