What’s In a Name?

It began with my paternal grandmother whose middle name was Katherine; she named one of her four daughters Katherine; they called her Kay. The second daughter in my mother’s family was named Catherine; most of the time she went by Cat. My parents named their firstborn son Steve, the second one Craig. When I came along, my parents named me Catherine, giving me the nickname Cathy. Growing up I got used to hearing my name a lot – it was a very popular name for little girls in the 50’s. I don’t think I was ever in a class at school where I was the only Cathy in the room. I changed the spelling to Cathi in Jr. High, probably in a bid to differentiate myself from the other five girls in the class who shared my name. And it stuck – I still spell it that way. Just before I turned ten, my parents had their last child … a little girl they named Susan; we called her Susie.

Life got a little more complicated when I was 16 and my brother, Craig, married Kathy. For the next ten years, until I got married, there would be two women with the same first and last names in the family. Just before Craig got married, I fell in love with a boy named Steve and later married him. Which wouldn’t have been a problem, except remember, my oldest brother’s name was Steve. A couple of years after I got married, my little sister announced her engagement to a young man named Steve. During her wedding ceremony we had Cathi and Kathy and three Steves on the platform.

When my oldest brother and his wife had their second son, they named him Jonathan; nickname: Jon. My husband’s younger brother is John. A few weeks after my little sister married her Steve, my husband’s brother also got married … to Susie. My sister’s first marriage didn’t last. Over twenty years ago she married again. She married John – not my husband’s brother – a different John. When my sister and I are out together with our husbands, I have been known to introduce all of us to a waiter and say, “The four of us together are the poster children for the most popular baby names of the 50’s and 60’s.”

When I was pregnant with our oldest daughter, we chose the name Christina for our little girl … but, we changed it a few months before the birth. That was a heaven-sent inspiration because almost fourteen years ago we gained a daughter-in-law named Christine. For the final example of name redundancy, my brother Craig’s oldest daughter is Jennifer; our oldest son’s wife is Jennifer.

All of this is not to complain – the name repetition has become a family heirloom; something I treasure for its ridiculousness. But in thinking about it the other day, it occurred to me that I’ve never known a time when my name was truly, completely, and uniquely mine. I’ve always shared it with other family members, friends, and acquaintances. Maybe you were also given a fairly common name by your parents. Or maybe you’ve just never really liked your name. But did you know that in heaven there is a name set aside for you that no one else has ever had – or even heard?

In The Passion Translation of the Bible, Revelation 2:17 says, “To everyone who is victorious I will let him feast on the hidden manna and give him a shining white stone. And written upon the white stone is inscribed his new name, known only to the one who receives it.”

The first time I read that in the Scriptures, I couldn’t help but think, “How fabulous is my Lord?! He loves me so much, me the individual, that he will give me a new name, one that is mine alone. I won’t any longer be one of many-of-the-same-name in a group. He sees who I really am; knows me better than I know myself – and still cares enough to single me out for this special attention.”

Take a moment to try and wrap your head around that. Think about the magnitude of the creativity that requires, for it won’t be just for me. It will be for each and every soul who is victorious in their life with Jesus. It’s way beyond my powers of comprehension, but just the thought of it fills me with joy and gratitude I can’t even express. How about you?