What’s In a Name?

Why do we call things what we call them?

Naming things is difficult. Sure, it’s easy to throw a few letters or words together, but to really name something—to choose a few words that describe the essence of a thing—is not easy. Today we usually don’t think much about the meanings of the names we give our children. Often we base whether we like a name, not on what the name means, but on whether we knew someone with that name and whether we found them repugnant or admirable.

Today we don’t think that naming our little baby James means he is destined to be a Supplanter or that tiny Emily will become a Rival (however, I do have to wonder about the forty-seven people in the US who named their baby girl Jezebel in 2007), but that doesn’t mean we take our job lightly. It took an 48-hour road trip and a quickly approaching due date for my wife and I to finally agree on a name for our second child. We decided on Jeremy (God Will Uplift), not for its meaning, but because it was a family name that we both liked.

As far as we know, Adam was the first person to name anything. I have often wondered, how did he decide what to call each of the animals? I’m fairly certain he didn’t called a toothy cat with a large mane a lion, a striped horsy a zebra or a colorful crustacean an Odontodactylus scyllarus. Some have speculated that because Adam was a perfect man that he was endowed with reasoning powers and knowledge far beyond that of modern man (not too hard to imagine, just check out TikTok—on second thought, don’t). Because of this, they think he didn’t just attach some seemingly random sounds or letters to symbolize the animal, but that the names Adam chose somehow captured the essence of what each animal was. The name Hippopotamus would have captured the essence of what made a hippo a hippo. For a similar reason, the Jews believe that a person’s name carries spiritual significance, and thus they put much more emphasis on the meaning of a name than most Western societies do today.

Taxonomists, scientists that classify and name new species, have developed a system of Latin names so that each species gets a unique scientific name such as the lion, Panthera leo, and the zebra, Equus quagga. Often taxonomists choose a scientific name that holds some meaning in Latin that we English speakers can’t see. The plant that produces the cacao beans from which we make chocolate was named Theobroma cacao (“food of the gods”) and the striped skunk Mephitis mephitis (“smelliest of the smelly”). Other names are a bit more obvious. For example, a spider species found near Folsom Prison in California, of which the adults males are black in color, was named Aphonopelma johnnycashi.

The ancient Hebrews held God’s name as so holy that they wouldn’t even speak it. For this reason, to this day we don’t know how it should be pronounced. When referring to God, the Hebrews instead used other forms such as Adonai (“My Lord”) Elohim (literally “gods”) , or HaShem (“The Name”). In Old Testament manuscripts God’s name was written as יהוה or in English as YHWH. A few modern English translations add consonants to form the name Yahweh.

There is a good deal of debate about the exact meaning of Yahweh, but it is widely believed to mean “to be”, “cause to be”, “I AM”, or maybe all three.

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Ex 3:13, 14

God is I AM, the self-existent one, the one from whom all things that have ever been were made. His name tells us that He is all that ever was, is, and ever will ever be, and that it is He who holds all things together (Col 1:16, 17).

When Jesus was confronted the in the garden, he asked the soldiers, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” When Jesus said this, the solders drew back and fell to the ground (Jn 18:4-6). Just the sound of his name, I AM, was enough to cause hardened soldiers to fall back. Yahweh’s name has meaning and power.

When they are chosen well, names will tell us something about that thing that is being named. That was my goal when I was naming this blog. I didn’t want to name it something that restricted me to only a certain type of blog post, but I also wanted to be specific enough so the name would tell readers something about the topics and issues I would address.

I like to see beneath the surface of things, to delve past the obvious to the unseen truth below. The world is replete with mysteries and beauty that will often only show themselves when we make an effort to look for them. From the deepest jungles of the Congo to the Colorado Rockies to the creek trickling through a field, they all contain a nearly infinite array of insects, plants, bacteria, and fungi with complex relationships that we are only beginning to discover. The more we learn about God’s creation, the more we realize we don’t know.

“As the Island of Knowledge grows, so do the shores of our ignorance—the boundary between the known and unknown. Learning more about the world doesn’t lead to a point closer to a final destination—whose existence is nothing but a hopeful assumption anyways—but to more questions and mysteries. The more we know, the more exposed we are to our ignorance, and the more we know to ask.”

Marcelo Gleiser

Man, God’s final act of Creation, is also worthy of study, filled as he is with contradictions and complexity. Mankind is capable of creating breathtaking beauty and of carrying out unspeakable evil. This capability rests within each person, and it is our life’s work to turn away from serving the Evil toward serving the Good.

Within each of us is a universe of emotions, motivations, and thoughts that is as hidden and mysterious as any that astronomers see through their telescopes. In many ways, it is even more so. This personal universe is concealed from all outside observers except for what little illumination our words and actions give, but even we struggle to see ourselves for who we truly are. The truth is there, we just struggle to find it.

Outside of ourselves and inside of ourselves are vast truths that are waiting for us to discover them. When we understand these truths, we are touching one aspect of who God is and how He wants us, His creation, to serve and glorify Him. They are invisible things, but we can clearly see them if we look hard enough.

For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Rom 1:20