Impact of a name on an individual
A name forms part of the personality of an individual. In short, our names define us. People live up to their names by adopting behavior patterns that correspond with their names. You might not realize this, but every time people hear your name, they create a meaning for it and you as a person. This is probably the reason behind many parents naming their children after famous personalities and high achieving individuals. In the back of their mind, they hope that these names will come with expectations on their children so that when they grow up they can emulate the personalities they were named after. I once heard a mother tell her daughter, “Charlotte was a great woman, which is why I named you after her.” The same can be said of most of our parents out there who named us after people who had the most impacts on their lives. Names have great significance on our lives and our personalities. Hence, naming should not be taken as a casual process; but rather, an important rite for curving out an identity for the young one.
Names influence the choices we make in life and by extension the quality of the life that we live. Names have influence on whom we marry, where we live, and choices of professions. Many times, this occurs without our noticing. If for instance you name your baby after Martin Luther King Junior, Barack Obama, or Abraham Lincoln, the child is most likely follow into the ideologies and lifestyle of these people. The most likely profession for such a child would be in politics and public administration. The child named after Martin Luther Junior will follow into the human rights ideals. Hence, a name has influence on the behavior and thinking patterns. This impact of a name on the behavior is commonly known as the implicit-egotism effect. As human beings, we are drawn into people or things that resemble us. We identify with our names more strongly if they bear significant meanings that are attached to the things or people that we admire.
Names form part of our brand image and self-worth. The quality of name determines our level of self-esteem and self-confidence. This is the reason why moms would easily pick out elegant names for their children. Moreover, they try to attach meanings to the names to increase their values to the bearers. A name like Michael is elegant and has mostly been used among the nobilities. Thus, the name continues to top the list of 1000 most popular names not only in America but in Europe as well. This is because people want to identify with the elegance in the name in the hope that it will have a sportive impact on the quality of life that the baby would have as an adult. It is also for this reason that parents try hard to avoid names that seem to describe the children in bad light. Mothers only want names that signify happiness, joy, victory, strength, virtue, and wisdom. Any name that appears to describe the baby in a contrary image is deemed unsuitable because of the power of the name on the quality of life.
Names define the character and behavior of an individual. Since the Biblical times and throughout all the various world civilizations, names have been used to define the character of the newborns. Sometimes, this character is manifested later into adulthood when the individuals get to understand the deeper meanings of their names. Looking through the Bible, one can directly connect the meanings of the names to the eventual attributes of the persons. Example of people who lived up to their names are: Judas, Delilah, and Jezebel. Because of how they create the image for their names, the world has gone on to disregard their names for fear of negative influence on the person they are named after. For instance, moms fear calling their young ones Judas because of the fear that when he grows up he may lose the sense of loyalty to his friends and family. Similarly, Delilah is the female name for a disloyal person. Moreover, it signifies a woman who uses her charm and beauty to take advantage of or harm others.
The quality of our relationship with others is influenced by our names. Our names create the first impression of us whenever we meet new people. An elegant name is usually more appealing, especially in romantic relationships, that dull names. Similarly, unique names have lasting impacts on others. One is more likely to remember a unique elegant name that a common but rather dull name. The beginning of any relationship starts at the mastery of the names and their important to the bearers. The quality of the subsequent encounters is determined by the understanding of each other’s personality in the first encounter; a name is a key component of this personality. Therefore, new moms ought to make great effort in coming up with meaningful, simple, appropriate, and elegant names for their newborns. By doing this, they will be investing in the future of the baby.
A name tells about the culture and origin of a person. Almost all the names you can meet have their origins in one cultural element or the other. This is why we have name for the Japanese, Chinese, English, Latino, Indian, Indigenous tribes among others. Even the so-called American names have their roots from one or more cultural heritages. The mention of a name immediately reveals the cultural or geographical origin of the name bearer. The use of geographical locations to define names is what brought about the phenomenon of place names. For example, the surname Graham is originally Scottish. This means that the American families that bear this name have Scottish origins. Similarly, the surnames used by white Americans who live in New Hampshire, are usually the same as those in the original Hampshire back in the UK. Hence, the American surnames can be used to trace the history and origin of a particular group of people.
