The famous quote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet” is from Act II Scene II of William Shakespeare’s enduring play Romeo and Juliet. Juliet speaks this to Romeo as she tries to reason with him that Romeo’s family name has no bearing on their love.
Perhaps that was true for Juliet, but it sure seemed to matter to her own family, the Capulets. It also seemed to matter to the principal players in the Hatfield and McCoy feud that has become historic in United States lore.
In Biblical times, names were very important, for it was believed that a name had an impact on development of a child’s character. Take Moses, which behindthename.com says could possibly mean “deliverer” in Hebrew. This would be fitting — it was Moses who led the Children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and delivered them to the edge of the Promised Land.
Then take the name Ebenezer. The same site says Ebenezer means “stone of help” in Hebrew. This is the meaning of the phrase “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” in the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (i.e., here I raise my stone of help, referencing an altar). This meaning is now not so nearly well known as the connotation given by Charles Dickens to the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. How many parents do you know that have named their children Ebenezer?
There are many names that might once have been desirable but are now neither common nor popular because of the actions of historical or literary characters who bore them.
The true test of the meaning of the name we personally bear is not found in ancient lore, but in the reactions and images reflected in the response of those who know us best when our names are mentioned. Proverbs 22:1 (KJV) says: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
You can test this yourself. Think of the names of several people that you know, and gauge your own reaction. There are people that I remember whose names bring me memories of joy, comfort, peace, friendship, and many other good thoughts. There are, unfortunately, a few names that bring back painful or sad memories, which my mind tries to suppress.
It can be an interesting exercise to do a Facebook search of your name. I was surprised to find there are several Ronnie Minceys on Facebook. My work colleagues and some of my other friends were quite amused to read the posts of at least one other Ronnie Mincey. It was quite interesting!
It can also be eye-opening to conduct an Internet search of your name. While first names have meanings, surnames also have meaning. My surname, “Mincey”, is rather unusual, or at least it seemed so to me. I conducted a Google search of my last name.
The first three links were for Mincey Marble Manufacturing, Inc. in Gainesville, GA, a company that designs, produces and sells cast marble showers, bathtub surrounds, and accessories. They also offer shower doors.
The next link was for images associated with the word “mincey”. Several images of people with my last name appeared. Some are of individuals of other races or ethnicities. One was of a lovely lady who is a teacher. There are Minceys who are Realtors, football players, track stars, a master chef finalist, investment company employees, a model, a wrestler, a senior associate vice president of a medical center, a pediatrician, a prominent eye specialist, a folk singer and a school board president. There are also Minceys who are politicians, bartenders, drug peddlers, a murder suspect, convicts, and many others. There is also a Mincey Road in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
There is even a 1964 press photo of Mincey quadruplets, described as “an original collectible vintage print from a news archive” (reference https://outlet.historicimages.com/).
Some of the images of others who bear the surname Mincey are of people of other races and ethnicities. There is even a term in the Urban Dictionary negatively associated with the name (indeed, it seems most everything in the Urban Dictionary has negative connotations).
Perhaps on one of the holidays or snow days that will occur this season you might want to conduct an Internet search of your own first or last name. Sometimes the results can be humorous, at others you might be reminded of the phrase “There but for the grace of God go I.”
I have a wooden plaque over my home library door that quotes Abraham Lincoln: “Live a good life. And in the end, it’s not the years in a life, it’s the life in the years.”
Dear Faithful Reader, may all our years be full of life. Until next time, I leave you with a quote to ponder from the world of email:
The word "swims" upside-down is still "swims"