Wednesday, May 11, 2005

what is in a name

Really what is in a name? When i was in high school i had to lie my name was Tess or some other name to jamaaz, did it really matter what my name was. Back then,i thought it was cheap for me to tell a jamaa what was my real name before we even knew each other well.I'm sure many guys did that in High School.

When i go to the chat rooms i look for some funny name and not my name, so what would it matter if i used my real name.Chances are that i'm not even that known by anyone in that chat room that they would identify me if i used my real name. So i ask my self why is it really that i don't use my real name all the time especially to people i don't know. Even now i still find myself telling somebody i'm Susan especially if i'm not interested further in the person. Does it really matter to me that maybe Susan is busy telling somebody else that they are Silvana. Really what is in a name.

14 comments:

  1. A name holds in itself Identity and most pple are afraid of revealing there true identity for one man once said, "tell me your name and I will tell you who you are"

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  2. Those times when life has stripped you of everything, you realize the only thing you have left is your name. It could be that protective instict in you...you want to do all to protect your last fort before the battle ends.

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  3. For me there's not really much in a name. Omunying'ini wa Mu-Kalasinga is just as impressive as Johnson Smith or Kimani Kiarie. In High School ofcourse we had those goofy games ati you tell a chic: "my name is Darlington but you can call me Darling". I wonder how we even got digits. It's scary!

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  4. @lifemoments i agree with you but why then do you use somebody's else name,
    @akiey in our tribe we say a name is only for identification of the child that is to make the child grow
    @magaidi darling forever sawa

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  5. The reason for using someone else's name to to give a different impression or picture about yourself other than the actual name

    e.g. I might be called wanjiru (which to you might sound common and easy going) so I result to something like Shamain (which is rare and sounds soft...)

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  6. I have a personal fascination with names which stems from being a (half) adopted and having all my birth names changed.

    I was 17 years old when I first came face to face with what was my original set of names and in that precise moment Shakespeare's words couldn't have been truer.

    "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
    By any other word would smell as sweet."


    I was still same old me.

    Having said that, I also recognise the power in being able to control how people call/see/treat you.

    Though I have never been one to give out fake names I do understand the reasoning behind it. We want to be 100% in control of how people interact with us. So if person X is a pest and we want to feel as though we are distancing ourself from X, we lie about our name.

    It makes us feel better...

    pole for blogging on your blog

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  7. There's a song by Johnny Cash called a Boy Named Sue. If you google for the lyrics it will bring a whole new meaning to what's in a name!

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  8. i had sam dilemma of whether to blog with my name or geet some crazy ass name...but personally i think a whole lot of emphasis is put on names.
    i have a cousin who when she moved to the states dropped her english name...ati cause it wasnt african enough...puh-lease. A name is a name is a name. A name doesn't define you-YOU define the name!

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  9. A name can be a reminder of a time and place you'd rather forget, of a person you once were... I don't use the same name I did in High School. It actually pisses me off when people insist on calling me that after I nicely ask them not to.

    It's not that there's anything wrong with the name itself (I really grappled with this for a while).In fact, it is a beautiful name. But it reminds me of a time when I was so unhappy and I'm such a different person now. I'm actually considering legally dropping my first name...

    So what's in a name? Whatever you put into it, attach to it, whatever you believe is in it I guess. Sorry for being so verbose...

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  10. Boy named Sue
    My daddy left home when I was three
    And he didn't leave much to Ma and me
    Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
    Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
    But the meanest thing that he ever did
    Was before he left, he went and named me 'Sue.'


    Well, he must o' thought that is was quite a joke
    And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
    It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
    Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
    And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
    I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named 'Sue.'

    Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
    My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
    I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
    But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
    That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
    And kill that man that give me that awful name.

    Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
    And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
    I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
    At an old saloon on a street of mud,
    There at a table, dealing stud,
    Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me 'Sue.'

    Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
    >From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
    And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
    He was big and bent and gray and old,
    And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
    And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' how do you do! Now you gonna die!"

    Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
    And he went down but, to my surprise,
    He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
    But I busted a chair right across his teeth
    And we crashed through the wall and into the street
    Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

    I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
    But I really can't remember when,
    He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
    I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
    He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
    He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

    And he said: "Son, this world is rough
    And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
    And I know I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
    So I give ya that name and I said good-bye
    I knew you'd have to get tough or die
    And it's that name that helped to make you strong."

    He said: 'Now you just fought one hell of a fight
    And I know you hate me, and you got the right
    To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
    But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
    For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
    Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you 'Sue'.'

    I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
    And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
    And I come away with a different point of view.
    And I think about him, now and then,
    Every time I try and every time I win,
    And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
    Bill or George! Anything but sue! I still hate that name!

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  11. @moments does it depend on the audience?
    @MJY you didn't blog on my blog actually i have realized like in a chat room guys will give you much attention when you use a fancy name as opposed to a dull name.
    @M i have got the song down right there pal.
    @Nick some people think it is more African to be called by your African names but i some how agree no mzungu is called by an African name that is the way i feel.
    @wg-k i also hated my English name for a while because nobody could get it right so all the time i was in college i used my Kikuyu name, it also reminded me of how i was timid and taken advantage of so i dropped it as soon as i got a new audience. having rediscovered my strengths as a person i actually feel proud using it again. I agree with Nick You define a name not vice versa.

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  12. Yes to a large extent it depends with the audience!

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  13. Very cool post and blog!

    I guess there are names some chics in high school must currently be using to scare away dudes..you really dont want to mess with a chic called Conjestina...

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  14. the name your parents gave you was their interpretation and expectation of you: pretending to be someone else is a way of shaking off the "you" at birth and that I guess is why people lie about names.
    My favorite fake name in high school was Eva coz it was my know- it-all best friend; I guess I wanted to be her then but now am more comfy showing the real me.

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