What is in a Name?

By Ijeoma Aniebo Sometimes, I have been introduced to people and wondered what situation gave them their names. Parents take particular care in the naming of a child, or I would like to think they do and sometimes it has even been said that your name defines your destiny. But every time I have wandered into situations I could otherwise have avoided, I have often wondered if it isn’t the opposite. I’ve met women called Patience who didn’t have a single atom of the virtue, men called Godspower who were the frailest people you ever met and babies called Peace who cried through the night, making sure they and no one else got any peace throughout their childhood. So what really is in a name and does it speak to your physical characteristics or something deeper and how do parents know to give you one? My mother has a campaign out against people naming their children my name. She swears every ‘Ijeoma’ she knows is highly mischievous and a victim of what some parts of Nigeria call ‘Sokugo’ or the wandering disease. I had to ask why she named me Ijeoma then, and she said ‘because you came without stress’ and I thought perhaps that was how children were named. One day, my relations came and as they were leaving, my mum said to them, ‘Ijeoma oh! May God get you to the other end’. That was the when I was reminded that perception is almost everything. And I started to see names in a different light. My name might not have ensured that I avoided the harder side of life, but it meant that I always finished my journey alive and if not well, with the zeal and the ability to be well. Thus the impatience of Patience taught me patience and the frailty of Godspower didn’t matter because the power of God isn’t physical but moves the physical. And as for Peace the crying baby, she grew into a well-mannered, wise and ultimately sanguine child. So, my name is a prayer and guide to travellers around the world. What is in your name?