Thursday, October 05, 2006
I call myself...
I have no idea what I am going to major in in school, I just know that I love college and classes and everything. Though I have to admit, if there is any area of study that I could keep on pursuing for ever and ever is that of languages. I loved learning and speaking French and ASL in high school. This semester I am taking Spanish I, and even though verbs in any language are a pain, it is probably my favorite class. My final project for the Honors program last semester was about the development of languages based on J.R.R. Tolkein's studies, and I enjoyed it immensely. It is arguable that it is our gift of language that is part of the image of God that was given us at creation; it is sure that language is what gives us our humanity. As a culture's language develops, so does that culture. I love how each culture also influences its language, and there may be some things said in one language that can only be expressed with that language.
An interesting subset of language studies is the studies of names and the meanings and etymology of names. Tolkein (who I'll admit is my favorite authority on this subject) would often pick names and languages before he ever created a story, as he believed that they language and names within the story were just as important.
So what is in a name? Certain cultures hold names in high regard, and believe that it contains the essense of who that person is. For example, never tell your enemy your name, for once they know your name, they know you and are able to have a power or control over you. The Chinese won't tell their names to those outside the family, and guard their real names very carefully. Other cultures, like some Native American tribes, don't give permanent names which allows the person to earn a name for themselves in the world.
I don't think that we think about names enough in our culture, though they do still hold a power over us. Be careful what you name your kids, because I do believe that you assign to them a certain destiny. For example, my sister's name is Emily, which is a German based name meaning "dilligence or industrious" and is she ever! When she sets her mind to something she gets it done and is a very focused and driven individual. But do our names always reflect who we are? Amanda, from a Latin based meaning "loveable" is the name of my beloved best friend, who is indeed a loving and lovable person. Jonathan, meaning "God's gift," is the Hebrew name of a friend who was there for me in my time of need. If I had enough knowledge about this kind of thing, I probably would pick these names for these two friends because of what they mean to me.
Our names can also remind us of things that shouldn't be forgotten. The puritans, for example, would name their children "Patience," "Grace" or "Mercy" to remind them daily of these virtues. The name Joshua means "Yahweh is my savior." What a great thing to be reminded of daily! It is also interesting to consider how sometimes we worry about living up to our family name, buwhen we really should be more concerned about living up to our first names.
In Spanish, you can tell a person your name in one of two ways: "Me llamo Carla" or "Mi nombre es Carla." The latter means "my name is" but the first is literally traslated "I call myself." My name really is Carla, but I can't help but wonder if that is the name I would call myself. Carla is the feminine form of the Spanish name Carl, from the English Charles, meaning "strength or warrior" and May is from the Greek godess Maia (whom our month of May is named after) whose name meant "greatness." Wow. Such an honorable charge, and yet I don't feel like it really fits me. When I was young I hated my name, but now that I'm older I really don't mind it so much, especially my whole name. Personally, I don't think I am a stong person, but perhaps my time has not yet come and I think I'll continue to call myself Carla May.
So if I've got you curious, here is a like to a website that is pretty good on the etymology of names: http://www.behindthename.com and was my source for all the names that I mentioned im my post. Here is another link to a less academic but fun little name-meaning-thing from Blogthings: http://www.blogthings.com/acro/acronymquiz.php.
So what would you call yourself?
An interesting subset of language studies is the studies of names and the meanings and etymology of names. Tolkein (who I'll admit is my favorite authority on this subject) would often pick names and languages before he ever created a story, as he believed that they language and names within the story were just as important.
So what is in a name? Certain cultures hold names in high regard, and believe that it contains the essense of who that person is. For example, never tell your enemy your name, for once they know your name, they know you and are able to have a power or control over you. The Chinese won't tell their names to those outside the family, and guard their real names very carefully. Other cultures, like some Native American tribes, don't give permanent names which allows the person to earn a name for themselves in the world.
I don't think that we think about names enough in our culture, though they do still hold a power over us. Be careful what you name your kids, because I do believe that you assign to them a certain destiny. For example, my sister's name is Emily, which is a German based name meaning "dilligence or industrious" and is she ever! When she sets her mind to something she gets it done and is a very focused and driven individual. But do our names always reflect who we are? Amanda, from a Latin based meaning "loveable" is the name of my beloved best friend, who is indeed a loving and lovable person. Jonathan, meaning "God's gift," is the Hebrew name of a friend who was there for me in my time of need. If I had enough knowledge about this kind of thing, I probably would pick these names for these two friends because of what they mean to me.
