WHY RONALD?
I never gave much thought to my name, other than of course who was I named for or after, and does Ron or Ronald mean KING, EMPEROR, or RULER OF ALL I SURVEY in another language? We all secretly wish that. Recently however I did one of those genealogy programs, mainly because my kids curiosity was off the chart. I will spare you the details of where I'm from and how I came to be, because through it all what interested me most was why Ronald? Of all the names you could choose from, why Ronald?
Now I don't go by by Ronald of course, my name as everyone knows is Ron, and I had all of the pet versions of that name growing up Ronnie, Ronzo and the Great Ronzoni thanks to my High School friend Tom, but I digress. The point I guess is I learned a lot about who I was and where I come from simply from my name. Ronald has its origins in England and Scotland, although now the name is common throughout the English-speaking world. Curiously enough that is what my genealogy profile bares out as well, because apparently, I am very Scottish.
In some cultures, it takes weeks sometimes months to come up with a name. Traditionally, Greek families name their new baby on the seventh day or tenth day after their birth, and in China traditionally, babies are named on the 100 days after birth. As it is considered unlucky to name a baby before birth, parents use what is called a 'Milk Name" before a formal name given name is chosen. While I was reading about names I came across an article by Elisabeth Pearson Waugaman PH.D. which explained that Native Americans have a very interesting naming tradition, she wrote: "Native Americans have a fluid naming tradition - i.e. they can earn new names. A Native American wise women explained this concept to me with nature imagery. Some people are like lakes; they change very little during their lifetimes. Others are like rivers that may change dramatically from their small beginnings to become mighty rivers that travel all the way to the sea. Native American children are given names that suit their personalities. If a name is given and proves to be a bad fit, the child's name is changed. At adolescensce, the given name may be changed again. As the adult's progress through life, new names can be awarded. Family and society award new names, which provide the individual with a strong social bond to the community as well as family. This naming tradition helps to motivate the individual to grow throughout life."
With that, the concept of 'earning' or being 'awarded' a new name began to run amuck in my head....I know! Right!? You can have great fun with this!! Just think of all the names your friends have earned over the years. Or, the many names you yourself have earned or been awarded over the years. This to me begs the questions; If you can in-fact earn names, what name would YOU want to earn? And how would you go about earnng it?
We may all be on a journey to discover our true name.
Ron / Ronald doesn't seem so bad, but I'm still on the quest.
Happy hunting.
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