The name

When I say “Kaela”, my labrador (with dalmatian mix), would turn her head and look my way. But when I shorten it to “Kae”, she understands it means business so she follows me around. And when I raise the tone of my voice higher and call out “Ki-ki”, she wags her tail as a sign that she’s ready to play.

Even as the one thing which separates us from animals is the  ability to reason, the way names are said, pronounced or made will determine different reactions from men and animals like.

As Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.”

Names have power and posterity.

Buildings, roads, bridges and streets are named to honor individuals associated with history. Sadly, the names are often instituted  after the individual is dead.

Names convey meanings; our choice of names determines the meaning of what we say. An inappropriate name gives people the wrong idea. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet—but if you call it a pen, people would  be disappointed when they try to write with it. And if you call pens “roses”, people may not realize what they are good for.

For example, if you use the name Linux for the computer’s operating system, it conveys  a mistaken idea of the system’s origin, history, and purpose. If you call it GNU/Linux, that conveys (though not in detail) an accurate idea.

But sometimes, it doesn’t really matter whether a name is changed. Three days ago, I got a notice from my Internet service provider that Smart Bro Canopy and WiMax is now known as myBro. Does it make any difference? Will it make a difference with my existing account? The answer is “no”. It’s just a name.

So why do some people change names?

A news item in the Internet reported that “Google Inc.’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt once predicted that in the future people around the world would change their names to escape all the embarrassing things they did online in the past. In Thailand, people already are doing it—for good luck.”

When his business flopped and his wife left him, Teerapol Lilitjirawatis, a blind man, he changed his name to Baramee which means “Charisma”, believing this would  bring him wealth and fame. Today, Baramee runs a booming new industry advising other Thais, including celebrities and business tycoons, how to choose new names for themselves.

I googled my name and found out that  “Loreen” says I am responsible, reserved, and have a dignified nature,  and am able to find a certain amount of success in anything I undertake. It indicates that I have an appreciation for the finer and deeper aspects of life; that I am inclined to art, literature, philosophy, music, and drama. Well, I must say this is true.

My name is said to “cause a superior, interfering expression whose favorite expression is ‘I know.’” And then I reflected. I used to strongly want to win any argument. I thought I did know everything. But a name is a name is a name. It doesn’t dictate my future or who I am.

I have  mellowed through the years. God has taught me  not to think highly of myself above  others, to be humble in victory or in fault, to lean not on my own understanding and that He is the source of all wisdom and authority. I have long junked the expression “I know” but my name remains the same.

There is a name above all names; that even as the seasons change, economy flips, and generations change hands, the name “Emmanuel” lives forever.

It is the most significant among all other names and titles (over 100 of them in the Bible) given to Jesus. It is the name that the prophet Isaiah first gave 700 years before His birth (Isaiah 7:14).  In his gospel, St. Matthew wrote that Emmanuel means “God with us.”

In 39 more days  it’s Christmas. Christians will sing again the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. In the person of the baby Jesus, who came to live among us and for us, God is “with us” not only to bless us or to protect, help and guide us through Jesus but the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay is “God with us” because He is God.

I pray that this special Christmas name “Emmanuel” takes on a whole meaning new for all of us. It is a name that we keep holy. God has promised to always be with us (Matthew 28:20) and I believe it is the greatest gift we can have, over  lesser gifts of the season.

So, what’s in a name? A big deal. Because it means blessings and grace if the names on our lips are “God”, “Jesus”, “Lord”, “Savior” and “Emmanuel”–  especially when we’re in the midst of difficulties, hurt and anxieties. God’s name is power.