Ok, this is a bit of indulgence here. This is not about music, its a post about some person musings. About names. Your name, and the other forms it will take.
Maybe you're called Elizabeth. Maybe your friends call you Liz, your workmates call you Beth and your parents call you Elizabeth “because-thats-the-name-we-gave-you-and-you-should-be-called-by-it!” Fine. But in the same way that Zimbardo in the Stanford Prison experiment showed that the title and role that you give someone can effect how they behave, these variations on your name can be come as important and influential as being called ‘doctor’, ‘lawyer’ or ‘mortician’ to the individual concerned.
Well, to me they do.
You see, I am Dan. In all honesty I am Dan. Not Daniel or Danny. Anyone who knows me as Dan and has spent time with me as Dan knows me best (with the exception of my partner, to whom I am Danny). Dan was a Psychology student at University and a part-time bartender. He was a bass player in a metal band, a guitarist in a funk-rock band; a volunteer sound engineer and theatre stage manager; a composer of music for an audio drama, a podcast and two school musicals.
I was originally Daniel. And Daniel I still am when with family or when unfamiliar formal interactions take place. Daniel is rarely seen though, despite being a very easy going, helpful and mild-mannered chap.
Danny is a very well known fellow in the the Glasgow Homeless, Addictions and Mental Health Services scene. This is because of my work. If you're called Daniel, people like to call you Danny. And so it has stuck for nearly 6 years. It has been very handy being able to distinguish those who you interact with by the name they call you. Reasons for which are too longwinded to go into here, but liken it to how you can set up filters for your email inbox.
So why am I babbling on about this? Well, imagine you have an opportunity to decided what everyone will call you in an entirely new realm of your life. That is currently where I stand. I have a new job you see.
My new line manager is already sending emails to me in which I am referred to as ‘Dan’ (probably due to my email address). This feels a bit uncomfortable in the first instance. Work is starting to touch on my personal life persona. But I also carry a feeling in me that this is the time (and this job is the place) for me to bring everything that Dan is into the work environment. Previously there was less space or need for Dan, what with his computer geekery and quizzical information finding. But now maybe he should have a run out.
Just how powerful the question “what is your name?” can be! Or, rather, how powerful the answer can be. Not to the people asking the question, but to the person giving the answer. And hence the title “The (non?)importance of names.” Whether I be Dan, Danny or Daniel has a tiny impact on those around me, compared to how it changes my own frame of mind in that instant when I say “Hi, my name is…”
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