Other than being an identifier, what’s in a name? 

You can tell people apart with a name, but names also have meanings. When you place a name on a newborn child, there is more to it than how it sounds. There are many books and websites devoted to listing the meanings behind names.

But we don’t just pick names based on their meaning; names have to go together or fit. 

I have a cousin named Dave, whose name is actually John David. My aunt didn’t like the sound of David John, so she named him John David and called him Dave.

Last week I got together with some high school buddies. One of the boys had come back from out west to visit, so nine of us met at a restaurant in Toronto for dinner. 

As soon as I entered the place and started to greet the boys, the nicknames started flying. Once again I lost my name to the nickname I had been dubbed with some 45 years ago. 

No one else calls me by that name – only these guys.

It’s interesting that while we don’t pay much attention to the meanings behind our real names, nicknames are all about their meanings.

Some of the meanings are easy – they are a short forms of a name, or parts of a name. For instance, in college I got called “Sil” or “Silly”. 

Sports environments are the best for nicknames. Everyone has one. Sometimes you have to know the inside story to understand why a person is called a certain name. Other times it’s self-evident. 

There’s a kid on the OHL Kingston Frontenacs’ team whose last name is “Pringle”. It’s not hard to guess that his nickname on the team is “Chips”.

One of the boys from high school has the last name “Smallwood”. (He was the reason for us all getting together.) We often called him “little sticks” or “smalllumber”.  

The crazy thing is that, even after not hearing a nickname for years, there is no hesitation in responding to it. You instantly turn to see who’s talking to you, the same as if you’d been called by your first name. 

I heard my nickname a few times the other night, and I won’t hear it again until I see these guys in a year or two. It’s one of those names that requires the inside story to figure it out. 

I’m sure by now you’re a little interested to know what my nickname actually was. 

Well, it was “Woody” or sometimes just “Wood”. How I got it had to do with my hair. 

It was the early seventies back then and I had some pretty big hair. One of the guys thought that my hair resembled the crest of a certain cartoon bird.

… Somehow the name stuck. 

Here’s the thing: God knows you personally. You might think He sometimes overlooks you or is too busy to notice, but God knows you, your name, your nickname. You are not a number. He even knows the number of hairs on your head. A God who knows you personally like that, definitely wants you to know Him personally as well. Don’t neglect taking time each day to spend with Him. He probably has a nickname for you that comes with an inside story.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What nickname or names have you had in your life? Leave your comments below.