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Having a meaningful name is a gift that anybody can’t have. Most of the parents name their child with expectations of what the child would become, and usually the names they choose have great meanings. But does that mean there is absolutely no problem how the name is pronounced or spelled? Names usually have big impact on first impression when the person is being introduced, which may be very important. I believe that names are powerful piece of who we are and a symbol we live with for the rest of our lives so it shouldn’t be easily chosen; however, names shouldn’t be what we live up to.

Naming your children with good intention is not to be blamed, but you also need to consider if your child would be comfortable with the name. Imagine that your parents wanted you to be lively and be in high-spirit, so they named you Gaylord and your surname happened to be Focker. Will you satisfy with the name Gaylord Focker because it is the name that your parents has given wanting you to be special? Will people calling your name feel comfortable and will you be comfortable to be called as Gaylord in school or at work? In my case, I hated to be called by my Korean name, “Min,” when I was younger because my brother had the same name. The first syllable of our Korean name was “Min” so when we first came to the states, it became our first name. It was absolutely uncomfortable; when someone asked for “Min” over the phone, we had to ask “the boy or the girl?” Every time our name was called from behind, we both turned around and one of us had to be told “not you.” Our school friends and teachers wondered why we had the same name and we had to explain to every people we meet. I can’t explain how much I was relieved when I finally got my “ow...

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...love rain and wanting the name “Raina.” By the experience, there are pros and cons for naming myself. The pros would be that you can choose any name you like, including the pronunciation and spelling; you get to look back on yourself and think about what you like or hate. The cons would be that even if you happen to hate the name for some reason, there is no one to blame, but yourself.

In consideration of importance of naming, a name should be chosen carefully for anyone. It is a symbol that will represent ourselves and will be with us for the rest of our lives and how we will be remembered. Many people try to live up to the name that they were given and to the expectation, but I don’t think a name should be in control of our lives. I think a good name is a tool that may describe who we are and person with the name would be comfortable and satisfied with.