LOVE, Kloudiia

What’s In A Name? 

What’s in a name? William Shakespeare’s reply would be:

That which we call a rose by any name would smell as sweet.

Sure, a rose by any other name will still smell as sweet, and will still carry thorns. It will be the flower representing love and passion, and it will still look radiant when it is in full bloom.

So, coming back to this question. What’s in a name, actually?

I feel a name is not just a name. It carries certain meaning and believe it or not, it does have a way of shaping one’s personality and character that befits this meaning itself. This usually holds true if you have been using that name for a long period of time. It represents you as a person, it marks your identity. One that is unique from the rest of the world. Even if you share the same name with millions of others on mother earth.

Don’t we have certain images conjured up in our minds the instant we hear a name, eg, Michelle, Vivien, Michael, Peter etc. Maybe it’s because there have been several portrayals of similar traits in those individuals who own the name, or maybe you happen to have a long-time friend by that name and unconsciously his image has been carved and embedded in this name.

I remember there were times when I get a slight shock upon hearing someone’s name at our first encounter. Why does this happen? Because there is a significant misfit of my mental image of that name versus the actual reflection I am seeing on the spot! That’s why!

Me and My Name, Kloudiia

Almost everyone who come to learn my name would ask me this question: How do you pronounce it? So, to set records straight, let me show you all how my name should be correctly pronounced. Breaking it into 2 syllabus, it should read as “Cloud-Dear”. Not “Claw-dia” but “Cloud-diia”.

Yes, and what’s with the double “i” in my name, is the next most frequently asked question. Nothing really. I like double “i” because that coincides with my chinese name which my daddy gave it to me since I was born and which I love it very much.

So if Kloudiia is too much of a mouthful for you, you are more than welcome to call me IIng, which is my chinese name.

So what is your story?

During our first Mystagogia (post baptism lesson - the last mile of our RCIA journey) last Friday, we were asked to recall why we had chosen the name we used for our baptism. Most of us will take a Saint’s name or it’s derivation, while some of us, including me, had retained our own name as the baptism name.

People who have chosen the same name are countless. But, we all know, each of them has a different reason for it. He/she resonates with that name in a way only he/she knows. The moments they share with that name when it’s being called are unique and special too.

So we’re asked to design our own name on a piece of paper and show it to everyone, before we explain the meaning of if and how it came about. To end that session, we were asked to write our thoughts down on a journal, so that we can keep it in record these wonderful memories that begin our identity in this faith and that will be with us till the end of our journey here.

So, did you choose your own name? Or did you use the one given by your parents till now? Do you know what it means? If you were to design your own name logo, what symbol will it be?

More Unique Names

If you are expecting a newborn in your family soon, maybe you can visit these sites for more name-creation ideas.

http://www.babynames.com/

www.babyzone.com/babynames

http://www.babynamewizard.com/

http://www.babychatter.com/

http://www.babynamenetwork.com/

Happy name giving and sharing!

[tags]names, meaning, identity, mystagogia, RCIA, symbol, William Shakespear[/tags]