What's In a Name?

Have you ever had the experience of being part of a community and not knowing anyone's name? This doesn't happen to me much at WES, where it's part of my job to know people's names, but it's the worst at my older daughter's preschool. I know the names of the children in her class, but I just can't seem to retain the names of their parents. It can make for an awkward interaction at the drop-off time. Luckily I have my daughter. She knows everyone's name, and she makes a point of using their names every time. She's been that way since she was little, wanting to know everyone's name--including both parents. And when she draws a picture for us, she never writes "mommy" or "daddy" on it, but instead "Amanda" or "Peter." There's something she recognizes about the importance of your own name. It has me thinking about our names more broadly: how we are called and the importance of being called by our names. And also about how our names change over our lives, the nicknames we choose for ourselves (or have chosen for us), the ones we hang onto and the ones we discard, the names we are called only by certain people and the names we offer to anyone. In science fiction and fantasy books, being called by your "true name" sometimes unlocks special powers...and in many cultures, your name indicates your relationships, your status, your profession. What's in a name? What does your name mean to you?