Names are important.  They are an intrinsic component to our identity. It used to be important that the meaning behind a name be as well thought out as the name itself, but our American culture doesn’t invest heavily in that tradition. We seem to be more focused on how unique a name is more than what it means. Just do a search for “unique baby names” and see what kind of bizarre variations come up. Reminds me of musician Frank Zappa who famously named his daughter Moon Unit and his son Dweezil.

In Native American culture it was often the responsibility of an Elder to choose the name of a baby, but only after he/she had been in their physical form long enough that the spirit world could not call it back. They would give the newborn nicknames until the true name was decided. Sometimes the name was revealed to the Elder in a dream or based on the personality or characteristics of the child. It was a very personal mark of identification and once the name was chosen it held considerable meaning.

Some countries have adopted naming laws that define a legal name. In 1991, a Swedish couple refused to give their newborn baby a legal name as way of protesting one such naming law. Five years later they were fined for leaving their child legally nameless and chose to submit the name Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 to serve not so much as a compromise but as an “in your face” to the Swedish government. How they decided on that name is unknown but I’d like to think the father pounded his fist on the keyboard upon receiving the fine and thus the name was created. Or not.

But what’s in a name? It’s obviously more than a moniker used to address an individual. There’s an incredibly significant connection between a person’s name and the person themselves. Everything that defines us as a person is directly associated with our names. When we achieve great things it’s not our social security number or fingerprints that are acknowledged. Or on the flipside, when we totally screw things up, it’s not our dental records or DNA that are subjected to the consequences (well, hopefully not). It’s our names.

No matter how we acquire it or what the meaning behind it is, our reputation is synonymous with our name and follow us throughout our lives. This past week I was listening to a program on NPR that was discussing how social networking is negatively impacting legal proceedings in court. In one of the examples mentioned, a jury member had Googled the name of the defendant and found disparaging information about him. Though unrelated to the details of the trial it had added a damning facet to his character for this juror and her vote was singularly polarized to the rest of the jury’s vote of not guilty. She was outvoted but he had built up a bad reputation and a simple search of his name on the internet revealed it.

If you’re like me you will be Googling your name to see what results come up. Mine looks pretty good I guess. I’d like to think I’m a pretty decent guy. Nerds usually are.

Knowing how important your name is should encourage you to think about your actions and how they could have lasting effects on your reputation. I know from now on it will be a huge consideration in my decision making process.