What's In A Name?

                There has been some buzz lately about name changes.  There are many reasons why one would want to be called something other than their real name.  Marriage is one reason.  While there are many women who prefer to retain their maiden names after they marry, there are also a great many women who get pretty emotional about changing their name to that of their groom.  They practice saying it out loud when they are alone.  They practice writing it down for months before the wedding. It has an emotional impact on them.

                It used to be pretty generally accepted that we had to live with the name our parents gave us.  That, of course, is not always pretty, so some people end up using their middle names, leaving only their parents to call them by their birth names.  I know a guy who has always been called by his middle name.  I assumed it was because he shared the same first, middle and last name with his father, but didn’t want to be called Junior.  It turned out people also called his father by his middle name, so I don’t really know how doing the same for him solved anything.  Some people have their names changed by their friends.  Most people called Red, Curly or Shortly didn’t just show up at school one day and ask to be called by any of those descriptors.  My father-in-law has a first and middle name that were perfectly acceptable in his day, but which sound pretty out of date today, Wilbur Harold.  When he was in the army, his buddies decided that he would be called Tommy, short for Thompson.  But they didn’t do this because they didn’t like calling him Wilbur.  They did it because there was another soldier in the same outfit whose name was Wilbert.  This was too confusing for the privates of the Greatest Generation, so Wilbur had to become Tommy. 

                There are religious reasons for changing one’s name.  In biblical times, names were given because they were meaningful.  The name reflected the character of the person.  Abram meant “father of many.”  His name was changed to Abraham, “father of multitudes” because of the promise God made concerning his legacy.  People today sometimes change their names for religious reasons.  I remember when Cassius Clay became Mohammed Ali (beloved of Allah).  I knew a young man in high school who successfully convinced everyone to call him Christian after he became a Christian.  Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabar (generous servant of Allah).  This list could go on for many lines.

                More philosophical than religious, Ron Artest’s reasons for changing his name to Metta World Peace have nothing to do with the Buddhist religion, from which is derived the word Metta.  It means something almost indefinable, but can probably be adequately summed up as “love, kindness, peace.”  His real reason for the name change may be more attributable to his ego and to wanting to keep up with the Joneses.  His friend, Chad Johnson, changed his name to Ochocinco (85) to match the number on his wide receiver’s jersey.  So, naturally, Artest had to change his name.  Incidentally, Metta wasn’t Ron’s first choice for his name change.  He toyed with One Love, but his friends thought it sounded corny.  Metta World Peace didn’t sound as corny?  On April 24^th, Mr. World Peace viciously elbowed James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunders, causing him to exit the game with a concussion.  This is the sort of behavior Ron Artest was known for, even reveled in, but it doesn't seem fitting for Metta World Peace.  The name change doesn’t seem to have resulted in any change in the basic character of man.  World peace ought to begin with the individual claiming to desire it.  Besides, this name should have been reserved for the next Miss America to use.

                This week I learned that a California man, Benjamin Cale Feit, legally changed his name to Obiwan Kenobi in order to win a $1,000 prize offered by a radio station.  The Star Wars character was known for being a wise Jedi who used the Force to keep the universe in balance.  The 37-year-old Roseville, California man is known for being arrested this past week and charged with felony hit-and-run.  He already had an outstanding warrant for petty theft.  Again, the name change apparently meant nothing more than a way to earn a little money.

                There have been many books, articles and blogs written about the importance of the names given to children.  A name can make a child’s life a blessing or bring them grief.  Sometimes a humorous name can actually help the child in some situations, but this is risky.  There is a reporter on the radio whose name is Justin Case.  Not too radical, and a little humorous.  But the Johnny Cash song about the boy named Sue, while funny, also is a sad example of what harm thoughtless parents can cause a child.

                So, I believe I’ll stick with Tom.  I’ve been called other things, including Flame, Freckles, Dumb Kid and Fuzz Beard.  Fortunately, none of them stuck.  However, the effects of one of them did stick with me and has caused me difficulty my entire life.  But here is my point in all of this: A change of name is not the same as a change of character.  If you want to change your name, change your character first, since that is the real name by which people will remember you.