What’s In A Name?

Marta Johnston, Writer

Nearly every person on the face of the Earth has a name. Nearly every person on the face of the Earth has many names. It’s many times a subconscious indicator of the characteristics of a person. Many inferences can be made simply from a name even though it is only a mere means of identification. So the question arises, what is in a name? Is it something more than a series of letters on a name tag?

This is a question that has inspired many authors over the course of time. Many may be familiar with Shakespeare’s famous line from Romeo and Juliet stating, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose” which challenged the relationship between identity and identification.

The question of the significance of what is said to be nothing more than a distinguishing term is something that has been grappled with over the course of history. In biblical times, names were chosen based mainly on their meaning, therefore giving characteristics to a person not old enough to have established their own identity.

To describe the deeper meaning of a name in short, it can be said that it is a major component of a person’s life and identity. It is the first thing many learn about a person upon first meeting them. It’s the phrase called from a distance that immediately draws one’s attention as a result of the pure force of habit.

Many studies have proven that a name can have an incredibly large impact on many major events in a one’s life including milestones such as a person’s profession, income, grades, and who they marry.

This idea can be applied further outside of the names of people. Businesses often choose the title of their establishments based on the crowd that they are attempting to appeal to, therefore proving that a lot more thought goes into a name than initially evident on the end of both the business and the audience.

When looked upon further, it can be realized that names have an incredibly significant power to influence people. The meaning of a name gives it a greater significance that can, in a sense, changer the course of the entirety of a person’s life, therefore causing any sort of name to have an overwhelming amount of importance.