ka·lei·do·scope: What's...Your...Name?

Rihanna sang; "Oh na na...what's my name". What’s in a name? Apparently...PLENTY.

I’ve been told...I’ve read...I know...that names have powers. That is why in some cultures, names are considered as sacred. You simply cannot tell your name to just any random person, as they can be used in some cases, for dark magic & sorcery (gulp!).

Naturally, all of us have names which we & other people called ourselves. I’ve noticed that modern parents normally give such long & peculiar names to their children. Sometimes, I wonder, what do these names mean...REALLY? Do the complicated names of these modern children even have meanings?

Let us ponder for a while whether our names comply with the following hadith:

It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, you will be called by your names and by your fathers' names, so give yourselves good names."
(Hadith Abu Dawud)

So, what do you think? I think...I have a decent name. Rather unusual, but still, not bad...hehe. My name is rather unusual due to the slight conflict between my dad & my mom while racking their brains for the perfect name to give to their first born child. My mom wanted a simple feminine name, but my dad wanted to give his input too. Therefore, while my mom was still on the hospital bed, my dad went to register my name with an added touch of his own :)

What’s my name? Well, let’s just say, one might wonder whether the name owner is a guy or a girl at first glance...keke. This happened to be true ‘cos I’ve been assigned male roommates during some of the courses I’ve attended. Male roommates mind you...TWICE! Talk about major confusion! LOL. All because of my androgynous name. I guess that’s why I prefer to use my second/middle name as it creates less confusion than my first name.

Yet, because us humans tend to give ‘affectionate’ nicknames to others, I of course, am not excluded from being ‘blessed’ with numerous nicknames of my own. Lemme see...I’ve been called Nad, Nurul, Diana, Ewok (‘cos of my fascination with Star Wars...keke), and not forgetting Sayur (‘cos I love vegetables?!). That’s just a few...good ones. I bet my students called me with lots of ‘scary’ names behind my back, especially after I shout & punish them with my usual ‘ketuk ketampi’...hehe.

So, what about you guys? What are some of your nicknames? Better than mine, I hope.

Well, talking about the power of names, what do you think about these celebrity children's names?

Pilot Inspektor...Child of: Jason Lee

Apple...Child of: Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin

Sage Moonblood...Son of: Sylvester Stallone

Audio Science...Child of: Actress Shannyn Sossamon

Moon Unit & Diva Thin Muffin...Children of: Frank Zappa

Moxie Crimefighter...Child of: Penn Jillette

And just for fun, I give you the longest name ever recorded;

Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvim John Kenneth Loyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus (Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorft Senior)

The name above belongs to a German immigrant to Philadelphia. Take note that his first and middle names consist of one name for each letter of the alphabet...from A to Z! WHOA! Talk about being a mouthful!

The longest one-word name is of a young Hawaiian boy named

Kananinoheaokuuhomeopuukaimanaalohilo...

which means "The beautiful aroma of my home at Sparkling Diamond Hill is carried to the Eyes of Heaven". Nonetheless, people calls him...JOE. Keke.

Still on the topic of names... According to some cultures, when a woman gets married, she will have to either add or change her surname to those of her husband’s. Thus, we have Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Ooo...sexy! Have you watched the movie yet? Scandalous! Poor Jennifer Aniston...huhu.

Ehem...let's continue. What was the topic? Names...oh yes! A name reflects one’s character & personality. This is quite true in most cases. That is why people tend to change their names if they think that their given names are not appropriate, does not suit themselves, or they simply prefer glamorous, outstanding names. Do you know to whom these names belong to?

Curtis Jackson?
William Bailey?
Paul Hewson?
Demetria Gene Guynes?
Eleanor Gow?

Ring any bells? Well, apparently, they belong to 50 Cent, Axl Rose, Bono, Demi Moore & Elle Macpherson. O_O

Talk about changing their fates, eh? I wouldn’t have bothered about them if they use their original names. It’s either too plain, too forgettable, or simply too complicated.

What about you guys? If you are a celebrity, what would your name be?

I would like to suggest that you choose a name which begins with the letter J. Why? Well, according to the book “The Secret Universe of Names” which I’ve bought sometime last year...people whose names begin with the letter J is 250% more likely to become millionaires than people with names beginning with the letter N (I need to change my name...hihi).

I guess this has some truth to it. Some of the world’s well-known authors have names which begins with the letter J. For example, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling. J.D. Robb...and hopefully my aunt too...JUNIE OCTOVIAN! Ooo...fascinating.

Gosh...I don’t think I can finish talking about the interesting stuff I've gathered about names in just one entry. Maybe, I should continue this discussion in the next entry before it bores you to death, eh? Well, to conclude for now, I would like to present you with the links below. Do try some of them, it’s silly but FUN!

Chinese Name Generator: http://www.chinesegenerator.net/

Korean Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/10981/

Your Real Japanese Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/969/

The Original Japanese Name Generator by Shu: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/721/

The Elvish Name Generator: http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/

The Very British Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/10/

Harry Potter Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/406/

Dragon Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/3267/

The Mafia Name Generator: http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/1311/

Pirate Name Generator: http://www.piratename.net/

Transliterate your name into Braille: http://www.afb.org/braillebug/thenamegame.asp

Your Name In Greek: http://www.languages-of-the-world.us/YourNameIn/Greek.html