Does a rose, by any other name, smell as sweet?
I took my youngest child to her ballet class this week, it’s a different class with children new to her. We met a Delilah, a Willow and a little boy called Hadley. It got me thinking.
Naming a child is an extremely important task, not to be taken lightly. There are many pit falls. You don’t want your child to have the same name as five others in their class at infant school, maybe you don’t want it shortened (as in Richard to Dick?), you want their name to be strong, confident, different. You look up the meaning of their name, you choose one attached to desirable characteristics. Sometimes, as I have experienced (after naming four children) you find it difficult to name them. You’ve fostered the name William for the last three months of your pregnancy, then when he’s born, he doesn’t look like a William, he looks like a George. My eldest son is named after my father and my husband’s father, both John, we found it too old fashioned and settled on Jack. Our other three children are named after family members, using old-fashioned names as middle names.
However, one does wonder if called something more exotic, the effect it would have. Say our eldest is called Stardust or Harrison, would he be different? Would he be bullied, teased, or seen as “cool”? How much does a child’s name affect the way they see the world? If your child has a name perceived to be cute, are they actually cute? My youngest daughter is named after a flower, and let’s just say, she should have been named after an ancient female warrior (Boudicca comes to mind).
Do you ever remember hating your name? Is this something everyone goes through? Do you feel envious of people with cool names? Would you change your name by deed poll? I hope that I’ve given you something to think about.
Think wisely before you judge someone by their name, Ursula might be young and beautiful, not in any way resembling a witch from a Disney film, just a thought.
