Is Your Happiness Tied to Your Name?

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Picking names for my kids was a serious endeavor for me.

I began thinking about this when I was an early teen. By age 13 I had decided what I would name my kids. I came up with three names so I expected to have at least three kids, I suppose.

My first  boy would be named Derek Lee Vard, after the gorgeous movie star John Derek who starred in those epic movies I saw when my father took us to the movies every Saturday evening. Lee Vard is the name of a childhood friend whose name I always admired, for some reason.

The first girl would be named Desiree Yvette. The name Desiree was the title of a Marlon Brando movie made in 1954 about Napoleon. I don’t remember why I chose Yvette for the middle name.

Finally, the second girl would be named Monique Michelle. I don’t remember why I chose either of these. I guess I just liked the way they sounded. I was so pleased with my name choices that I wrote them over and over again in notebooks as if practicing penmanship.

Everyone who knew me  knew my future children’s names. By the time I had children over a decade later, my names were no longer available.

My sisters had “stolen” my names because they had babies first. Yes. My first nephew is named Derek Lee Vard and my first two nieces Desiree Yvette and Monique Michell.

For longer than I care to admit, my jaws were tight about my sisters using the names I had on reserve, but I moved on and began the search for names when I began having children.

(In the photo above is my second daughter, Sonya, with her first child, Jasmine.)

When it comes to names, Hollywood stars often do the opposite. They change the names they were born with typically because the new names have more star quality, are easier to pronounce or catchier.

There’s no question that Lady Gaga is a far cooler name than Stephani Germanotta.

Singer Dionne Warwick, began her career with a last name that was really a printing error on her first label. Her last name, Warrick, was misspelled as Warwick and it became her stage name. Later, on the recommendation of a numerologist, she added an “e” to the end of her last name.

Folks in the corporate, entertainment and political arena take choosing just the right names very seriously. They often hire experts to help them select and modify their names because they strongly believe that they are tied to their success and happiness.

On Monday, January 31, 2011 Kerrie Hopkins, America’s foremost onomatologist, launched her new data-rich profiling website through www.namezook.com . From her site Kerrie is able to meet the needs of corporate and entertainment clients. Kerrie’s work is based on research and lead her to author several books, including the internationally acclaimed “Breaking the Name Code – Define your name – Design your life” which is studied at  the university level. Kerrie’s comprehensive name dissection is based on unique spelling, segmental phonemes, syllable structure, word fragments, and distinct characteristics or “markers.”

The study of names shows how you perceive yourself as well as how others perceive you, and examines how people interact with each other based on name characteristics.

How do you feel about the connection between names and status and happiness?  Are you happy with your name? Have you changed your name?  Share with us.