Guest Column / Richard Etienne

What’s in a name? A lot—especially if you consider a person’s gifts

In the book of Genesis, Adam is charged with giving names to all living creatures.

To name something is to give it an identity and value. Later in Genesis, we see God change Abram’s name to Abraham. And later, God said that Jacob should henceforth be called Israel.

This is not just semantics. A new name or way to identify someone can totally reshape their image.

There is immense power in the way a person perceives the self. The self-image that comes from our own awareness can greatly affect who we become.

Consider how Jesus similarly changes the names and self-images of some of his Apostles. Simon became “Cephas” (“Peter” in Greek which means “rock”) and James and John were nicknamed “Boagernes” (“Sons of Thunder”). They offer examples of how our Savior changed a name and used a nickname to help identify some of his closest followers.

I have a streak of mischief that runs deep. I love to change names and how refer to the people that I love. Mike often becomes Michael (it was, after all, the name that he was given at birth). Larry returns to Lawrence. I refer to my friend Phil as Michaelangelo—he is a member of our paint crew for Habitat for Humanity—because of his painting skills. I modified the name of one friend from Kathy to Kathy Catholic.

Sometimes I change the way I address them to indicate a familiarity or friendship with the person but, more often that not, it is to indicate a stronger name that represents the inner person and gifts I see.

Changing names or referring to someone in a different manner can actually surprise the person, which, like the tremors of a small earthquake, can create an inner reaction—hopefully a positive one. Remember when your parents called you by both your first and middle name? “Elizabeth Ann!” “Stephanie Gale!”

What gifts do you see in others? Could there be a new image or name that helps to reshape their self-identity—especially young people who are trying to determine how God wants them to serve others?

Even if you don’t offer a new name, why not take the time to share with them their gifts that you see?
 

(Richard Etienne has a degree in theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad and resides in Newburgh, Ind., in the Evansville Diocese.) †