The Meaning of Your Name

Names are powerful. When we are still in the womb, our parents or caregivers begin to get an idea of who we are or who we might become.  They begin to imagine us. This is captured in the ritual of choosing a name.

Whenever I talk with expecting parents, I ask them about the names they are choosing between and what the names mean. I ask them about what resonates with them? I sometimes ask friends, family members, and colleagues this too. It can be an insightful process.

Thinking about our name is important. It is something that uniquely belongs to us. There is a psychological explanation of this called the "cocktail party effect" which underlines the importance of our name. We can be in a crowded and loud room. If someone 40 feet away mentions our name we immediately hear it and can focus in on what is being said. Our names are that powerful. 

Names have meaning to us personally too. We can, in some ways, choose what our name means (and the same applies to those of you who have chosen your name). The brain processes over 950 billion bites/units of information a day. Proactively thinking about our name can help us with the story we tell about ourselves. Here is how you do it:

1. Write down your first, middle, and last name. (Your chosen name is good, too!)
2. Google or ask AI what each name means.
3. Organize them into a sentence or a sequence that makes the most sense to you.
4. Reflect on the meaning of your name in the past and what it means for your story going forward.

We are big on anonymity here so don't share your real name, but feel free to share the gist or the meaning of your name, what it means to you, and how it influences your sense of past and the future. 

I'll start. Here are my elements or name blocks (I can rearrange them):
-a secluded narrow valley - connection to the land, peaceful
-lion strong
-navigator

Here is my meaning: I'm a strong navigator with a connection to the land that lives in a secluded valley. That actually fits! I am mostly a monk living close to nature in the trees. I work with you all to navigate the Good Ship 7 Cups (sometimes through treacherous waters). 

I've probably done this exercise with a couple of dozen people. Part of it is the meaning is loose or ambiguous enough that it can be used pretty flexibly; and part of it is that it also "just fits" the person some of the time in an unexpected way. 

Again, if comfortable share your reaction to this exercise in general sense. Please don't share your real name. And, thankfully, multiple names can share the same meaning, so it isn't super obvious how to decode things. Bonus points - ask your family members or friends and share what they feel/experience in the exercise.