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Names

Jaq

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Everything has a name, even the unknown has a name. We identify the world through the names we give it and through it, we find connections to each thing. So, are names linguistical pieces, or are they something deeper? What are your thoughts?
 

Peter Deadpan

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I've never once in my life connected to or felt like my name. It's kind of like when you say a word over and over and over and it starts to not even sound like a word anymore. My name feels like a word that has no meaning.

On top of all that, it's also plain as fuck.
 

lunalum

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Names are "lingustical pieces" but I'd say that is a very deep concept, depending on how deep you take it. Like you said, we use this linguistic construct of a name to be able to discuss a thing and what it means, its relation to other things, etc. They have whatever meaning you give them in the form of other names.
 
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Everything has a name, even the unknown has a name. We identify the world through the names we give it and through it, we find connections to each thing. So, are names linguistical pieces, or are they something deeper? What are your thoughts?

You can change your username really easily on TypoC if you think it is awful and nobody likes it.
 
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“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”

This is why some are obsessed with labels (names) and labeling (naming) themselves, and in the course of naming themselves they find that others do not accept the name they’ve given themselves, there an existential conflict is found.

A case in point:

Even in typology- if you see yourself as an INTJ, and someone denies your test results there is a potential conflict.
 
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There are words and names for everything. Even things that haven't been invented will have words that will best describe them. If you are trying to communicate meaning or value, the best way to do that is, in most cases, to use names and words that already exist. People will know how to say it, spell it, understand and remember it. In contrast, when you string a bunch of letters together nonsensically, as a name for a person, then you put people through the hassle of learning a new word. But you're being creative, right? No. You are part of a massive horde of people who jumble letters together. It also gyps you out of the opportunity to have a name with an already established value or meaning.

It is also important to keep in mind that, for every type of thing, there's a pattern to naming it. Sometimes, following the pattern helps in choosing the name. However, every once in a while, a name that doesn't fit a pattern will work.
 

Peter Deadpan

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My previous answer was for given names, but I'd like to expand upon my thoughts about chosen names, like usernames.

There is a particular significance with chosen names because they are consciously chosen labels of the image we wish to project. You can learn an awful lot about a person based on what they decide will represent their persona. Sometimes it even serves as a warning... a flashing red light right before your face. We are so used to seeing chosen names that oftentimes they lack meaning and significance up close because we forget to peel back the layers and see what's really going on behind the makeup because everyone else is walking around in costumes too.

In short: Read into names because not doing so may be akin to unintentionally signing your (real) name on a dotted line without first reading the fine print.
 
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My previous answer was for given names, but I'd like to expand upon my thoughts about chosen names, like usernames.

There is a particular significance with chosen names because they are consciously chosen labels of the image we wish to project. You can learn an awful lot about a person based on what they decide will represent their persona. Sometimes it even serves as a warning... a flashing red light right before your face. We are so used to seeing chosen names that oftentimes they lack meaning and significance up close because we forget to peel back the layers and see what's really going on behind the makeup because everyone else is walking around in costumes too.

In short: Read into names because not doing so may be akin to unintentionally signing your (real) name on a dotted line without first reading the fine print.

I find The Cat particularly concerning. Watch out for that guy.


The usernames can also cause trouble for the user in that it can be confining. Marie Kondo says that you are designing your home to be for the person that you are becoming, and not who you were. Usernames are like a house in that it contains a person, and optimally should allow for growth.
 

anticlimatic

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Language is a barbaric means of communicating meaning between persons. Names are no different from any other word. Each will carry different degrees of subjective disparity.
 

Schrödinger's Name

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I feel addressed.

Define what 'deep' means. Given names (not simple words, language is complex and 'deep' imo) can be both I think. I've actually never really thought about it. Maybe I'll think about it tonight. Sometimes a name is just what it is; a name. Even dolphins and more intelligent mammals name each other so it's not something humans do exclusively (but well ey, maybe dolphins like to go deep too, who knows).
For languages, there are whole philosophies about languages so yes, that sure goes deeper. Though not everyone is interested in that.
 

Jaq

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I feel addressed.

Define what 'deep' means. Given names (not simple words, language is complex and 'deep' imo) can be both I think. I've actually never really thought about it. Maybe I'll think about it tonight. Sometimes a name is just what it is; a name. Even dolphins and more intelligent mammals name each other so it's not something humans do exclusively (but well ey, maybe dolphins like to go deep too, who knows).
For languages, there are whole philosophies about languages so yes, that sure goes deeper. Though not everyone is interested in that.

I wasn't addressing you with this thread, I was just trying to bring up something random because I was like "why not?"
 
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I’m particularly fond of the name Erin. Irish names in general really.

I enjoy reading about the meanings of names and their cultural origins.
 

Maou

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Language has allowed pur species to florish. Names are needed to differentiate people, and last names used to represent lineage, occupation, and power/status. Though that has been lost with time, and are now simply indicators. I dislike my first name, but my last name has a rich history.
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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Names are ways to refer to people and things, and the act of doing so faciliates communication as well as consolidation of knowledge. Knowing what something is called makes it much easier to look up information about something. By naming something, sharing knowledge about something becomes much easier.

Even computers use names. Variables and other identifiers within a programming language avoid repetition and the chance for error that repetition might cause.

For instance, if I store the number of nachos I have in a variable, nachos, it becomes possible to easily keep track of how many nachos I have throughout a program, assuming you wanted to write a nacho-counting program.
 

Coriolis

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I've never once in my life connected to or felt like my name. It's kind of like when you say a word over and over and over and it starts to not even sound like a word anymore. My name feels like a word that has no meaning.

On top of all that, it's also plain as fuck.
My given name is more trivial than plain, but I share the above perspective on it. It has no meaning to me other than the label used to distinguish me from other people. I probably should have changed it long ago, but could not decide on something suitable. Unfortunately I let the perfect be the enemy of the good here, and in not finding the perfect name, have tolerated a horrid name for years now. I'm sure there are a hundred names that at least would have been much better.

I do put some care into my chosen names in online spaces - hence the trouble choosing a new real/legal name. Once I settle on a name, I generally keep it forever. I have never changed a forum/online name, only selected new ones when signing up to new sites.

The sci-fi/fantasy author Ursula LeGuin had an interesting take on personal names, imbuing them with magic and the ability to control the person named. In many of her stories, one's true name was not to be shared. One was called instead by a harmless "use-name". From a review of one of her stories:
As for the idea of the power of words, specifically names, Le Guin borrows from a mystic tradition that knowing something’s true name and using it gives a person power over that thing. Throughout the Earthsea series, a true name is a name of a thing or a person that expresses or reveals its true nature. It derivative of the idea of sacred words or incantations, a central concept in the study of magic.
In the words of Ged, the main character in Earthsea:
It is no secret. All power is one in source and end… My name, and yours, and the true name of the sun, or a spring of water, or an unborn child, all are syllables of the great word that is very slowly spoken by the shining of the stars. There is no other power.
 
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