WHAT'S IN A NAME


"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."
AWWWW...One of the most famous quotes in literature.  Have you ever wondered what Shakespeare was thinking when he wrote it?  Did he think this quote would start so many brains to start working?  Why do we call certain things what we call them?  Is there really any rhyme or reason behind names of things?  Why do we call a cow a cow?  Why not call a cow a dog?  If a cow was called a dog, wouldn't the milk still taste as sweet?  Of course it would.  Seems we just accept the names given to things in stride and go on with our everyday chores.

But how about the names we give people?  Have you ever thought about all the effort that was given to naming people.  As soon as we find out a new baby is on it's way,  the first thing we do, as far as parents, is think about names.  I wonder how many books there are about baby names?  I googled baby names just out of curiosity. I got 63,700,000 results in .17 seconds.  If you really got into a deep search for a newborns name, the poor kid could would be dead before you came up with the right name.

Notice the last two words of the previous paragraph.  "RIGHT NAME."  Have you ever noticed how sometimes a perspective parent will tell you what their new child's name is gonna be and under your breath you will quickly find yourself saying a prayer for this unborn child.  You very quickly know this child is going to have an awful life with that tag attached to them for the rest of their lives.  I have also noticed that even though the name in no way fits the child,  Like magic,  the child usually grows to fit the name.

When Peggy and I realized we were going to have a son,  one of the first things we knew we had to do was pick a name.  I joked that we, needed a good southern name, and my first choice was "Billy Bob."  Peggy hated it but for seven month before our wonderful son came into this world he was known as "Billy Bob."  Every time I would call him "Billy Bob",  Peggy would let me know in no uncertain terms that we were  not going to name him "Billy Bob."  The day of the birth finally came.  We were in the delivery room.  The birth went great and all of a sudden we were the proud parents of a 10 pound 1 and 1/2 ounce boy.  That's right, a TEN pounds ONE and a Half ounce son.  The Doctor looked at Peggy and upon congratulating us asked her the all important question....What are you going to name him?  At this time we still weren't completely sure what his name would be but Peggy knew it wouldn't be "Billy Bob."  She looked at the  Doctor and said  "We might name him after you......what is your name?"  The Doctor looked at Peggy and his response..................."William Robert"...........or Billy Bob.  Later that day our son was named Joshua Kyle and he grew into his name very soon there after.

Some of us end up with what is called Nicknames.  All of my three children and seven grand children have their own special nicknames.  I don't know if they like these nicknames or not but they are terms of the deepest affection when I call them by these nicknames.  As for myself I have been called by many names in my lifetime,  some of which I like and some that are not printable in this post.  Some of my nicknames have been Wes, JW,  WD, Stonk, and Catfish.  I'm sure you have had nicknames also.

Our names are special to us.  Even though someone else may share our name,  our name is still unique to us.  My first post and the name of this blog is about my last name.  "Daniell."  This name is very special to me and not just because it's spelled with "Two Ls."  It is special because it tells where I came from.  It tells of family before,  the good and the bad.  It tells me of people that came before me that helped form this land,  this country,  this state and some of the different towns and cities.  Of people that worked hard,  had strong beliefs and stood up for these beliefs.

You too should be proud of your name.  You are special.  You are unique.  It is estimated that there have been more than 107,602,707,800 people born on this earth, and out of all these people not a single one is or has been just like you.  Stand up straight.  Stick you chest out.  Hold your chin up.  Your name means something special.  You are special.

Many times we are asked if we could change our names what  our new name be?  For me,  I'm happy with my name.   I'm even happy with my nicknames.  In fact there is one name I'm called that always makes me smile and sometime brings a tear to my eye.  What is that name you ask?  That name is "PaPa."  If you have this same name or one like it,  you know what I'm talking about.

God Bless