March 19, 2000

This week at praxis...The Name Game

 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to Abram, 
and said to him, "I am El Shaddai; walk before me, and be blameless.  
And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you 
exceedingly numerous."  Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,  
"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a 
multitude of nations.  No longer shall your name be Abram (which means exalted 
ancestor), but your name shall be Abraham (which means ancestor of a multitude); 
for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.   I will make you 
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  
I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout 
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring 
after you...God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, 
but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. 
I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

("Sarah" means "princess"; Sarai is a variation of it.)
- Genesis 17:1-7 15-16

...there are etymological etiologies, stories which explain the origin of names, 
and purport to give the real meaning of those names.  These etymologies are 
founded on the idea that the name of a thing is deeply related to its reality.  
But as a rule the etiology is not scientifically correct...

- Gene M. Tucker, Form Criticism of the Old Testament
 

Modern Christian theologians speak of baptism as a sacrament of initiation into the church, 
and in this sense it serves basically the same purpose as naming ceremonies in preliterate 
societies. In Christian thought, baptism is a cleansing or reclaiming of the soul of the child, 
and this takes place under the name the child receives in the ceremony. Among preliterate peoples, 
the act of naming is a bestowal of a soul on the one who receives the name (Charles). In either case, 
though, the effect is the same: the person who receives a name thereby receives an identity and 
a place within the society. 

This bestowal of name and identity is a kind of symbolic contract between the society and 
the individual. Seen from one side of the contract, by giving a name the society confirms 
the individual's existence and acknowledges its responsibilities toward that person. The 
name differentiates the child from others; thus, the society will be able to treat and deal 
with the child as someone with needs and feelings different from those of other people. 
Through the name, the individual becomes part of the history of the society, and, because of 
the name, his or her deeds will exist separate from the deeds of others. 

-- www.interoz.com/usr/bethed/identity.htm, 
by H. Edward Deluzain


Other name websites:
www.eponym.org/index.html
www.babyzone.com/babynames

 Baby Naming Hints
1. The baby name should have a positive connotation for you.
2. The baby first name's rhythm should complement the last name.
3. The initials should not spell anything undesirable.
4. Check the pronunciation and spelling of the baby's name.
5. Honor a family member, friend or hero/heroine with the name.
6. Combine names to create a new baby name.
7. Be conscious of nicknames and variations.
8. Practice the baby's name and hear how it feels.
9. The middle name provides a unique opportunity.
10. Avoid letter redundancy between names.
-- www.dfcreations.com/nh.html 

Questions:
o	What does your name mean?  How did you get it?  
	Do you like the meaning of your name?  Is the name, or meaning, important to you?
o	Have you ever changed your name?  Why? Was it a big deal?
o	Have you ever named a child/car/pet/character?  How did you choose it?
o	Tucker talks about many etiologies, stories that explain origins, in the Bible.  
	Do we use etiologies in our culture?
o	How is a name a contract, like Deluzain suggests?
o	How is Abraham's name a contract?  
o	God gives God's own name at the beginning of the story.  How important is God's name?