Apart from giving a person an identity, names also shape personalities and affect personal growth in ways both subtle and strange. But while some of us consciously realize it, others don't spare it any thought

Search for meaning

Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychoanalysis, often began his sessions by asking a person about his name. You can also get to know more about yourself through these queries:

1. Imagine your parents discussing what name to give you a week before you were born. Was your sex known at that time? Did they want a boy or a girl? Some couples want their first born to be a boy and their second a girl. In the choice of first names, parents sometimes express these wishes.
2. Some babies are named after other people-either relatives or famous personalities. Were you named after anybody? If so, who and why? Has it had any effect on your personality?
3. Many children are named after legendary heroes. Later in childhood, their stories are retold to the children to identify with their heroic deeds. Can you remember stories you have heard as a child which include your own name?
4. Nearly all names have meanings. Were your parents aware of the meaning of the names they gave you? When did you find out what your name means? Who chose your name? If your parents chose it for its meaning, what does this tell you about the way they felt about your arrival in their lives?
5. You may have adopted a new first name for yourself that may fit into the concept of what you want to be or how you want to be perceived. Do you have a nickname? Do you remember when and why you started preferring it?
6. How and by whom were your parents named? Have you noticed any relation between their name and their personality? How old were you when you first learnt their names?
7. Do people make, or have they ever made jokes about your name? You may have been taught to be proud of it, or you may feel ashamed of it for some reason. A tendency to joke about the name of a person may result from a need to compensate for shyness, so you can get to know the name instead of knowing the person.