Names

I had a colleague called Wayne Kerr. Think about it. How did Wayne feel about his name? Maybe you know someone called ‘Robyn Banks’ or maybe your brother-in-law–that is, my brother in law–suggested you call your child ‘Hunter’. Not a bad name except when your surname is ‘Duck’.

Studies have shown that people who like their name a lot also tend to have higher self-esteem. In contrast, those who indicate they dislike their name generally have lower self-esteem.

Similar studies have also shown that our signature provides insight into our self-esteem. People who sign their names with big signatures report higher self-esteem than people who have smaller signatures.

Very interesting but what does it all mean?

Our name is one of the most personal and intimate aspects of who we are. It symbolises our identity. Of course, it is also possible that awkward or embarrassing names may compromise our self-confidence.

When our identity is associated with a humorous or silly name, what does this do to our self-esteem? For some it may be a badge of honour because it allows them to stand out. After all, there are many celebrities with quirky names, some bestowed by their parents and others adopted to catch more attention on the billboards.

Take Joaquin Phoenix who used to be called Leaf Phoenix and has siblings called River Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Summer Phoenix and Jodean Bottom. Then again Marion Morrison may not have galloped through so many Westerns if he hadn’t taken the sound advice from a director to change his name to John Wayne.

For some other people (e.g. ‘Mr Stiff’ from my school) change may be required to avoid embarrassment or enhance their credibility.

Think about your ever growing list of leaders and influencers. Did their names play a role? Were your leaders John Smiths or Wayne Kerrs?