naming a child ~ name influences life ~ and naming after the Judge !!

When in the midst of numerous myriads, there is need for identity. So, primarily the ‘name’ is a word or term for identification.  A Name can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. In mankind, we try to have unique and identifiable names though some are more oftrepeated than others – so you find similar names for persons hailing from a particular place. In India, as also in many other countries, there is the tradition of naming after Gods and valiant heroes.

In naming animals, new inventions, planets, trains or even files on computer, there are various ‘naming patterns’ which help in making them unique, individualistic and easily identifiable.  Some say, that the sweetest music to a human is hearing their own name. On the contrary, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a quotation from William Shakespeare meaning  that the names of things do not matter, only what things are !!  In India, especially in Tamilnadu, there has been a tradition of asking persons of repute [will that not include politicians, actors and ..... host of others!] to name child !

Out there in UK, parents often agonize over what names they give their children; they may be trying to spare their child from cruel schoolyard rhymes or attempting to connect their being to a meaningful symbol or place.  But a new video is bringing to light key research which indicates that the names we are given at birth can actually have even more long-term effects on our lives than you may think - from our choice of profession to where we end up in the world. In fact, this research even suggests that we may not have much real control over our own life decisions at all.

According to studies compiled for the latest edition of PBS Digital Studios' BrainCraft series, the act of writing our names over and over again throughout our lives can result in something called implicit egotism – a kind of obsession with the letters and sounds involved in our own names .  'The more we are merely exposed to something, like those letters, the more we like them,' explains BrainCraft host Vanessa Hill in the video. This means that we may be more attracted to places, careers and even people that have a link to the letters used in our names. The study BrainCraft cites in its video - authored by researchers Polman, Pollmann and Poehlman, of course - calls this idea the name-letter effect.

The name-letter effect can also influence how people name their businesses, and even their babies. For example, St Louis was found to have an unusually high amount of people named Louis, Philadelphia had more Philips and Virginia Beach had more Virginias. [Remember that in  movie ‘Indian’- Goundamani will at first sight tell  Crazy Mohan,  his name is  Parthasarathi – indicating that it is so typical a brahminical name] –  Of course, there are many  Parthasarathis’ from Triplicane,  Ranganathans  and Ranganayakis     from Thiruvarangam;  Perundevis from Kanchipuram !!

One of the other studies cited in the video is a 2002 report by Brett W. Pelham, Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John T. Jones of the State University of New York at Buffalo entitled 'Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions' published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  The research suggests that the careers of men  with names like Usain Bolt and Scot Speed  are more than a coincidence and more a result of 'subconscious self love' than simple serendipity.   One may tend to disagree but he post says that the results even shocked the researchers themselves, who wrote in the summary: 'These findings raise serious questions about whether people are fully in control of their own behaviour.'  This part sourced from Daily Mail.co.uk.

This one is more hilarious – if viewed  in that perspective.   TOI reports that an  AIADMK councillor from Coimbatore named the newborn child of his party worker after Karnataka high court judge C R Kumaraswamy who gave the order acquitting the party supremo and former CM Ms J Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case.

A Chandran, councillor of ward 84 here, walked down to the house of Vijayakumar in Kempatty Colony on Wednesday afternoon and christened the baby.  He also gifted the newborn a gold ring. “It is a small gesture to show our gratitude to Justice Kumaraswamy  who gave a fair verdict in the politically motivated case,” Chandran said. The baby's parents, Vijaykumar and Indumathi, were elated. “We are happy that Amma has won the case and thank Justice Kumaraswamy for acquitting Amma as well as councillor Chandran for naming our child after the judge” -  the mother Indumathi said.

Names ...... and people !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th May 2015.