What's in a name? | INFJ Forum

What's in a name?

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say what

I like soft things...so soft!
Jan 8, 2014
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Do you think if you had a different name, you would have turned out differently? Do you think aspects of your personality would have changed? Would you have experienced different things?

How much does a person's name make who they are?
 
I have no idea if your name influences your personality even though I have read some theories about it. I know that I like my name and I think it suits me, but then again I've known people with the same first name as me and they had a very different personality. In grade four there was a new girl with the same first name as me so my teacher asked me if I would befriend her (probably because I didn't have too many friends myself). She ended up bullying me and tormenting me. She was not a very nice girl. I ended up writing a letter to the teacher to explain to her why I didn't want to be friends with the new girl anymore.
 
The Freakonomics documentary I watched this past year asked similar questions! :) Here's a sneak peak, that might get some brainstorming happening.

[video=youtube;UaU9vmL8i3Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaU9vmL8i3Y[/video]
 
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I do think people are treated differently depending on their names. I think my name fits but I am not sure If I like that it fits. I think depending on how a name is said or pronounced can make you feel strong and powerful, or weak and vulnerable. There was a nick name version of my name that was used when I was young. Although it was fun for a while, I realized later that it wasn't that positive. I gave me a lingering impression I am not fond of. I still like my name but if I become a parent, I want to give my children names which reflect strength and independence.
 
Framed said:
I want to give my children names which reflect strength and independence.
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I like this concept. It doesn't seem to be stressed very often in our culture but it has been used in other cultures. I want to name my kid Puma or Reef. Puma because I want the kid to be reminded that he/she is strong, humble, loving, independent, and fierce like a Puma. Reef because I want the kid to understand that his/her beauty is infinite, diverse, and can never be fully understood in all it's depth. It can only be observed and respected much like a coral reef. I think both names are suitable for males or females.

I also like the idea of being named after things in nature because it reminds us of where we come from. I think if a person is named after an animal or environment they are more likely to grow up with some respect for other life forms. They are more likely to respect the genius other creatures have instead of being narcissistic about the human race.
 
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Interesting:
Even though research data consistently show a relationship between names and personality difficulties, bizarre and highly unusual names of children may be, in themselves, no more than indicators of the psychological states of parents. Earlier I made the point that parents are the most important message-senders in the development of a child's self-concept and personality. It may well be that peculiar names, which are likely to cause other children to poke fun, are actually unconscious messages from the parents that the children are peculiar and deserving of ridicule. If this is the case, then the name is probably only the first of many such messages these children get from their parents during the time their self-concepts are developing. Then it becomes a question of whether the name is the cause of the child's later psychological problems or whether the child's name is only a symptom of deeper problems within the family.

Myron Brender, writing for the journal of the American Name Society, offered several hypotheses about the psychological significance for the parents of the names they choose for their children. According to Brender, family tradition is an important factor in the names many children receive. Sometimes traditional names express the hope that a rich relative will remember the namesake generously in a will. Other times, though, a traditional family name may be an attempt by the child's parents to appease their own parents because of feelings of guilt or fear of rejection (Brender).

Apart from any problems a child might have with a name that is an expression of parental guilt or fear, traditional names can work to a person's disadvantage in other ways. Dr. Murphy told of a case from his psychiatric practice of a college student who sought psychiatric help because he couldn't concentrate on his school work and because he had developed a facial tic. The young man had been given his mother's maiden name as a middle name, and he used it habitually in combination with his last name. The family of the man's father was undistinguished; but the mother had descended from old and important New England stock, and her last name carried prestige in the area where the man lived. Without realizing it, he had come to depend on his middle name, rather than on personal hard work, to assure his success in life, and he often became angry and frustrated when his middle name failed to work its magic. As he improved during treatment, but before he became conscious of the importance of his middle name to his problem, he stopped using the middle name as a way of identifying himself (Murphy).
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letters.
 
My name means 'wise' so I think it definitely suits me.
:)
 
One day having kids, I would like to think I could give them names that would cause them to think about their place in the universe and the fact they are in a universe. That earth is just a small part of it and that each person is a smaller part of a whole. However this couldn't go well with modern society that has such a hard time even considering change. Names like Nusakan, Nashira, Saiphi, Talitha...etc. Well thanks to small minded society would only serve to alienate the poor kids. Humans are so embedded in their ways.

Your world is small, your mind is as big as you can imagine.
 
It's interesting....in some cultures, names are extremely important- they represent who you are, and can be a foreshadowing of you your parents want you to be. In mythical tales, names hold so much power- repeating them can bring the essence of someone to use...yet, we rarely think of our name holding some kind of dimension over who we are.

