What's in a name?

[tsumik]

Ever notice people seem to either fit they're name or completely don't? And I know that has a lot to do with past experiences with individuals with a particular name.. but is there something to a name that helps shape an individual to become who they are or help determine they're personality? Take my name for example. Erich. It's not very normal I guess unless you live in Germany. But I always lived with the constant correcting of people to have them write the name correctly. Or the pause to make sure they were reading it right before hesitantly reading out "Eric" Then there was the time in high school where I was involved with a group of friends and there was another Eric amongst the group. Pretty soon a determinate needed to be found and Eric with a little added bonus was coined. The other Eric didn't seem to find this to amusing as he was now just Eric and I was Eric + a bonus H. So then take other people. I'm sure Soleil Moon Frye (sic) didn't exactly live the life of a Mary or Betty in stickily the way people related to her name. Unforgiving school children included.

Looking back to my elementary school years... Thank goodness I wasn't a Mark as we had a liked girl by the name of Mindy. And thanks to adolescent jibbing he was always teased to being called Mork. As in from Mork and Mindy(you young folk might not even know what I'm talking about)
Then there was Ben... Ben gay ... it was easy yet dumb but it made him the easy target. Which means it wasn't the rest of us.

But getting back to my point... is there a general worldly consensus to what a name flavors an individual before they even have a chance to interact with they're peers? What's in a name?

Comments

[tethys.livejournal.com]

I totally know what you mean. When my friends and I meet someone and we didnt' catch his or her name, we usually say:"I don't know the name, but she looks like a Jennifer". Well, there are certain characteristics we use to define names (for ex. she looks like a bi_ _ _ her name must be Kelly or Jessie or something and so on)...I'm really glad my name is different:)