What's in a name? Actually, a lot (although I won't talk about it in the same context as Shakespeare).

Names have personalities all on their own. For example, let's look at this name: Elberton Dipplefippy. What do you think of? A guy so cool you are afraid to even be near him? A small, blond toddler?  The nerdy guy in school who makes it big later in life? A hippie? The answer is:
the guy who is so cool you are afraid to even be near him. But you wouldn't think so, right?

Names have personalities of their own before even connect them to a person. This is why authors spend a lot of time deciding on character names, why couples have conversations about their future children's names way before they get there. I wonder, are our personalities affected, shaped even, by our names?

Everyone's name has a story, a meaning. Everyone has an opinion of their name, and they should. You have to wear that thing for the rest of your life. Here are some discoveries, thoughts, and reactions I've had when talking to people about their names:

• I've heard people say that the name they have is not the one they would choose for themselves. While I'm sympathetic to the thought, how could that work, though? Not have a name until you can talk? Then you're name would be something ridiculous like "Strawberry Shortcake" or "Mom." 
• Every family has a strange name story. Ours has more than one. My great grandfather's name was "W.L." and the entire time I was growing up, I heard "Dubyell." Those two intitials as his name were literally on his birth certificate. Also, I have distant relatives on my mother's side where a man named Jule married a woman named Jewel. What did they name their two children, a boy and a girl? You guessed it. Jule and Jewel. So the whole family had the same name, which then required nicknames. He became Brother Boy and she became Baby Jewel.
• This brings me to nicknames. People love them or hate them or feel weird about them and can''t decide. A girl I know named "Elizabeth" said that people are always trying to shorten her name when she likes it the way it is. Others hate their real name so they gladly welcome them, or they see them as a term of endearment. It's not cool to make up nicknames for yourself. I think we can all agree here.
• Being named after people has some issues that go along with it. Sometimes people don't end up being anything like the person they were named after, and feel strange because of it. I've heard people say that they felt a weird pressure to live up to that person. Others love it. I'm sure my sister, Mary Lou, loves it because our grandma rocks and so does she. We call her Lou because my brother started it, and that is what our grandpa used to call our grandma, which we all saw as playful. It suits her well.
• People grow into their names. I didn't like my name when I was little. I do now. My sister said the same thing. I think we go through phases where we learn to wear our skin a little better; maybe that goes for our names as well.
•  It's annoying when people get your name wrong. It's so important to be good with names, and everyone's been in that awkward position where they can't remember someone's name they really should know. Or been called the wrong name but it's gone on for too long and you can't stop it so you avoid them at all costs. Names are personal, part of our identity- that's why I hate it when people pronounce my students' names wrong, and why I ask a million times the first week of school if I am saying it right.

For the sake of keeping it sort of short, I'll stop. I'd love to hear of any other realizations about names you might have, or if you like your name.  I wrote a bit about my own name for class that I'll probably tweak and post tomorrow.

By the way, I made up the name Elberton Dipplefippy- it literally doesn't exist. I googled it, and this is what I saw: