h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Names should be worn like campaign medals. One needs new names to acknowledge change and growth. A person cannot truly bloom with only one name. I think that's why family situations are often uncomfortable: One is known by, and forced to respond to, a name that doesn't say who one is anymore. It's like having to wear the same clothing all one's life. After a time, it becomes shabby and restrictive. A sensible person will change into something new. Unfortunately, most people simply let their limbs fall off.

I totally agree with this. The name your parents give you, or the name you happen to be born with, is a freak of chance, and probably means nothing to the individual. The best names are the ones we choose for ourselves. In Naming something (or someone) we give it an Identity, so by choosing a name we choose an identity that goes with it. I too have many names but I don't have too many.

I've always been fond of that idea. I think the worst of all 'Americanisms' is the pressure towards spontaneous, superficial intimacy. One's personality is something that is built up layer by layer, piece by piece over a life-time. Names should reflect this in the way that body piant and such does in some tribal cultures, many of which are also less frivolous with the way they use names.

JTG

Your comment about tribal cultures reminded me that in some cultures the granting of a name is a rite of passage, often a transition into adulthood. Sometimes the name chosen would be one the person had seen in a visionquest... I wonder how much western society would improve if such customs were more widely practised.

Interoffice mail would get lost more often.

There's a lot to be said for having to have *done* something before being considered fully adult.

JTG