An old English nursery rhyme whose first written record was 1872, “Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me” and “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” by William Shakespeare Act II Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet both intimate that names are of minor consequence, not worthy of retaliation if used against you and irrelevant as it is what things are that matter, not what they are called.
So then why does it matter. Our family name will die with my brother and I. Even though he has two boys they have gone the modern way and have taken their mother’s surname. I personally like the Icelandic way where there are no surnames to hold onto. They may use either the more common patronymic system where the father’s first name is used or a matronymic suffix using the mother’s name. Added to the end is either son or dottir (daughter) to denote sex. This was common throughout Nordic countries but changes in naming laws to ensure that inheritable names were given occurred earliest in Denmark in 1828 and finally in Norway in 1922. Using the Icelandic method of naming removes that fierce protective urge one has towards ones name although I imagine it must make researching the family history a trifle difficult once migration of the population began.
Researching family history is difficult enough as it is. Often due to insufficient written history and the looseness that many had with the spelling of their name. My brother http://mountainsrivers.com/2014/03/11/maternal-ancestors-bronze-age-iron-age-roman-britain/ has managed to trace us back to Urwen my great 292nd grandmother but it is my mother’s grandfather that is proving elusive and simply due to a name change. Stanley-Clarke was her granddad’s surname which he changed to Stanleigh-Clarke which allowed him to marry another woman whilst still married to my Grandmother. Like my Uncle many of my new cousins (that we have not been able to trace) most likely dropped the Stanley/Stanleigh from their name making them anonymous in the huge pool of Clarkes.
My ex husband also had a double barrelled name. His father, in appreciation for services rendered added the person’s name to his own. Already two of my brothers-in-law had dropped the addition.
Surnames came up at the recent nursing reunion that I attended. It was often the only way we could bring the person to mind. Many of my compatriots were given nursing surnames. The hospital policy was that they would not have two of any surname so that there could never be any confusion about whose signature it was in legal records and for ease of the pay department. I was always a trifle jealous not to have been given one of these names and I know I would have had difficulty dropping it if I had been given one. One woman was telling us that a patient said to her one day “I don’t understand how this hospital gets so many upper crust girls to nurse here. Do they only take you on if you’re someone?” She had no idea what he was talking about but on further questioning discovered the double barrelled names that the hospital had given many of the girls had given the fellow this impression.
So do names matter? W.C Fields said “It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to” or as I often say to my husband ” I don’t care what you call me, just don’t call me late for dinner.”
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/writing-challenge-names/
1. Weekly Writing Challege: Power of Names | Our Baby Dreams
2. Weekly Writing Challege: Power of Names | The WordPress C(h)ronicle
3. What’s in a name | Love your dog
4. Weekly Writing Challenge: Power of Names | Under the Monkey Tree
5. More Than A Name | snapshotsofawanderingheart
6. Weekly Writing Challege: Power of Names | ManicMedic
7. Melissa|The Meaning | melissuhhsmiles
8. Weekly Writing Challenge: Power of Names | B.Kaotic
9. Faithfully Named | It’s a wonderful F’N life
10. The Power of a Name | Short & Sharp
11. A Rose by Any Other Name… | Artfully Aspiring
12. my name is larry | eastelmhurst.a.go.go
13. Name Responsibily (Weekly Writing Challenge) | …Of Course, this Could All Go Horribly Awry
14. Porkchops | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
15. What Is In A Name | Unload and Unwind
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Pingback: Weekly Writing Challenge: Power Of Names | imagination
Pingback: Weekly Writing Challenge: Power Of Names | imagination
Interesting take on the name topic. I like what W.C. Fields said about it, too!
LikeLike
Thanks. This is what I like about the challenges – we all have the same instructions and yet the responses are all so diverse. Yours was great. Thanks for visiting. Cheers Irene
LikeLike
Irene ! – such a well-researched and interesting post ! – and how revealing of some of your antecedents. Chic had a grandmother he firmly believed to be a whore – literally, I mean – and had done some research to reach this position. Needless to say, he couldn’t get a thing out of his parents’ families … One of my favourite crime writers is Arnaldur Indridason, and that’s where I found out all about the Icelandic naming fashion, many years back. Quite like it, really … 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you M.R. When you are further removed having a renegade for an antecedent is a great hoot. My Mother tells me that my grandmother would not have taken the news of her father’s extra marriage and half siblings at all well. I’ve not heard of Arnaldur Indridason so will keep an eye out for him (lucky the son was there or I may have got the gender wrong) [grin]. 🙂
LikeLike
I love many of the Scandinavian crime writers – and there’s HEAPS of ’em!
LikeLike
I’ve read or heard of a few but not that one.
LikeLike
Pingback: We, the Dragons, shall live, for all eternity! | Wired With Words
Family can really be fascinating can’t it.
LikeLike
Indeed it can.
LikeLike
Pingback: The 7th of June 1983 – Laurel, Delaware | Forgotten Correspondence
Pingback: THE HASTY TRADITION | Hastywords
Pingback: THE HASTY TRADITION | Hastywords
If I had my choice of what my maiden name was, it certainly wouldn’t have been my father’s in spite of the love I felt for his father. My first name and last name would have fit better together.
LikeLike
I guess that is why some people change their names, to get a better fit or simply to have a name that they like.
LikeLike
Pingback: Withered Past | Stealing All the Sevens
Pingback: Stuck on Conchiglie | litadoolan
Pingback: DP Weekly Challenge : A 99 word story, “All’s in a Name” | Challenged for Words
Enjoyed this post so much. I think the Icelandic tradition is a great idea – no surnames at all. I didn’t realise ‘sticks and stones’ as a rhyme went back so far in time. Feels strange to think of so many generations of children singing the same words. The ending to the post is so empowering. I love your work. I could read all day!
LikeLike
Lita, Thank you for that lovely compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Irene
LikeLike
Irene, I had never heard of hospital policy to give nurses a new surname. And in modern times. Amazing. I enjoyed your post. I must say you are a really good photographer and glad you share them. Sue
Womenlivinglifeafter50.com
LikeLike
Thank you Sue for that lovely compliment. I enjoy taking them and am glad you enjoy looking at them. When you look at things like this I really think I belong to a bygone era. Cheers Irene
LikeLike
Pingback: ALIENORA: WEEKLY WRITING CHALLENGE! NAMES… | ALIEN AURA'S BlOG: IT'LL BLOW YOUR MIND!