What Really Is In A Name?
Sep 15th, 2005 by Kate
“O, be some other name!/ What’s in a name? that which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet”
-From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
A name is very important. When it comes to picking a name, so many factors come into account. From naming your kids, to even naming your business, once you settle on that name, it becomes your identity and you are essentailly stuck with it for eternity. (So put some thought into it!)
Naming Colleges
A recent article in the NY Times intrigues me. It’s about how colleges are changing their name to attract more students. Personally, I think this is absurd. It is sort of along the same lines as UNT up and changing its colors, logos and “tag lines.” It’s dumb, unnecessary and expensive for the students. I would rather go to Trenton State College than the College of New Jersey, I just think the name is cooler. I know that my school has gone through a couple of names, it was North Texas State University (NTSU) when my mom went here and now it has become the University of North Texas (UNT)… and generally, people don’t know what to call it, so they just call it North Texas (NT). It’s all about branding and marketing now days and not so much about education.
>> NY Times Article (.pdf)
Naming Children
My full first name is Katharine. It is derived from the Greek name Aikaterine and means “pure, virginal.” Come to think of it, I still am pretty pure/innocent for the most part. And I’m proud of it. The rest of a child’s life can be determined by the name they are given at birth. If you name a girl “Cookie” or “Muffin” you can pretty much predict how that is going to end up. Most of the Katha(e)rine/Katy(ie)/Kates that I know are very successful. If you think about it, as you grow up, you sort of evolve into your name. Katy is a lot different than Kate. Katharine doesn’t really exist except to teachers who I’m too lazy to tell them I go by Kate.
Even picking a screen name
My current screen name I have had since probably 8th grade. I don’t think I put a whole lot of thought into it. Hmm. Its basically a superhero with my initals tacked on to the end of it, very tweenager-ish. Oh well, I’m too lazy to change it. Getting a new sn is like getting a new cell phone number, even if you still have all your contacts. Its a pain in the butt to tell everyone your new name/number/whatever.
>> Tips on Chosing a SN (.pdf) taken from Match.com (don’t ask…)