Personal Narrative: Understanding My Name

What is in a name? Writer Milan Kundera says, “We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.” (goodreads) Before I began my research, I already knew why my mother named me Sarah, but I did not know anything about my middle and surname. I always desired to find out when it comes to my family, why although my surname is Hampton I am not related to anybody else with that same surname besides my Father’s sisters and brothers. To proceed in the research of my first name, I had to look for information on the (Behind the Name) site, (Biography) site, The Name Book, and administer an interview with my Mother. Next, I searched the (seven reflections) site, and held another interview with my

Keyoshia! What is the main reason of how I received the name Keyoshia? I know that during my birth one of my mom’s girlfriend came up with my first name. When I was younger, my mom told me that she wanted to give me the Biblical name, Corinthians. I wonder why she wanted to name me that, since it is a book in the Bible. The next thing that I had wanted to know was how she came up with my middle name Shakier. So, I asked my mom, how she came up with the middle name Shakier. She replied, “My girlfriend from high school suggested your first and middle name, and when she told me the names I liked the names ever since.” The main thing that I do know is that my middle name is like the one and only Tupac Shakur, “the legendary rapper”, that everyone should know about. My last name “Burnett” comes from my father’s last name. The Burnett’s family stretches from New Orleans, Louisiana to Prairie, Mississippi. I never thought about the meaning of my name before my English IV teacher Mrs. Beddingfield gave us this assignment. By using the Internet, a personal interview, and a book, I discovered fascinating facts about my first, middle, and last name.

Names can come in all shapes and sizes. Just by taking a gander at our names, we can view into a window to the past. Last names are the utmost important part of anyone’s name, since it is past done from generation to generation. All throughout time and across the world countless names have changed the way they are spelled and ultimately changed their meanings. Our names, nicknames, and why we were named what we were, are just a few ways that shape are uniqueness.

My family felt like picking out a name for me as the first child was exciting. They had

Shortly after my third birthday, my mom was determined to teach me how to spell my name. “J-U-L-I-A” my mom would slowly spell, “Julia! Okay now I want you to try to spell it…” Not only did I quickly learn how to spell and write out my name, I began introducing myself to any person that spoke to my parents, including folks like the bald and studly grocery clerk that reacted with a chuckle and respond with, “how cute!” The third year of my life was the year I really comprehended what having a name was, which gave me an identity. Not only was I able to recognize the significance of my specific title, I became motivated to live out the full potential of my name.

The story of which my first name came to be is quite comical because my parents were apparently too lazy to find a name on their own time that they enjoyed. Originally, my name was to be Sadaf, which meant, “seashell” in Arabic. My parents wanted this name to correlate with my sisters name, Morvarid which means, “pearl”. They quickly gave up on the fascinating name thinking it was too cheesy, and turned to the Qur’an to opt for a unique name. Flipping through any mention of a female name, the name that popped up was my name. Frankly, I am glad that they chose such a simple name, making it easy for most individuals to pronounce and my

Names are a very important role in life, as the name of the individual itself is the most delightful word a human ear will hear. Names can represent culture helps communicate, and identify the individual. They can have much meaning in names, for example, people might name an individual their grandfather’s name in memory of him. People ask what their name is when they first meet you. Hearing a name can also make a smile and make a frown.

My first name is Miriam. There are different was to write it, even though Miriam is the most common way, you can also write it like this Mirjam or even Miryam. I personally like my name and I never thought that there is another name that actually fits me and especially my personality so well. Every time I ask my parents why they choose that particular name, the answer is always the same “Because we wanted our kids to have names that are mentioned in the bible”. In the bible Miriam is Moses sister and supports him as much as she possibly can.

It was late afternoon and the sun had already set when I remembered that I needed to interview my parents to figure out why I received my first name. The food had been eaten and the dishes were washed so my parents and I sat down at the smooth glass dining table to start the interview. Right before I asked the questions I felt a sudden wonder in what my parents would answer, since we had never talked about this topic before. Would this new information change the way I thought about my name or would I enjoy my name even more. The first question I asked my parents was, why did I receive my name? My dad simply answered that they had looked in a baby book of names and liked the name Yasmin. On the other hand my mom stated that there is a beautiful

My full name is Casimira (Ca-si-me-ra), but I liked to be called Cassie. The reason I was named Casimira was because my grandma was also named Casimira. Originally my name was supposed to be Wendy, but I did not get that name instead my older sister was named Wendy. When I was younger everyone always had trouble pronouncing my name, especially when I started school. Through kindergarten and 1st grade everyone around me had problems pronouncing my name and I hated it! I did not like name when I was younger. In the middle of 1st grade I moved to Temple city and that’s where people started calling me Cassie, it made it easier foe everyone around me and especially my teachers. To this day I dread the frist day of school when I have to correct the

The story of where I got my name first starts with my mom. When my mother was in labor, she got very sick. She prayed so that I come out healthy and safe. So she named me after the Virgin Mary.

When I stared at those four small letters, I heard all the nasty comments that kids would say. It wasn't until high school that I began to accept my name and see it in a different light. For so long, I had been running from the very thing that made me different, just because it wasn't common. Society can be so quick to judge diversity instead of celebrating it, and to my detriment, I had done so as

choice. It has no real use, and very few people outside of the individual’s family know

Harry Potter names his second son Albus Severus “for two Headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew” (Rowling, 605), first son James Sirius, after his father and godfather, and daughter Lily Luna, for his mother and loyal friend. These were six important people in Harry’s life–his parents, his mentors, his friend. He wanted his children to have a piece of each person’s legacy and importance. The name of a person given at birth is extremely significant as it is one of the few qualities a person has when they are young. It is why parents argue, stress out, and put a lot of thought into picking the a name. The name that is selected will remain a defining piece of a person’s identity for the rest of their lives.

My dad’s choice of Jewel, because at the time I was as precious as a jewel. My mother rounded off my middle name with a simple Ann, which stemmed from her middle name. Combined together they make a somewhat unique Jewel Ann. I think I still like my middle name, its different, I think that’s why I like it. The cherry on top of the name sundae is my last name