A name is supposed to be a gift of love, an identifying factor of an individual, but it can be a burden as well. Most people only have one name or a nickname that recognizably comes from their full name, but I was somehow unfortunate enough to end up with two names. Having two names is confusing for almost everyone, “Which is your real name? Where did your name come from?” I am often skeptically questioned or not taken seriously by anyone who I have not explained my name to. I ended up with two names because my mother was beyond convinced that she was going to have a boy. Considering the fact that her odds were that of a coin toss, she somehow knew that she was going to be right. As with all fifty-fifty chances there is room for error and my …show more content…
With no exceptions to the rule, everyone referred to me as Lea and always had, this was my name. However when I went to middle school, on the first day the teacher took attendance like usual. My last name began with A so naturally I expected to be first, but when the teacher called someone else who had the same last name as me with a first name I did not recognize as my own. I didn’t have sibling my age either. My name is Lea and that is not me, but indeed it was my name, my legal name, the name that no one called me. From that point on some people called me by my real name and other people called me by my other real name. For the longest time I loathed my legal name, it was as unfamiliar to me as the barren face of the moon. Not only did I not like my legal name but it was a complete pain to explain. I had to then explain why I was called Lea to almost everyone I met past middle school and even then some people never believed me. Every time I got called by a different name I felt like I was being pulled in two opposite directions with my body hanging over a chasm. Eventually I’d have to make up my mind, eventually I’d have to pick one of the two. I could either disrespect my parents, grandparents, and those who came before me by discarding my legal name or disregard my own wishes and desires by choosing my legal
When people are born they don't usually get to choose their names, as for Equality
“Can you imagine what a mess a world would be without names? (website)Names are very important to a person and their individuality. Ayn Rand’s novel “Anthem” is a book in which the people written about do not have names. The importance of having your own individual names is huge. A name can have meaning given to it, like how the name Sue means lily. Most parents when giving you your name have a meaning behind it and put much thought into what their future child should be named. Names can give you a part of your identity.
In life, people basically know who you are only if they know your identity. But the meaning of identity can be a factor of things that represents who they are based on a person's belief. For some people, their name is their identity. In the article, "Why Should Married Women Change Their Names? Let Men Change Theirs" by Jill Filipovic, the author argues how women, who change their last names to their husband's, consequently lose their "basic marker of their identity" (Filipovic 25). The author makes this argument to question if there is a such thing as family unity if a woman gives up her last name to "[subsume her] own identity into [her] husband's" (Filipovic 26). The author's claims and views on the issue may seem not completely fair since
One’s identity is influenced by many things. It’s something that one has a choice of what he wants to become. One has a personal choice as to what identity he possesses; for instance, he can choose what he likes, who he wishes to be friends with, and what he wears. After all, “Fashion is an expression of personal identity” (Latterell 11). Queen Latifah states, “All things start inside your soul and work outward” meaning that it is one’s choice as to what he lets work its way out (Latifah 34). People have even made personal choices that affect their identity by changing their name. Just as Firoozeh Dumas describes in The “F Word”, “Thus I started sixth grade with my new, easy name and life became infinitely simpler” (Dumas 86). People made fun of Dumas’ name, Firoozeh, and thus made her want to change her name to fit in; she changed her identity. An identity is mainly comprised of personal choice.
After reading “ My Name” by Sandra Cisneros I realized something i really never thought was important was indeed important. In this excerpt Esperanza states how she doesn't want to be like her great-grandmother whom has the same name but she wants to be different, she wants to break free from the meaning that her great-grandmother gave to the name. From her saying this I found out that I related to Esperanza more that what i thought. I relate because I know what it's like to have inherited a name and have to try to exceed in being the meaning of that name, but like Esperanza “I don't want to inherit a seat by the window’’, instead i want to break free from the chains of the meaning of the name and create a new meaning.
Everybody always has two names: one from their parents and one from their friends. The name that is given by
As a young girl, I was never fond of the name Anna. The name came along with too much baggage.. Unknowingly, people would constantly call me the wrong name, and some people, disregarding my opinion, even created strange nicknames for me. Over the years, I have been called a variety of names including Annie, Ann, Anna, Annabelle, Anne Frank, banana, banana boat, etc. Frankly, there are just too many variations of the name “Anna”. Being an extremely common name, almost everywhere I go, whether it be school or the grocery store, I always seem to find another “Anna”. Although nameberry.com tells me that “Anna” means grace, it actually means unique, intelligent, and affectionate.
Punk, brat, jerk, dunce and many other words are used seemingly everyday as insults, as well as many words considered racist now. It has also always been disrespectful to call a grown up by their first name. In Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, she says “Every person I knew had a hellish horror of being called out of his name” (109), meaning it can hurt emotionally and/or mentally to be called something that isn't your real name. An example is when Marguerite works for Mrs. Cullinan, she begins to call Marguerite Mary because Margaret was too long of a name (A name that also wasn’t Marguerite’s
Well my Messas name was Nole William, and we were named for him. But when we was freed, we were told to take freed names.
One’s power and position in a society can give them the “right” or ability to name or un-name a person. Someone can gain this right by his or her status socially, financially, and even racially. If it’s their own child, of course, they have every right in the world to name him or her. But in some cultures, as is evident in “No Name Woman”, they have the right to take away someone’s name if they have disgraced their family and/or community. A name is very significant because it gives a person a sense of who they are, an identity. In “No Name Woman”, Kingston’s aunt had no identity except for the story her mother told her and in “Mary” Marguerite’s new boss, Mrs. Cullinan changed her name to Mary which then, in a way, removed Marguerite’s original identity and gave her a new one, one she didn’t want.
In middle school, kids’ minds began to develop and whenever I said my last name they would snicker. This also relates to my name being mispronounced, but it was not the first time having my last name mispronounced and definitely not the last. Middle school was probably one of the times I became the most aggravated towards people who said my name incorrectly. However, I had other
I have read an account called " 'What's in a Name? " ", which is composed by Henry Louis Gates. This account demonstrates to us a youth experience of the creator that happened amid the mid-1950s. In the article, Gates alludes to an occurrence when a white man, Mr. Wilson, who was well disposed with his dad, called his dad "George", a name which was a prominent method for alluding to African Americans in those circumstances. In any case, Gates' dad needed to acknowledge this separation and couldn't make a move around then. By utilizing sentiment to bring out individuals' enthusiastic reaction, and utilizing suggestion, Gates effectively communicates his claim that name shapes individuals' discernments
My full name is Jose Leonardo Yax. In a biblical meaning, Jose is described as “raised; who pardons.” However the Spanish meaning it is defined as “may god give increase.” My last name, Yax, is believed to be “an Americanized spelling of the German (Frisian) surname Jaacks.” Jose was assigned as my first name since both of my grandfathers had Jose as their name. I personally don’t believe my first name is a representation of me, for it’s a common name. On the other hand, I believe my last name is a better depiction of me. Yax isn’t a last name that most people have where I live, thus it is somewhat unique. Students are still required to take British Literature for the reason that British literature is the foundation of modern literature. As
A person can be physically identifiable based on the matter they are composed of but their Personal Identity is far more than that. Despite any changes such as mentality and physical change, referred to as qualitatively changes, a person remains who they are. The philosophical question is, What it is to have a personal Identity? There are different theories discussing what is necessary and sufficient to define an individual's personal identity. So is there any theory that has truly capture the essence of what it is like to have a personal identity?
Is your name your identity? And if not, is it possible to maintain a stable and truthful inside identity when deprived of all signs of uniqueness such as your own name?