I’ve often wondered why people shorten names or have nicknames. Parents earnestly deliberate over what to name their child only to have their Anthony become Tony, John become Jack (I could never figure that one out), Allison to Ally, Elizabeth to Liz, Lizzie, or Beth. An “i,” “y,” or “ie” gets added to change Paul to Paulie, Patricia to Patty, or Charles to Charlie. At least those are somewhat related to the original names. What about completely unrelated nicknames like Buddy or Cookie. Do parents feel like they’ve gotten the name choice wrong?
My name is short—only three letters—E-V-A. It’s is not a shortened version of Evaline, Evangeline, or Eva-Marie. Nope, just three letters and no middle name. You would think that should be pretty simple. Not so. Phonetically, I’m called Ee-vah (long e sound), Ay-vah (long a sound), Ay-fah (German pronunciation), Ay-fee, Eh-vah, Ee-vee, and even just plain E by a sibling. Eva is not a common name in these environs. I think I’ve actually met five others in my entire lifetime. I get a lot of “Huh? Is that short for something else?” which is okay. A few rude people have actually said things like, “So, it’s all your fault that people sin” (referring to Adam and the Garden), in a stupid attempt at humor. Did they actually think I would be amused?
Child naming gets really interesting with various traditions. Whenever a royal has a baby, the whole journalist world has a field day proposing the name of the new heir to the monarchy, and it’s usually accompanied by a string of middle names. An Italian tradition is naming children after their grandparents. When you are in a room full of Italians and call out Anthony, twenty guy cousins and uncles answer. In some traditions, kids are named after a relative that has passed away to keep that memory alive. Some names have a religious context. Just consider the numbers of biblical names – Mary, Joseph, James, Elizabeth, Peter, Aaron, Nathan, Hannah, Joshua and so many more. Some people pick names after nature – Ocean, Storm, or flowers—Rose, Lily, Daisy, or newly-created ones.
I didn’t like my name growing up because it was so different, but now that I know its meaning (Hebrew chavah – life giving), I’m quite okay with it. In 2014, according to Social Security registry of newborn girls, Eva ranked 82 with 3,651 girls named Eva. Looks like it’s gained a bit in popularity but what are the chances of any of those 3,651 girls meeting? I sometimes wonder what something like Jennifer or Emma (currently ranked number one in U.S. popularity) would have been like.
Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I don’t think that irrelevance works for people. Names are imbedded in a person’s identity. The meaning of a name, then, is really important. Each time a person’s name is called, it becomes a declaration of something for them. Biblical names particularly are often prophetic. Adam means man, an appropriate one for the first one. Joshua (yehoshua) means Jehovah is salvation, same name as Jesus.
Names are used in expressing authority. An employee operates within the scope of the supervisor’s authority. We do things on behalf of another and use their name. Jesus gave His followers authority to invoke His name—a name like none other. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn 14:13—14). Further on, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you” (Jn 15:16). It goes without saying, that since God does not violate His Word, the requests against His declared will are not heard.
Jesus—I really love this name way more than any other.
Copyright 2018 by Dr. Eva S. Benevento. All rights reserved.