There is much to learn from a name. Father’s day brings a mixture of emotions and meanings as we recall the biological and other fatherly figures who impact our lives. One interesting point behind this is that much of genealogical ties are in and of themselves tied to the names we bear. In general, I would say there are three:

Our beliefs and values. This is the name we usually bear first and foremost. It’s not always obvious and it’s not written down as a surname on paper, but it tends to hold an immense amount of meaning. This name is the beginning of who we are and who we’ve become. It can be a product of example modeled or lesson learned from the ways in which we see this name manifest itself in others.

Our father’s name. This is generally the last name that you wear on your back. It’s been written on many receipts and standardized pieces of paper. It may even be changed. But this name follows us. This name is the reminder of generations of others before us who hold this name. One of my favorite sayings from my parents is to remember who you are (in my case a ‘Knight’). What this means is that I’m wearing a name that is not my own. There’s a certain level of standard and association that the name carries with it and that those who have carried it before hope that it will continue to carry. Usually this is more the direct reflection of how reputation, integrity, and character reflect themselves directly upon us. As John Proctor in The Crucible boldly states as he deals with his own moral dilemma and the first name he carries, he declares “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life”. John Proctor Bridges the first two names that we carry. It is that which we believe and cannot express and that which has been carried by us. This leads us to the third name and the ways in which the interaction of these names in the creation of our own understandings of what’s in a name display themselves: our first one.

The first name is the singular identifier. Much the same as Carolus Linnæus provides a two part naming system. One is the general describer or that of our surname the last name we carry that has history and generalities attached to it. The second is how we identify ourselves. It is the part we get to shape and bring to light as what makes us as an individual distinct. Here we get to shape ourselves as an individual and to take from the previous two names and add to them. We also get to uphold them as the now resonate as a part of who we are. Yes we get to interpret, but we also have a responsibility to them.

We need to hold these three names under a magnifying glass as we begin to learn what shapes our character and the standards by which we hold ourselves and those around us.

Know your names. Name them too.