11.11.

2019 Craus Denisa Mihaela

LRE I
What’s in a name?

When trying to get to know someone, the first thing you would likely do is ask, “What
is your name?” A name is “a word or set of words by which a person or thing is known,
addressed, or referred to.”1 Each of us has a name. A name is something you turn to when
you hear it being called from a friend down the hall. A name is one of the first things you
receive when you enter the world.

Our name identifies us as a person. Hearing the name of someone you strongly
dislike produces negative feelings, while the name of someone you dearly love prompts
pleasant, happy thoughts. In addition to your name, there are other words that describe
narrower aspects of your life. The same person may be called Professor, Boss, Dad or
Grandpa, depending on the circumstances. Each of these words can prompt different thoughts
about the person, calling attention to a different facet of his life. But his name reminds us of
the whole person —all his aspects, everything we know about him.

The Holy Bible claims that every family in heaven and on earth owes its name to God:
“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph 3:14, 15 KJV). He established the first human
family and permitted Adam and Eve to have children. Therefore, the earthly lines of descent
owe their name to him. He is also the Father of his heavenly family. And just as he calls all
the countless stars by their names, he undoubtedly gave names to the angels. At the very start
of the creation account, the Bible tells us that God called the light Day, but the darkness he
called Night.

An interesting example of how something completely new was named involves the
miraculously provided manna. When the Israelites first saw it, they exclaimed: “What is it?”
(man huʼ?) It was apparently for this reason that they called it “manna,” probably meaning
“What is it?”

1
http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/name/?view=uk
 God evidently put in man a desire to name things. The first human had a name: Adam,
the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew ‫'( אדם‬adam)
meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian adamu
meaning "to make".2 God granted to the first man Adam the privilege of naming the lower
creatures. What pleasure it must have brought Adam to observe these creatures, to study their
characteristics, and to decide what name might be appropriate for each one of them. The
names given doubtless were descriptive. In his song, “Man gave names to all the animals”,
Bob Dylan depicts how the first man gave a name to each animal he saw by their physical
aspect, habits, what they eat and so on. For example, the “cow” was names like this because
she stood up on the hill, “Chewing up so much grass until she was filled.” Adam “saw milk
comin’ out but he didn’t know how”, so he said “Ah, think I’ll call it a cow.” 3

When God gave Adam a wife, he immediately called her “Woman”. Later, he gave
her the name “Eve”, meaning "to breathe" or "to live"4, because she had to become the
mother of everyone living. Since then, humans have spend no effort in naming every little
thing- and all in the interests of communication. Even today we follow the custom of giving
names to people.

Giving children names that have a specific meaning may seem unusual to some, but
this habit has ancient roots. In fact, the Bible contains hundreds of such names. Among the
first names recorded in the Bible is that of Seth, meaning “Appointed.” Seth’s mother, Eve,
explained why she chose that name, saying: “God has appointed another seed in place of
Abel, because Cain killed him.” Seth’s descendant Lamech named his son Noah, meaning
“Rest” or “Consolation.” Lamech said he gave his son that name because “this one will bring
us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands resulting from the ground which
God has cursed.”

God also personally chose the name of some children. For example, he told Abraham
and Sarah to name their son Isaac, meaning “Laughter.” That name would constantly remind
this faithful couple of their reaction to the news that they would have a son in their old age.
Names were sometimes given or taken in harmony with the physical characteristics of the

2
http://www.behindthename.com/
3
Bob Dylan, Man Gave Names to All the Animals. On Slow Train Coming, 1979.
4
http://www.behindthename.com/name/eve
person. For instance, Isaac and Rebekah had a son who was born with red hair as thick as a
wool garment, so they named him Esau. In Hebrew that name means “Hairy.”5

The Kabalarian Philosophy claims that “Your names reveal who you are.” 6 It puts a
lot of accent on the fact that names can influence a lot someone’s life: “Names matter
because your names create your personality, the conditions in your life, and your destiny and
for your greatest happiness and success, should allow the beautiful potential within you a
natural and stress-free expression.”7 The Kabalarian Philosophy teaches that “Your name
creates your life through your personality. Names can be measured to determine the results in
your life.”8 Also, the adepts of this philosophy believe that “the link between conscious
intelligence, human mind, language, and the mathematical order of the symbols of language
is the key to measuring human mind and solving the major problem of mental discord and
imbalance.” 9 So, if you wanna change your life, you should change your name.

