What is in a Name ?

A Rose by any other Name...

As I was sitting watching TV, something caught my attention. A name, that surely must have been momentous for the owner. It was a young man with the unfortunate name of " Condon ". Straight away I could imagining how his school career went and the possible misuse of his name. But he must be of sterling character because he did not add on " e " or drop an " n ", which would have eased the teasing! ( Of course I am just surmising. )

For me personally, it was no picnic either. Having a German name in an English speaking country, was cause for some confusion. Now her in Austria a " Birgit " is nothing special, in fact it is similar to a " Susan " in England. So imagine my surprise when I first started my Schooling in the English speaking S.A., when the teacher called out " Burger ". Was she talking to me ? Or " Burgee " as some of the kids used to name me !

Later out of school, I actually found my name to be an asset. Yes, as most people could not straight away pronounce it, they took the time to ask and speak to me about it. Surely I met lots more people through my name ? My parents, in hindsight, really picked well...

In today's world, parents are choosing some really strange names. Why would you name your child after a city/fruit/galaxy ? I am pretty sure, that most of those parents were burdened with a rather plain first name and thus want to live vicariously through their " aptly " named offspring...

Biggi