Names are meaningful
The Dec. 19 sermon at the small Bible church my wife and I attend near our home in Texas was entitled “What is in a Name?” The pastor did a great job of explaining that Christ, when he was announced to be born, was called “Emmanuel” (God is with us), and Joseph and Mary were told by the angel Gabriel to call their Holy Spirit-conceived son “Jesus” (which means “Jehovah Saves”). Christ was also called the “Son of Man,” the “Counselor,” the “Messiah” and many other descriptive titles.
Sometimes, we don’t use the name we are given at birth — for various reasons. Once in a while, we hate our name and use a nickname or something else (even legally changing the name at times). Hollywood is good at this: Can you imagine a large, rough-and-tough cowboy sitting astride a horse and shooting bad guys if his name is “Marion Morrison?” I think using “John Wayne” made sense. Tom Cruise used his middle name as his surname, since “Tom Mapother IV” just couldn’t be the guy who is the hero of all those “Mission Impossible” movies — or the taking-care-of-business good guy in the “Reacher” series.
Musicians also change their names — or shorten them. Wladziu Valentino Liberace decided that “Liberace” was catchy and the rest of his given name and middle name was too much of a mouthful. Who would have watched or followed “Cherilyn Sarkisian”when “Cher” was easier to remember? Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta decided that “Lady Gaga” was a name that would be appropriate — she was so right.
For most of us, shortening a name (“Bob” instead of “Robert” or “Vicki” instead of “Victoria”) works just fine. Sometimes, we don’t have a vote in the matter: All of my historical family members call me “Bob,” but my wife’s family all call me “Robert.” I even shortened my last name to use as my call sign when I flew fighters in the Air Force: “Russ.” My son, Brian, is now called “B Russ” where he works — a chip off the old block, I guess. (His friends now call me “Daddy Russ.”)
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