Name to a Face

"... why they call you Guitar?" (Morrison 45)

Keyword this week: lighthearted. Recently, my blog posts have been a bit heavy to read and on the more serious side of the spectrum in terms of topics, so this week I thought we could have a casual conversation about names. Names! A title that gives you an identity; a personality; a reputation; a invitation to the most coveted party in the world: the population. In the case of grandpa Macon Dead from the Song of Solomon, his name was a result of a drunken soldier who improperly filled out his information when registering with the Freedman's Bureau. Even with this blunder, his new profile gave him power and the position of an equal in society which slaves had been excluded from. Having come to the realization that this sort of labeling could have such significant effects on a person's value and status forced me to reflect upon the origin of my own name(s). Beginning with my legal identity, Emily Wang, the biggest factor that compelled my parents to choose this name was simply its popularity at the time. In fact, in the year that I was born, "Emily" was the #1 pick for baby girls. A more minor reason for this decision was that the name "Emily" sounds similar to the phrase "爱美丽” in Chinese, or "love to be beautiful". I guess my parents thought this was suitable for their little girl, and thus, the final verdict was made. On the other hand, for my Chinese name, the characters were chosen in consideration of my older brother's name 王亦杨 (wángyìyáng). In China, it is typical for the children of a family to have similar sounding names, starting with the family name, and to only have the variation of a single character. So, quickly skimming over my surname, 王 (wáng) translates to king. Next, the second character in my name possesses the same pronounciation as my brother's 亦 (yì) but holds a different meaning. 逸 (yì), as in the phrase 飘逸 (piāoyì), essentially means floating, relaxed, and elegant. The third character follows closely with the graceful, naturey theme of the previous word. 芳 (fāng) has the meaning of fragrant, which in my parents' minds suggested being flower-like. Put together, my full Chinese name is 王逸芳 (wángyìfāng). The big idea, here, is that people hear their names countless times in a day, and as a result, they often overlook its value. In the time of slavery, a simple title could take a person form being a no name to an individual of his own. It is essential that we, people, take a step back from our predominately busy lives and reflect upon our foundations, or more importantly, our story.