In the most famous work from the greatest writer that ever lived, Juliet offers the now-classic quote to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” The intended takeaway of this line is that the core being of a person is much deeper and more complicated than what we call them - and while there is much truth to this maxim, there is also great fallacy.
The Chilean Sea Bass, one of the most popular fish in the world, is not from Chile and is not a Bass. In reality, this fish is a type of cod that is farmed near Antarctica, and its real name is the Patagonian Toothfish. But in 1977, an entrepreneur/seafood wholesaler named Lee Lantz decided that a more exotic name would make the fish a more attractive product – and he was right. This previously unpopular and obscure fish became a culinary sensation, with the new name even being recognized as an official alternative by the FDA in 1994. In fact, it became so fashionable that by the turn of the century Chilean Sea Bass were perpetually overfished and at risk of becoming an endangered species.
The act of naming is often merely propaganda, and it is effective. Calling something what you intend or wish for it to be often creates a new reality for what you have named – to both yourself and to others. I recall reading the book “Frindle” as a young child, where the main character sets out to show his teacher that he can make up a new word for “pen” and cause it to stick simply by being irrepressibly dedicated to its usage. Repeating a name long enough is often all it takes to register as official in mainstream subconsciousness.
In 2005, University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt released the book “Freakonomics”, which featured economics, sociology, and criminology combined with pop culture anecdotes. It was a smashing hit, selling over 4 million copies in the next 4 years. He tells 2 true stories of names: they both dictated the lives of their respective owners, but in diametrically opposed ways.
1. There was once a mother in Albany who, being a fan of ‘The Cosby Show’ actress Tempestt Bledsoe, wanted to name her daughter after the young sitcom star. However, she misspelled it as Temptress, not realizing her grammatical error nor the meaning of that word at the time. By the time Temptress was 15 years old, she had a habit of bringing men over to her house that got so out of control that a New York County Family Court charged her with “ungovernable behavior”. Temptress’ name sent a message to men that she met, and she either did not understand or did not care how this impacted the relationships in her life. In this instance, the name defined the person’s actions, and thus defined the person herself.
2. There was once a father with the surname Lane, who named his 2 sons Winner and Loser. They both grew up in the Harlem projects - Winner earned himself a lengthy criminal record with over 35 arrests for violence and burglary, while Loser went from prep school to college and eventually became a sergeant for the NYPD. Albeit the inverse of Temptress’ life, in these instances it still holds true that the men’s names defined their paths. Winner operated with the impunity of someone that does not believe they can lose (and lost repeatedly as a result), and Loser was hellbent on overcoming his name – to the point that it ended up defining his life’s outcome anyways.
Whether or not you recognize it, and no matter if you lean into it or run away from it, names define and dictate future outcomes of a person, item, or process in a way that is not insignificant. This is the antithesis of Shakespeare’s viewpoint that the essence of something becomes or stays what it is inside, regardless of its name. As is often the case with the nuances of life, there is certainly validity to both lenses.
The science of creating and choosing names is called nomenclature. Often, names fit inside of rigid classification systems that exist to map names to descriptive qualities: the ‘binomial nomenclature’ scientific method of genus then species, or the Icelandic naming method of a child’s last name being based on their father’s first name. Other times, nomenclature is opportunistic or stochastic: there was a boy named “Titanic” who was born on April 15, 1912 (the day the ship sank), and celebrities or athletes who rise to fame quickly often spark upward spikes in homage naming of babies.
Names are a source of identity for every man that has ever lived. Names give a sense of unique ownership and special belonging. A nickname (with good intentions) makes a man feel accepted and loved as part of a larger group. This identity often carries over into legacy plays: many great men have been arrogant enough to name enduring intellectual concepts after themselves (laws, theories, phenomena), or myopic enough to place their self-perceived identity on decaying physical infrastructure (schools, hospitals, roads).
What’s in a name? What do you allow others to call you? What different names and titles do you possess in the various arenas of your life? Do they define you accurately? Do they influence your future?
Be prescriptive with the names you give others and accept for yourself. They matter.
Maranatha,
KOOB