Do You Live Up To Your Name?

When I was an undergraduate, I took an extra class on the etymology (the meaning) of words. I studied the names of towns and cities, and I discovered most of them were named after the surrounding landscape or its history. 

If a river ran through a city, the name reflected that in some way. If a town was in the middle of the mountains where a famous battle happened, its name did too. The same goes for a coastal town.

For some places, I had to research why the name reflected its landscape because landmasses change over time. Sometimes, houses are built on flood plains, but you'd never know there had been water there because it's drained to someplace else.

What does your name mean, and does it reflect who you are?

How many of us can say that they are living up to their names?

I was hiking with my kids over the weekend, and we stayed in a motel overnight. When you go to new places, you notice the differences between there and home.

We met some people during the evening and one of them had a beautiful name. Her name got me thinking again about our names, and what they truly mean.

My name is Elizabeth, which derives from a Hebrew name meaning "God is my oath" or "God is abundance. On a spiritual level, Elizabeth represents strong faith and hope even when times are hard. My name has a long history and is a key name in the bible.

I live up to my name given that I survived my childhood and now help others.

Do you live up to your name? Do you have a title or a label that defines who you are? Does your name have intrinsic value, character, and qualities of who you are?

There is a famous monologue in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" in Act 2, where Juliet contemplates what's in a name. Her family and Romeo's family are feuding, and she argues that a name is just a name with the person having the same qualities with or without it.

Do names affect us in the way we live?

This is something I often think about, especially when I meet people with unusual names. If you have a name that is hard to pronounce, does it affect your chances at getting a job? Are all men called John successful because of their name?

What's in a name, and does it matter what we are called when it comes to living in the world?

People love being called by their given name. It catches our attention like nothing else. It doesn't matter what we are doing, when someone says your name, you react instantly.

My name is not unusual, and many Elizabeth's shorten the name to Beth, Liz, or Eliza. I don't like any of them and Lizzy has been stuck since I was little.

Name Day Celebrations

When I was at university and studied the meaning of names, I discovered that there are many countries that celebrate names with a name day. This happens even today, in Latin American and European countries, particularly in Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran cultures.

On a name day, people with a certain name celebrate the corresponding saint's day with parties, presents, and treats just like a birthday.

Wouldn't it be fun to have a whole day that celebrates you, just because of your name? I like that idea.

My name is Lizzy. I'm a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

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For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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