Name: "a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing"

My Dad taught my 7th grade math class. For some odd reason, I remember an exercise outlined in his instructor's book to teach about symbolic representation: A student was to come forward and write his name on the chalkboard. What is the name on the chalkboard? Is it the same as the student? No, the name is just a symbol that represents the student. If the name is written twice, do we get two students? No. When the name is erased, does the student cease to exist? We hope not!

So, what kind of names are given to individuals?

Each time one of our children was born, we filled out a form specifying the child's name, including:

• Given Name(s)
• Surname

This act of assigning the name for a child's birth certificate establishes the official "distinctive designation" for the child. To change this official name requires a legal process.

"Unofficial names" come naturally, or may be assigned or assumed during the course of one's life:

• Relationship terms (e.g. Dad, Mom, Grampa)
• Terms of endearment (e.g. Honey, Deary)
• Nicknames
• Aliases
• Pseudonymns
• Stage names
• Screen names

Titles are modifiers to names:

• President
• Mr./Ms./Mrs.
• Bishop
• Doctor
• The Honorable

Honorary names

• Your honor
• Your excellency

Other names include special codes, numbers or names assigned for convenience in interacting with a person:

• Social security number
• Student ID
• Employee ID
• Prison ID
• Customer ID
• Drivers license number
• Subscriber ID
• User ID
• Password
• iName

So, what is a name? A symbol? Yes. But it often represents much more. Every name has a story. My surname represents a legacy of courageous pioneers who braved unbelievable odds to migrate across the great plains to establish an honorable existence in the hostile mountains of the West. My first name is the same as my great grandfather, whose dad wasn't quite a pioneer because he came west by rail. My middle initial is a compromise between a mother who wished to give me a middle name and a father who didn't like middle names! My initials, MGD, were mine before Miller Brewing misappropriated them!

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