Recently while trying to name a stuffed teddy bear, I ran in to a bout of trouble, I for the life of me can not come up with a name. The bear in question is a boy, red scarf, big black beaded eyes, tan face, a small R printed on the right foot from 'Toys R Us' store, and a small smile.
Any suggestions for a name?
Back to what I was initially going to say. When parents name their children, they are giving them an identity, something that may not last a lifetime but is intended to do so. How do parents carry such a burden? I know some people just look at a baby and can see the name in it's face, some name from tradition, some name out of remembrance, and some name children as, well, lets leave it as nontraditional names. I am just bewildered by the fact that people have the power to give someone an identity, and some of these people do not take that responsibility seriously. I just wonder, How much power do parents, doctors, and others who watch over children as they grow up?
Well, at least you can rest easily knowing that this is not a baby you are naming. What the people who named their son Superman were thinking is beyond me; names can be interesting but should not be comical or bizarre. Celebrity baby names also come to mind here.
ReplyDeleteI once had a teddy bear, even though I got it when I was ten and already had many stuffed animals from childhood with names. I wanted to name my new teddy bear Steven Spielberg. My parents thought that was silly and that I should give the bear a cuter name. So I named him Fuzzy Steven Spielberg.
Tibbers.
DeleteSorry I was late to the party with this, and if not Tibbers, a solid Tibias is my next one, or I suppose Theodore (Teddy), anyway whatever you want will be awesome. But, you have to tell us what you pick.
I noticed the R part just now, that hinders my suggestions greatly but I still like Tibbers, even though it isn't my idea.
DeleteYou should name your teddy Rufus :) Naming a child is a big deal. I know with my parents they named all four of us very uniquely. Brikken, Merlyn, Saffron, and my lil bro, Edison. You know what else? I think it's weird how you look at a lot of people, you hear their name, and you think: yeah, they look like a Stephanie, or a Jeff, or a Brikken. How can that be? Does one's personality and name sort of morph into each other? You could also name your bear Ro, after your fencing experience. Or Nickles. Or Buckles...wait a sec. A human name or an object name? I am rambling now, but people name their dogs or cats strange names too. Who says a cat doesn't want to be named Anna? We just don't name them that cause it's boring.
ReplyDeleteNames are extremely important. Not only are you declaring a noun something specific, but you are also imprinting your own thoughts and expectations onto the thing being named. You could say that naming something is the most important thing that anyone can do in order to shape it's path in life. Names, heavy stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love your cat example, Brikken, because I have a friend with a cat named Anna and I tease her for that name all the time. I agree with Alex, names are heavy stuff. Employers, potential friends, teachers - their first impression of you is your name. The connotations, phonetics, backgrounds, and memories associated with a name can have heavy influence on our pre-conceived expectations. It's strange to think about what power a name has, but at some point we have to just pick one, then accept it and stick with it. Otherwise we could drive ourselves crazy.
ReplyDeleteAlso characters are in a name, I don't want to be bias to letters, who knows what some people will do.
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