What Is In A Name?

Some things are made in heaven (read fine print in image), and some are not.

What is in a name?

A name is what some thing is called, labeled or identified by.

What about the names of people?

Names found throughout the ancient world sometimes signify a person's character...at least this is how they were written about.

I wonder if a name actually destines 'how' someone is going to be in life.

I have met some people who were not too happy with their names, whether their first or middle (if they had a middle) name.

Many could be the reasons for dissatisfaction or unhappiness with something you had no choice in.

None of us had the choice as to where we were born, who our parents were, neither the names we've been given...well, some people do change their names...but why?

Identity is a word I use a lot...and that word's meaning is also intertwined into this article's message.

A name identifies someone, and may precisely describe them...or it may not.

I have met some people whose names did not fit their characters...sometimes quite the opposite.

In most societies today, the last name (family name) is the surname...but in other places, the family name comes first, or before the given name(s).

The full name my parents gave me is the same as my father's full name.

The two 'given' names I was presented with when I came into the world, and the family name, literally mean:

Edmundo (first name) is the Spanish of Edmund, which means prosperous protector:

- from Old English Ēadmund, from ēad (“prosperity”) + mund (“protection”)

- a male given name, borne by early English kings and saints

All that sounds quite fitting aside from the English part (prosperous, protector, king, saint)

Feliciano (second / middle name) is the Latin of Felix, which means happy and lucky:

- from the Roman cognomen, later the name of early Christian saints

All this also sounds quite fitting when considering my life's past experiences and journeys.

Santiago (last name) is the Spanish word / name for this Saint James:

- from Latin Sanctus (“holy, saint”) Iacobus (“James”)

This is very fitting as I discover these attributes and ponder them in my heart.

An identity is coming evermore in focus...an ancient identity made clearer in Yeshua Christ.

It seems my name and meaning was derived from what Yeshua had accomplished and what He had inspired in the generations that came before me.

As to how people may perceive me according to their current identity, I am either one, some, or all of the following:

- a Jew with a circumcised heart:

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 

- Deuteronomy 30: 6

- a Christian created to follow Christ:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the Name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the Gospel of God? 

- 1 Peter 4: 16

- a Muslim surrendered to the Spirit, Word and Identity of God revealed in Christ (John 10: 30-33):

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Come unto that tenet which we and you hold in common: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God." And if they turn away, then say: "Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him." 

- al Imran (3) 64

- a Hindu realizing Atman within Brahman:

Atman is the spiritual life principle of the universe, especially when regarded as inherent in the real self of the individual; a person's soul. 

Brahman is the ultimate reality underlying all phenomena.

- a reflection of you:

a reflection is the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it; 

an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface;

a thing that is a consequence of or arises from something else;

serious thought or consideration;

an idea about something, especially one that is written down or expressed.

- a projection of He who lives within me:

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is Greater than the one who is in the world. 

- 1 John 4: 4

I am to become all things to all men.

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 

- 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23

I am, firstly and lastly and forever, a child of God.

I am fashioned in His image and His likeness, created to eternally praise His Holy Name, Yeshua.