What is in a name.

2008-01-18 01:23:24.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Meteorologist

Hello! My name is…

As the proverb goes, “A rose will still smell the same, even if it called by another name.” This is certainly true, if a rose was called a bippity instead, it would still look and smell the same but it loses its appeal, form, and identity, especially when most of us can visualize a rose by name alone. But objects do get renamed from time to time to make them more appealing, appropriate, modern, simpler, or to generate buzz or controversy. You may read or hear about a school or library being named after a past president or a toy/drink from your past being named after something more appealing to a younger audience. But nostalgia ties a name to a product or place regardless of what they rename it. One example is a peak right next to the summit of Mount Washington that is named Mount Clay. There is a rumor that in 2003, New Hampshire House Bill 82 renamed it to Mount Reagan (Although it should be noted that a geographic feature cannot be renamed to commemorate a person until five years after their death so officially this name doesn’t go into affect until next year I believe). But regardless of what it gets renamed, Mount Clay will forever be Mount Clay in my mind since that has been its name since I got here and that is how I identify it.

Identity and connection is what a name brings to a person or thing and gives us a connection both physically and mentally to who or what they are to us. People can rename an object but most people don’t get to choose their name but good or bad, their name provides them with a sense of being. The same goes for our pets. We receive or choose our pets, and after getting to know them, settle on a name that will identify who they are and bring a connection between them and us. Sometimes a name is given based on color, sometimes based on markings, sometimes on behavior, sometimes on past pets, or a name that we have like since childhood. Then after a name is chosen, we condition them to identify themselves with the use of their new name making them an extension of who we are. So with such importance in a name, we are trying to determine whether or not our new cat should be named Marty. We all enjoy Marty as a name but what do you all think? I have opened a thread in our forums for your input. If you are a member in the forums, please give us some feedback. If you are not a member in the forums, why not take this opportunity to register. It is open to ANYONE; you do not have to be a member of the organization. You can also peruse our other topics and provide some other feedback or pose some questions of your own while your there.

Ryan Knapp,  Meteorologist