« Guess Which One is my Girlfriend? | OK, back to home | Glam Rock and James Dean »

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Anatomy of a Name

When I was in the third grade, a new boy appeared in our school. I hated him automatically and totally. The reason was obvious: His name was Aaron. Until he arrived, I was the only Aaron in the whole elementary school. It was mine and it was special because who else was cool enough to start their name with two vowels?

And then he arrived and took that away. Even worse, he defiled my name by spelling it Arron. What the…? It’s in the Bible! The older brother of Moses. A-a-r-o-n. Any other spelling is just plain wrong.

It hasn’t been easy, but since then I’ve gotten over my spite for others named Aaron. Now, I tend to like guys named Aaron. There are a few floating around my life: There’s Aaron M., known among my friends as A2, a beautiful and thoughtful man whose pottery is favored above all other dishes in my cupboards and who just moved to Japan (sadness). There’s Aaron T., an intelligent and persistent guy who enjoys the theater as much as the rodeo and who makes a mean, mean, MEAN margarita.

Then there’s Aaron B., who I don’t know well but whose athletic abilities I respect and whose blue eyes will shock you. And then there’s Aaron S., another softball player who I admire from afar for his kind and easy-going disposition.

And, finally, there’s Aaron at aanthems.com, who I have never met but whose writings illuminate his life and draw me in with his clairvoyance and honesty.

I don’t know if names have any meaning or impact on a personality or life, but I like to think they do.

At the very least, names can provide something to live up to. In Hebrew, Aaron means “bearer of martyrs,” a definition that is illustrated in the Bible. The older brother of Moses, Aaron held up his tired sibling’s left hand, who for hours on end and all through the night held a rod toward the heavens in supplication. As long as the rod was lifted, the Israelites defeated the evil Amalekites in battle. Together with Moses, Aaron led the Israelites out of Egypt.

Like my namesake, I often fill a supporting role. It’s one of the reasons I like working at an advertising agency: I support my clients, holding up their hands and helping them meet their goals.

Of course, Aaron-of-the-Bible was also flawed. When the Israelites demanded the construction of a false god and killed Hur because he refused to commit such idolatry, Aaron chickened out and built a golden calf to save himself.

We won’t speculate on what that means for me.

Posted by Aaron on July 23, 2005 1:55 PM

Comments:

Great entry... "Matthew" means Gift of God. I'm not so sure about God's gift giving strategy with this one: There were five Matts in my 1st grade classroom and twelve that I can count off-hand in my graduating class from college. Doesn't God know that giving too many presents at once just dilutes the excitement associated with each? Well, s/he must know, ostensibly.

Anyway, I hate the name. Call me Matty.

Matt
July 26, 2005 10:18 AM

Matty is right growing up my entire life there has been absolutely nothing "special" about my name, in elementary school and middle school 3 of us out of 5 in our close group of friends were named Matt. I went to college and was given a nickname "Chip" and no one knew my real name at college. After my 4 year hiatus, I have learned to love my name. I have been thinking lately it would be fun to date another Matthew.

Matt S.
July 26, 2005 1:38 PM

In the Bible, Samuel was a uniter, not a divider. I've only even met a few other people with that name. I loathe my first name, though. And I don't want anybody else to have it, either.

sam
July 26, 2005 4:14 PM

I love my first name, Jon. I think my first crush was for a Jon. I feel offended when people spell in wrong, with the superfluous h. I always feel a special bond with those others that share my name--the correct spelling, that is. One of the few people in my apartment building whose name I know is Jon, and, of course, he's cute.

jon
July 26, 2005 4:36 PM

When I lived in London, I found out that a slang for "wanna F#$@?" was "Are you up for a good Rogering?" To some, that may be taken as an insult, but it made me hold my head up even higher.

It also explains why there aren't many Brits named 'Roger'.

Roger
July 26, 2005 10:31 PM

My real name is Jeff. It means "heavenly peace" in Teutonic. Those of you who know me may debate whether I'm heavenly or peaceful.

What pisses me off is that people always want to call me "Jeffrey," yet that is not my name. On my birth certificate it says "Jeff." I suppose it's only natural for people to be flippant and call people by what they suppose to be their full names, but I also think that sometimes it's an effort to make me gayer. As if that's possible.

BTW, I suspect that someone at a certain party got Rogered this past weekend.

Byf
July 28, 2005 12:14 AM

I almost created a category on my links page called "All Aarons Go To Heaven," but thought better of being so public with my bias. Yep, I think all Aarons are A+, and not simply because we rock every listing by alphabetical order. SWAK

aaron
July 28, 2005 12:51 AM

Hmmm... It's a good thing I'm not too concerned about the popularity of my name. First off, Mike/Michael is a VERY common name. Then, to combine it with Smith... it's almost cruel! :P

Aaron is a cool name! You even get an extra letter in it for good measure. So jealous.

Smitty
July 29, 2005 8:44 AM