Recently in class, we have been discussing names. I have always wondered about the origin of surnames and the meanings and roots associated with first names. The idea of somebody "looking" like their name is appropriate for them is also an area of interest for me. I am attached to my name to a degree, but I don't think I necessarily look like a "Marissa Murphy". I looked up the the origin and meaning and of both my first and last name and "Marissa" is of Latin origin and means "of the sea". Murphy is of Gaelic/ Irish origin and means "descendant of sea warrior". This is weird that both my first and last name has some dealings with the sea. I don't think my mother planned that out!
In Lucy and now in the play "Translations" that we are reading, the characters, not all, go through some type of 'crisis' with their names identifying them and whether or not changing that name would make them lose some type of meaning or legitimacy. So, I wonder, is it the name that makes the person or does the name given to a person inevitable shape and mold them? I really don't know, but my guess is the person makes the name and only to a certain degree can a name make a person.
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2 comments:
Marissa,
That is very interesting about the origins of your names.
I did not think to connect Lucy and Translations regarding the crisis with names. I do not think that you can be shaped by a name. I think that in time you make the name because it is the name that you become accustomed to and then eventually grow into, and you cannot consider being called anything else. Names do not change personalities. You are who you are, no matter what name you have.
I also have been intriged by the root of names. Jenny means strong river while Hellyer is a type of roof builder. My mom picked Jennifer thinking that I would grow to be a strong woman. Although, I do not think our names shape us; I do think our parents think about it while naming us. I do not think I could name a child something that meant stupid or failure out of the shear hope that it would not typecast my kid.
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