March 7, 1999

Names

There is a lot to be set about how much a person's name affects one's success in life. There is the classic joke that JFK would have gotten nowhere if he had been named Angus Junior Kennedy. That name just doesn't command respect or leadership. Neither do names like Lester Arnold or Mortimer Dunley. These names just don't mentally conjure up any sense of good qualities. These sound like the names of kids who play Dungeons & Dragons and run for president of the Audio-Visual Club. Now, I'm not mocking them in any way, but the stereotypes do exist. More often than not (though I do know there exists the occasional exception), these people do not become the movers and shakers of the world.

This all leads to the ultimate questions we each ask ourselves: Is my name a successful name? Does my name command dignity? Do people tremble at the sounds of its intonations? Regardless of the font, does the appearance of my name in print lead to intestinal contusions? Will future followers worship my signature? Have I been graced with a name destined for success?

In reality, names probably have little if any effect on our destinies save the interpretations given by pre-judging people. Still, when I consider my name with great one like Abraham Lincoln, Blaise Pascal, and Alfred Tennyson, the name Nick Deibel seems common and unimpressive. I just guess I'll have to make myself an exception then.