How Well do our Names Really Define us?

IMPACT26 Like it or not, our names have tremendous power in our lives. A name is the first thing we’re ever given, the first thing we reveal about ourselves to strangers. It is one of the first impressions others obtain of who we are. Why should this be? As humans, we are obsessed with naming things, giving meanings and categorizations to everything we

encounter. They allow us to simply

define and verbalise the world around us. However, does this familiarity make us forget the complexity and power of names in our lives? “The rise in discussions surrounding gender spectrums and transgender rights is a reminder of the ongoing importance of names” In his fantasy novel The Name of the Wind, Pat- rick Rothfuss creates a world in which it is clear that names are not merely linguistic tags. They are imbued with the inherent power and quintessence of the thing itself, formed by everything that has shaped it since its creation. He states “Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power”. Names in the novel, when spoken with an understanding of their significance, have the ability to summon the very nature and strength of the thing in question. Vikings, too, placed great

emphasis on the importance of names, in both their legends and every-day lives. Names were loaded with who and what a person was (for instance Kåre meant curly hair) or, moreover, what they could become (Erik

meaning leader). Furthermore, names were a changing part of life, altered by the experiences and even the legend a person acquired. It is unknown whether King Harald Bluetooth (a King of Denmark who unified Denmark and Norway) was ever known by this name whilst alive. However, his legacy continues to be carried in his symbolically loaded name, one that now names the technology allowing the sharing of information between places. But perhaps not that much has changed; names are as important as ever. The rise in discussions surrounding gender spectrums and transgender rights is a reminder of the ongoing importance of names. For many transgender people, the official and legal changing of names on documentation is a key stage in transitioning and is one many have had to fight long and hard for. In 2016, a transgender man was denied the right to do so by a judge in Georgia on the claim that it was ‘fraud’. That judge evidently had not read The Name of the Wind or heard the tale of Harald Bluetooth, or he would have understood that names are shaped by our lives, by both who we inherently are, and who we choose to be. “Beyond the words themselves, they carry what we hope our legacy will hold when our names are all that is left of us” Even for those of us whose names are a constant throughout our lives, they are, nevertheless, central to our identities. They hold the history of our families and, with that, the responsibilities carried in them. Beyond the words themselves, they carry what we hope our legacy will hold when our names are all that is left of us. So, in a world of ‘pale’ words, I think it’s worth remembering the power of our names. Chiara Crompton How Well do our Names Really Define us?

I l l u s t r a t i o n b y C h i a r a C r o m p t o n