what's in a name?
>> Saturday, July 18, 2009
Some might say that you are what you make of yourself. Your name has nothing to do with it.
I disagree.
I've noticed that people with certain names tend to be somewhat alike. Not across the board, but often enough to make generalizations. Of course, there are always exceptions, but they're just that - exceptions.
Ever noticed that kids with fluffy, trendy names tend to match? People with exotic, or unique names often seem to follow a different beat in life? Those with strong or elegant names tend to follow suit in their attitudes and demeanor? I'm not going to pretend to know whether this comes from some innate response to the names' meanings, or from how we are treated as others react to hearing our name and making assumptions about us, or some blend of the two.
But I'm convinced that our names, and the meanings behind our names, influence the people we become whether we know those name meanings or not. I'm sure there's some research out there that might support this idea, although I haven't found it yet. (Which inspires me to go looking!)
As we considered the name for our firstborn son, we wanted something strong and masculine and godly. We were also limited by the uniqueness of our last name, Asaftei, and the need to choose names that are easily pronounceable for both English and Romanian speakers. Tough task!
We knew right away that this Munchkin was going to have a longer name than many children. We wanted to give him two names of our own choosing, in addition to honoring Hubby's late father and hyphenating our last name with my maiden name. (My family name dies with my generation unless we pass it to our children.)
After much research and discussion, we finally settled on:
Tristan Alexander Vasile Matthews-Asaftei
Meaning:
Tristan = Bold
Alexander = Defender of Mankind
Vasile = Royal
Matthews = Gift from God
Asaftei = no meaning
So this firstborn son has a big name, with big meaning. We already think of him as our Bold Defender, and our Royal Gift from God.
2 comments:
Wow! That is a long, great name! Congratulations on a wonderful choice! Blessings. :)
Have you ever read Tikki Tikki Tembo? It's a childrens book. If not, read it next time you're at Barnes and Noble. But really, I'm all for the long meaningful names. And I think you're lucky you have such a unique last name. Ours is so anglo sounding that we can't choose a name that's not anglicized. I'm glad for you and this new baby.
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