I often wonder if I would be different if I were named something else.
 
say what said:
It's interesting....in some cultures, names are extremely important- they represent who you are, and can be a foreshadowing of you your parents want you to be. In mythical tales, names hold so much power- repeating them can bring the essence of someone to use...yet, we rarely think of our name holding some kind of dimension over who we are.

I often wonder if I would be different if I were named something else.
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Something like, "What was that?"
 
My first name means hero glorious hero, which is not at all suprising.
 
Jacobi said:
My first name means hero glorious hero, which is not at all suprising.
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I'm assuming you're referring to the sandwich hero, right? :p

a large sandwich consisting of a small loaf of bread filled with any of various ingredients, as cold cuts and cheese or sausage and peppers.
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say what said:
Do you think if you had a different name, you would have turned out differently? Do you think aspects of your personality would have changed? Would you have experienced different things?

How much does a person's name make who they are?
Click to expand...


This is the meaning of my name:

• Your first name of Lisa has given you a quick, analytical mind.

• You are creative, versatile, and imaginative.

• However, independence, positivity and the urge for action and progress are such strong forces in your nature that you find it difficult to control them.

• You feel happy as long as headway is being made, but as soon as you are obstructed or your individuality and freedom of action are restricted, you experience an intense nervous reaction.

• Moods of depression can result during which you become caustic and belligerent in your attitude toward everyone, especially to those in closest association with you.

• Routine, monotony, and the responsibility of looking after details can have a similar effect on you, as you are a person who desires change, travel, and new experiences.

• In order to gain greater congeniality in your personal associations, you need to cultivate a more relaxed manner, greater generosity, understanding, and tolerance, and, above all, you need to avoid being too outspoken and self-opinionated. The influence of this name can be very destructive to your health and personal happiness, even though it may take you far in business.

• You frequently experience nervous tension in the solar plexus.

• A sensitive stomach and ulcers could result.

• Also, ailments could centre in the head affecting the eyes, ears, nose, throat, or teeth.

Edit: here was another one...

Your first name of Lisa has given you energy, drive, and ambition, but also an almost excessively strong-willed and independent nature.

While you are creative, inventive, and ingenious in practical matters, and always ready to initiate and promote new undertakings, you often experience difficulty in bringing your undertakings to a successful conclusion because of your own changing interests or changing circumstances.

You become intensely involved with everything you plan to do, but the stress arising from frustrating obstacles or misunderstandings with others could prompt you to be intolerant and sarcastic in your expression, with breakdowns in congenial relations with family and friends a possible end result.

Any emotional outbursts or moods would register as tension in your solar plexus, resulting in nervous indigestion and related problems.

Tension could also centre in the head affecting the eyes, ears, sinuses, or teeth.

True relaxation and peace of mind are elusive under this name.


These descriptions are accurate.

I am sure if my name was Candy, Diamond, Anastasia or Ginger, I probably would have ended up being a stripper. So, yes, I believe that a persons name influences who they are.

Also, here is an interesting video on why names matter:

http://youtu.be/ZmDnfjCE1iQ
 
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CrazyBeautiful said:
This is the meaning of my name:

• Your first name of Lisa has given you a quick, analytical mind.

• You are creative, versatile, and imaginative.

• However, independence, positivity and the urge for action and progress are such strong forces in your nature that you find it difficult to control them.

• You feel happy as long as headway is being made, but as soon as you are obstructed or your individuality and freedom of action are restricted, you experience an intense nervous reaction.

• Moods of depression can result during which you become caustic and belligerent in your attitude toward everyone, especially to those in closest association with you.

• Routine, monotony, and the responsibility of looking after details can have a similar effect on you, as you are a person who desires change, travel, and new experiences.

• In order to gain greater congeniality in your personal associations, you need to cultivate a more relaxed manner, greater generosity, understanding, and tolerance, and, above all, you need to avoid being too outspoken and self-opinionated. The influence of this name can be very destructive to your health and personal happiness, even though it may take you far in business.

• You frequently experience nervous tension in the solar plexus.

• A sensitive stomach and ulcers could result.

• Also, ailments could centre in the head affecting the eyes, ears, nose, throat, or teeth.


This description is very accurate.

I am sure if my name was Candy, Diamond, Anastasia or Ginger, I probably would have ended up being a stripper. So, yes, I believe that a persons name influences who they are.

Also, here is an interesting video on why names matter:

http://youtu.be/ZmDnfjCE1iQ
Click to expand...

Where did you find that description!?! It's awesome!!
 
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