God himself changed the names of certain adults for prophetic purposes. For example,
he changed the name of Abram, meaning “Father Is Exalted,” to Abraham, meaning “Father
of a Multitude.”10 True to his name, Abraham did become the father of many nations.
Consider, too, Abraham’s wife, Sarai, possibly meaning “Contentious.” How happy she must
have been when God renamed her “Sarah,” meaning "Lady, Princess, Noblewoman" 11
alluding to her becoming an ancestress of kings.

Another common practice was that of changing or adjusting names. On returning to

Bethlehem, destitute after losing her husband and sons, Naomi no longer wanted to be called
by that name, meaning “My Pleasantness.” Instead, she insisted: “Do not call me Naomi. Call
me Mara [meaning “Bitter”], for the Almighty has made it very bitter for me.” 12 Jesus
himself chose descriptive names for some of his disciples. For instance, he gave Simon the
Semitic name Cephas, meaning “Rock.” Cephas became better known by the Greek rendering
of this name, which is translated “Peter.”13

5
http://www.behindthename.com/name/esau
6
Kabalarian Philosophy, 1997 Summer/Autumn Catalogue, Society of Kabalarians of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
7
Kabalarian Philosophy, 1997 Summer/Autumn Catalogue, Society of Kabalarians of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
8
Kabalarian Philosophy, 1997 Summer/Autumn Catalogue, Society of Kabalarians of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
9
Kabalarian Philosophy, 1997 Summer/Autumn Catalogue, Society of Kabalarians of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
10
http://www.behindthename.com/name/abraham
11
http://www.behindthename.com/name/sarah
12
http://www.behindthename.com/name/mara-1
13
http://www.behindthename.com/name/cephas
 We have no control over the name given to us at birth. However, we alone determine
the reputation that we acquire. Why not ask yourself: What would be an appropriate name to
describe my dominant quality or my reputation?’ In Scriptural usage, “name” often denotes
fame or reputation. At birth a person has no reputation, and therefore his name is little more
than a label. That is why the Holy Bible says: “A name is better than good oil, and the day of
death than the day of one’s being born.”14 Not at birth, but during the full course of a person’s
life does his “name” take on real meaning in the sense of identifying him either as a person
practicing righteousness or as one practicing wickedness. “A name is to be chosen rather than
abundant riches,”15 wrote wise King Solomon. Certainly, if we gain a good name, or
reputation, in the community, we have a valuable asset.

In literature, there are many writers who approached in their works the importance
and the power of names. Almost all the characters in literature have names that have lots of
meanings. Lewis Carroll chose the name for his supernatural character, Humpty Dumpty
being inspired by the special physic trait of his character, the shape of an egg: “my name
means the shape I am- and a good handsome shape it is, too” 16 Also, Lewis Carroll suggests
the importance of the name’s meaning and the fact that there are a lot of people who haven’t
thought yet at the meanings of their names, like Alice: ”<<Must a name mean something?>>
Alice asked doubtfully. <<Of course it must>> Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh”. 17

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a popular reference to William
Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, which is often used to imply that the names of things
do not affect what they really are. Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is
from her family's rival house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague". If he had
any other name it would be fine. She’s complaining that his name is meaningless. If the rose
had any other name it would still be the same. So with Romeo; he would still be the same
beautiful young man even if he had a different name. “What’s in a name? That which we call
a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” 18 Juliet knows that the blood feud prevents

14
Ecclesiasts 7:1-6
15
Proverbs 22:1
16
Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass. Chapter VI. "Humpty Dumpty". Through the Looking Glass: Chapter
VI. Humpty Dumpty. Sabian Publishing Society, 2007. Web. September 12, 2010
17
Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass. Chapter VI. "Humpty Dumpty". Through the Looking Glass: Chapter
VI. Humpty Dumpty. Sabian Publishing Society, 2007. Web. September 12, 2010
18
William Shakespeare, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II. In
William Shakespeare, The Complete Works. Compact Edition. General Editors Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor.
1988, Claredon Press, Oxford.
her from loving a Montague. She ponders it. It’s only your name that’s the enemy. What is so
special about a name? A rose, even if it were called something else, would smell just as
sweet. So Romeo would still have all the perfection that he has, even if he were not called
Romeo.

That being said, I think that a name is more than some letters put randomly into
words. Names are truly charmed. In his poem, James Berry admits how magical names can
be: “My name gets called in a whispher/ I am happy, because/ My name may have touched
me/ with a loving voice./ Isn't your name and my name magic? 19 Be who you want to be!

19
James Berry, Isn't my name magical? poetryline. Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, 2015. Web. 2
December 2014.