Our names can also remind us of things that shouldn't be forgotten. The puritans, for example, would name their children "Patience," "Grace" or "Mercy" to remind them daily of these virtues. The name Joshua means "Yahweh is my savior." What a great thing to be reminded of daily! It is also interesting to consider how sometimes we worry about living up to our family name, buwhen we really should be more concerned about living up to our first names.
In Spanish, you can tell a person your name in one of two ways: "Me llamo Carla" or "Mi nombre es Carla." The latter means "my name is" but the first is literally traslated "I call myself." My name really is Carla, but I can't help but wonder if that is the name I would call myself. Carla is the feminine form of the Spanish name Carl, from the English Charles, meaning "strength or warrior" and May is from the Greek godess Maia (whom our month of May is named after) whose name meant "greatness." Wow. Such an honorable charge, and yet I don't feel like it really fits me. When I was young I hated my name, but now that I'm older I really don't mind it so much, especially my whole name. Personally, I don't think I am a stong person, but perhaps my time has not yet come and I think I'll continue to call myself Carla May.
So if I've got you curious, here is a like to a website that is pretty good on the etymology of names: http://www.behindthename.com and was my source for all the names that I mentioned im my post. Here is another link to a less academic but fun little name-meaning-thing from Blogthings: http://www.blogthings.com/acro/acronymquiz.php.
So what would you call yourself?
# posted by Carla May @ 10:55 AM 
Comments:
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Your comments are so sweet, my dear (there's Fagin again). I am forever glad and grateful to be your friend; to love you and be loved by you is one of God's greatests gifts to me.
My name has recently become a reminder to me as to how special I am to God. On the days when I feel like a failure, I just remember my name: "Worthy of Love." My parents say they named me Amanda because they wanted to call me "Mandy" for short, and so far as I know, that was their only reason. But it's my sincere belief that God also has his hand in our names (just as you suggested) and knows exactly what we should be "called." I'm learning day by day to rejoice more in that, as my name reminds me of who God wants me to be.
My name has recently become a reminder to me as to how special I am to God. On the days when I feel like a failure, I just remember my name: "Worthy of Love." My parents say they named me Amanda because they wanted to call me "Mandy" for short, and so far as I know, that was their only reason. But it's my sincere belief that God also has his hand in our names (just as you suggested) and knows exactly what we should be "called." I'm learning day by day to rejoice more in that, as my name reminds me of who God wants me to be.
For some odd reason, this post brings Shakespeare to my mind. After all, a rose by any other name should smell as sweet... right? Well, maybe... not so much. I can't imagine calling a "rose" an "inkerhackinfarginshpire." That just... doesn't... sound as sweet to me. "Rose"? Yeah. Unquestionably sweet sounding. :) Granted, my illustration breaks down when we start discussing how other languages have equally beautiful names for the "flower" we call a "rose," but such semantics are bound to pop up in the limits of human language boundaries.
Aside from that digression, we certainly do forget the importance of our names and what exactly they mean... especially as Christians. Every time you enter a Christian book store, there's usually some place with cards or tags with names on them and their affiliated meaning. Every time I saw them (and still see them), it's a reminder to me of just how seriously I should take the name I was given by my parents. "God is Savior" is such a hard one to live up to... having one's own name bear out the calling they've had on their life is tough, but a strong name should be the first thing to remind us all of the strength we require and can only get through Christ. Our Savior through the "meadows" of life. ;)
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Aside from that digression, we certainly do forget the importance of our names and what exactly they mean... especially as Christians. Every time you enter a Christian book store, there's usually some place with cards or tags with names on them and their affiliated meaning. Every time I saw them (and still see them), it's a reminder to me of just how seriously I should take the name I was given by my parents. "God is Savior" is such a hard one to live up to... having one's own name bear out the calling they've had on their life is tough, but a strong name should be the first thing to remind us all of the strength we require and can only get through Christ. Our Savior through the "meadows" of life. ;)
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