Kyla Rand Assignment 2D Analyze and Argue Section HAMcGough October 7, 2013 The Power of a Name A name is a powerful

thing. Everybody, all seven billion people on the planet, has one. But each name means something specific to each person. It defines their relationships and their emotional connections. Names represent the individual, the parents of that individual, and the history of their family. Every individuals name has an immense power in creating who they are and what their place is in todays society. Many babies are born with their names already chosen. Before their parents even see their brand new faces, the babys mom and dad knows whether they are a Johnathon or a Jonathan or a Katherine or a Jessica. Parents have an image in their head of their little ballerina twirling in their pink tutus or their quarterbacks growing up to play college football. Maybe it is a case of a single mother giving her child a strong, independent name or a family with six other children giving their new baby a unique identity. In any case, parents have a preconceived notion of what their child will be like, and they name them accordingly. Because babies are named by their parents before they even have their personalities, the sole purpose behind their name comes from their parents. These names come from familiesmaybe a great aunt or grandfather who left an impact on the parentsor from ideas about what the child should stand for in the future. As Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, authors of Freakonomics, discovered, many families find importance in names that sound successful and name their children after prominent families. They believe success might come with the name of the person earning a few hundred grand a year, living in a mansion, and sending their kids to an expensive private school. Other times, parents want their childs name to make them unique. Every parent wants their baby to be special in their own way, but when everyone wants to give their baby a unique name, they often gravitate towards the same one. National Geographics study of the top baby names in 2005 indicated a swarm of Emmas and Emilys overtaking the entire country; they were the leading name in 34 states. The same study also listed the Top Baby Names over the Decades, with Michael and Mary leading for about five decades in a row during the middle of the last century (Top Baby Names by State). Whether the goal is a unique name, a strong name, or a smart name, parents tend to drift to the same names as scores of other parents, whether they mean to or not. After the baby becomes a Benjamin or an Esperanza, that name travels with them and becomes the basis of many relationships from that day onward. During roll call in kindergarten or when a potential boss looks over a job application, the name creates the first impression. If that name is particularly original, such as Spongetta or Admiration, the first impression can be off-putting. The employer or teacher may think, If this person is

named something so odd, how odd is he or she going to be? Other names can give the opposite effect: a name like Agnes or Michael can make the person seem boring and oldfashioned. For a long time after that first impression, the image sticks and becomes the defining characteristic of that person. Even more commonly stereotyped are common names from other cultures. While many states are mostly Caucasian, there are also many other ethnicities and cultures present. The graphic below displays the percentages of Caucasians in each state in 2011, demonstrating the numbers of other cultures existing in the United States that are often forgotten and replaced with the idea of a purely white America (Figure 1). The names that go along with these cultures, though not actually unusual, are often shied away from or stereotyped because their culture is not the American culture.

Figure 1: No state is 100 percent Caucasian, indicating there are a mix of cultures everywhere. In spite of this, however, many names from other cultures are considered too different. Source: Population Distribution by Race/Ethnicity, Kaiser Family Foundation

Furthermore, though these names may be very common in other countries, here they can give a negative impression based on what culture they are connected to. For example, names that sound Middle Eastern currently have a very negative connotation in certain circles of the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Hispanic names, very common in the southwest where the percentage of Hispanics is greatest, can often lead to immigrant stereotypes. Even though the Midwest and southeast is mostly Caucasian (according to Figure 1), the immigration issues of the southwest have a negative impact all

over the country, where a Mexican sounding name can cause an automatic assumption of immigrant status. Once someone hears these types of names, they can often cause immediate prejudice, leaving a preconceived notion of what that person is going to be like. Some names have lasting negative effects on relationships because of the way they sound. Imagine the experiences of a child growing up with a name like Siobhan (pronounced Shuhvahn) or from a different culture, like Araceli or Luis. These names can be very difficult to pronounce, especially in a school setting with other young classmates and a teacher with dozens of students to look after. As Manuel Muoz, a Californian of Mexican heritage, attested to in his article Leave Your Name at the Border, not being able to get the name right can either make the teacher or fellow student not want to say the name at all so as not to get it wrong or to not say it because they dont want to bother with it. Its no fault of the child, or even the childs parents, that the name is hard to pronounce for some, but when no one will try to say the childs name, it can leave detrimental effects on their self-esteem and cause some measure of alienation. As Muoz found as he grew older, this is also possible with adults. For his family and many like it, it was just so much easier to change their names entirely, and therefore their cultural identities, than to live with the constant battle of getting people to accept their name. Even American names that are a little different or just variations of common names can frustrate the person given that name if nobody can say it right. Personally, I grew up with the name Kyla Rian Rand, a name quite a bit more difficult than it seems. Any spellcheck says it is wrong just based on spelling, and it is similar enough to other names that most people have difficulty remembering or pronouncing it. I am constantly called Kayla, Kylie, Kaylie, or Kyle, even by teachers who have known me for years. It is original enough to be both hard to say while reading and difficult to remember. Some teachers have had to resort to using my middle name just so they could have a chance at not calling me the wrong thing, but even then they pronounce it wrong. Instead of saying Ryan, as its supposed to be, they say a long e and a sound, as in Ree-ahn. I have begun to expect people to get my name wrong for the first several weeks of knowing me, and I have learned to become attentive when anyone says Kayla or Kyle in case they are talking about me. I love my name; I love the way it sounds and its originality. But after years and years of people friends, family, teachersgetting it wrong, my name has almost become a nuisance. What is the point of such a beautiful name if no one can say it? All of these experiencesalienation, stereotyping, incapable pronunciation, and parental preconceived notionscan define the individual from the inside out, all based on others opinions. A name is just a few letters, one word, but it means so much. That one phrase has an effect on first impressions and lasting impressions, stereotypes and prejudice, solely based on its uniqueness and culture. It can mean the difference between having friends because of a name that signifies popularity and being on the outside because a name is just too different. A name represents the individual as well as what their parents aspired for them to stand for and exemplify. That one little word has immense power over the entire life of the individual it represents.

Works Cited Levitt, Steven D. and Stephen J. Dubner. Trading Up: Where Do Baby Names Come From? Convergences: Themes, Text, and Images for Composition. Ed. Robert Atwan. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 118-121. Print. Muoz, Manuel. Leave Your Name at the Border. Convergences: Themes, Text, and Images for Composition. Ed. Robert Atwan. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 112-117. Print. Population Distribution by Race/Ethnicity. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Family Foundation. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. Top Baby Names by State. Chart. National Geographic. Convergences: Themes, Text, and Images for Composition, 2009. 122-123. Print.