Names are a symbol of one’s identity and usually have a deep significance that we might not be aware

of. They are a hint in a variety of situations and elicit feelings that impact on relational dealings. I believe
that the names we are given or the ones we choose at some point represent the most private part of
ourselves, besides the framework of our skin, and they can also denote a lot of meanings and
interpretations.

Everyone has a name. That’s extraordinary when you think about it, because it’s one of the very few
social things that all human beings have in common. You might be a Kevin, a Felicia, a Muhammad, a
Holly, and so on. It’s part of your identity and it helps separate you from the teeming mass of humanity.
But how much does your name affect you? Could it determine your future? Well… it doesn’t determine
your life, exactly.

Your name doesn’t just tell people about you – it tells people about your parents, and gives them a way
to ‘place’ you in their vision of society. This isn’t about whether their vision is correct – that’s a prejudice
– but it does affect how people with these expectations and mindsets will address and interact with you.
And that’s not all. Your name may also play a role in your career.

Needless to say that names are deeply connected to our personal identity and form a bridge between
our intrinsic self and the extrinsic one, or how other people perceive us. Most importantly, first names
seem to play a significant role in marking social status, rank, and relationships.

Names of characters, however, convey what their creators may already know and feel about them and
how they want their readers to respond. In a novel, names are never neutral, they always signify, if it is
only ordinariness and arriving at names is an integral part of creating characters. Names produce an
extraordinary illusion, the accidental affinity or coincidence of a name, connected with ridicule or
hatred, with pleasure or disgust, has operated like magic. The writer of fiction counts on this in order to
convince his readers that the invented characters have a real existence.

That is the reason why it is important to understand one’s name or nickname and how it influences the
development of one’s personality and social life. Our given name is our very first social badge. Each
name is a mix of characteristics, look and conduct. These clichéd facial expectations of how we should
look over time may ultimately manifest in our facial appearance. We grow the personality that other
persons expect us to display.

Next, I will concentrate mainly on the above mentioned aspects of naming and its implied
consequences. I will consider analyzing famous and impactful names that made history throughout the
years in the field of politics. Let’s see if indeed our given names have an influence upon personality and
social status.

Starting from a secondary meanings of a name as “reputation” or “an illustrious record”, I intend to
prove that people make names memorable through their deeds. If so far I have insisted on conferred,
inherited, changed or revived indicators of one’s identity, in this chapter I will establish a connection
between famous people who forge their own destiny and the names they made famous.
Margaret Thatcher or “The Iron Lady”

The following analysis will focus upon the names bestowed upon the famous British stateswoman who
was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1979 and 1990, and who also was the Leader of
the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990: Margaret Hilda Thatcher also known as “The Iron Lady”.

Did her name have any influence upon her future? Why was she called by this nickname? I will try to
answer these questions in the forthcoming pages. The first female prime minister of Britain, Margaret
Thatcher was a controversial figurehead of conservative ideology during her time in office.

In an onomastic perspective, as we learn from an online dictionary of etymology and history of first
names, her given name “Margaret derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαριτης
(margarites) meaning "pearl", probably ultimately a borrowing from Sanskrit मञ्यरी (manyari). It was
also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th
century. Thatcher’s second/middle name, Hilda, is originally a short form of names containing the
Germanic element hild "battle", the short form was used for both Old English and continental Germanic
names. Saint Hilda of Whitby was a 7th-century English saint and abbess. The name became rare in
England during the later Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. Somehow, her second name
comes as a future prediction of her political “battles” and her personality trait of never giving up, being
fierce and relentless. So what does that tell us? That the former prime minister had a predestinated
name and that the link of her name to her career is not at random.

These being said, there’s no wonder Margaret Thatcher was such a fierce and powerful woman, she had
a very strong and bold personality, as the above argument demonstrate it and, moreover her name also
has strong features creating an interesting link between her name and her identity. Thus, the theoretical
part matches successfully the practical one so far.

Taking a look into the early life of the referent of the name Margaret Thatcher, we find out that she was
born as Margaret Hilda Roberts on October 13th, 1925, in Grantham, England. The daughter of a local
businessman, she was educated at a local grammar school, Grantham Girls' High School. Her family
operated a grocery store and they all lived in an apartment above the store. In her early years, Thatcher
was introduced to conservative politics by her father, who was a member of the town's council. A good
student, Thatcher was accepted to Oxford University, where she studied chemistry at Somerville
College. One of her instructors was the Dorothy Hodgkin, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Politically
active in her youth, Thatcher served as president of the Conservative Association at the university. She
earned a degree in Chemistry in 1947, and went on to work as a research chemist in Colchester and,
later, in Dartford. After marrying wealthy, divorced businessman Denis Thatcher in 1951, Margaret gave
up her scientific career. “I just didn’t like staying in the laboratory that long,” she said in a 1987
television interview. “I wanted to have more direct work to do with people.

One of the less complimentary monikers she got before a Soviet newspaper dubbed her the “Iron Lady”
was “Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher”. In 1970, when she was a Secretary of State for Education and
Science, Thatcher decided to abolish lunch classes in schools and after applying cuts in public spending
that eliminated free milk portions offered to needy students. Political opponents and the media labeled
her “Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher,” and The Sun newspaper even called her “The Most Unpopular
Woman in Britain.” It earned Mrs. Thatcher the nickname, Milk Snatcher, and haunted her throughout
her career. In 1985, she was refused an honorary degree from Oxford University because of her
education cuts. Later, she affirmed that the given nickname troubled her and she regretted that decision
at the time being. As a female politician, it surely must have been difficult to stand the opposition
(formed by men), the media and at some level, the population which disagreed with some of her
measures and some still do in the present. Only an iron-made and hard-boiled person could confront
and survive in such a harsh and provocative environment.

The Iron Lady as Prime Minister, battled the country's recession by initially raising interest rates to
control inflation. She was best known for her destruction of Britain's traditional industries through her
attacks on labor organizations such as the miner's union, and for the massive privatization of social
housing and public transport. One of her staunchest allies was U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a fellow
conservative. The two shared similar right-wing, pro-corporate political philosophies. Another help she
had was from the actor sir Laurence Olivier who was somehow responsible for her rise to power.
Months before the 1979 general election, Thatcher adviser Gordon Reece was worried that voters
would find his candidate’s natural speaking voice too shrill. By chance, he encountered Sir Laurence
Olivier on a train, and the master thespian recommended his voice coach from London’s National
Theater. Thatcher underwent intensive training with the coach to lower her pitch and perfect a calm,
authoritative tone that served her well in her political career.