| What's in a Name? |
| "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." --William Shakespeare ("Romeo and Juliet� Act II: Scene 2) |
| Four hundred years ago, Shakespeare wrote this immortal line in Romeo and Juliet. But the Bard was only partially correct. Names go much, much deeper than just a mere collection of letters and sounds. Some names are older than every country in existence. Some names were created only a few years ago. Most, however, were created somewhere in between. All names have a particular origin, meaning and connotation. Names have been known to make or break people. Would Marion Morrison have been a legend of the silver screen if he hadn't changed his name to John Wayne? What about Norma Jean Baker? Would she have been a star without the name of Marilyn Monroe? Maybe. But it would have been a lot harder! Names not only label a person, but they also create an identity, a sense of being. This identity is the only possession that no one can take from us. When we are long dead, all we will have left is our names. You could say that we shall take our names to our graves. So, as names are extremely important, and yes, even sacred, I have added a dictionary of names to honor all the meanings behind them. The dictionary is far from complete and I will be updating it from time to time. If you would like to know the meaning of a certain name and it is not in here, e-mail me and I will do my best to look it up for you and place it on this webpage along with all the other names. |