What's in a Name?

On the news last night there was a clip about a new world record. While I can't remember the number, it was the record for the most people gathered together with the same name: Muhammed. It was quite a sight, over a thousand people I think. I've seen other fun human interest stories about gatherings of people with the same name, I think Jim Smith was one of them, with each one saying to the camera, "Hi, I'm Jim Smith," and they really were! So, having a fair amount of time on my hands, I decided to google my name in search of others out there who call this name their own. I must admit it was a fun search. I found a college student in Minnesota with a very funny blog about Dick Cheney-- she's obviously a democrat. A young realtor in Nebraska, and a famous soap opera star, who shares at least 2 of her 3 names with us.

This brings me to an episode of Seinfield. Elaine is dating a guy and is embarrassed because he has the same name as a serial killer. By the end of the show they're trying to come up with names for him to switch to, and neither of them can agree on a name. Its interesting that all of us are "named," we don't get to pick a name for ourselves. At least not usually. There are people like my sister who unconventionally changed her name to that of a heroine in a sci-fi novel she liked, while our family still calls her the name we're used to, she pretty much goes by 4 different names, or a combination of them.

I suppose most women still take their spouses name when they get married, which makes sense in order to distinguish families. I was quite happy to change my last name when I got married, not only does it sound nice, but I can let go of my old association and perception of myself that went with it. Occasionally I'll write out my old name when I doodle, and it feels foreign to me. It's an odd reminder that I'm not the same person I used to be.

While I don't think my name is common enough to break any records, I enjoyed discovering people with my same name. I thought about posting a little comment on a blog, but what would I say? "Just wanted to say hello to someone who has the same as me?" Ummm, I don't think so. While all people are unique, names are common, we might not be the "only one of us" out there. Just do the best you can with the name you have, and try to give the rest of those with the "same name" a good one.