What's in a Name?

July 27, 2010

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

In preparing for the “God’s Double Agents” sermon series that concludes this Sunday, I did some quick research on the meaning of the names Elijah and Elisha. As is the case with most names in the Bible, the monikers of these two biblical heroes are packed with meaning. Elijah is derived from two names for God: Elohim (“Lord”) and Yahweh (God’s divine name). Literally, Elijah is a creedal statement: “The Lord is my God.” Elisha comes from Elohim and the word Yasha, which means “salvation.” His name is also a statement of faith: “God is my salvation.”

I’m interested in the significance of people’s names, so I like to ask. Some people tell me what their names mean, like “Warrior” (Wendell), or “Son of the Mighty Warrior” (Madison), or “Home ruler” (Harriett). At other times, they will tell me how they share their name with beloved family members. Our older daughter Grace, for example, has the first name of Pamela, after Jessica’s mother. And our younger daughter, Madelyn, is actually derived from both her parents: Magrey (“Ma”), deVega (“de”), and Jessica’s middle name (“Lyn”).

And what about my name, you might wonder? Well, have a seat. My name is a one-of-a-kind mash-up from my father’s first name (“Maghirang”) and his middle name (“Reyes”). And my middle name is Rojas, my mother’s maiden name.

Over the years, I’ve felt that my name is among my most unique traits, as well as one of my greater burdens. There is something affirming about knowing that there is no other person named Magrey in the whole world. (At least from what I’ve been able to ascertain from Google. For all I know, there might be some elderly woman in Indonesia or some warthog in Malaysia with the same name.) But having to spell my name several times over the phone gets old after a while (my wife doesn’t like it when I sidestep the ordeal and tell the pizza delivery guy my name is “Mike.”) And the looks on people’s faces when trying to pronounce my name for the first time can be sheer comedy. I’ve been called MA-gree, MAC-gray, Margie, Marjorie, and – my favorite – Niagara. And if you try to find a personalized coffee mug or keychain? Forget about it. (unless you find Margie with a typo.)

A few weeks ago, I came across a choice little article about Filipino names from The Jakarta Post. The author came to the conclusion that Filipinos have the world’s foremost ability to generate unique names, and provided reader examples as evidence. One very tired-looking mother named her most recent child “Labindalawa,” which means “Number 12.” Another woman named her child “Bonicar,” because – are you ready for this? - the child was “born in the car.” A man named Mike (I seriously doubt that’s his real Filipino name, huh, Jessica?) decided to name his two children “Annie” and “Juan,” for the sheer joy of calling them out in public. (“Annie? Juan?” Get it? “Anyone?”)

One reader coined the process of generating unique names “Filipino-izing,” which is as good a term as any for what my parents did to me:

“You get a list of names and then you perform one or more of the following operations: you double bits, add Tagalog nouns, add Spanish religious terms, add English cutesy words, combine Chinese syllables into single words, change V to B and F to P, and then you add a bit of magic and a suffix. To demonstrate, here are some famous celebrity names which have been Filipinoized. Barack Obama becomes “Baz-Baz Joselito Reyes Obayani Jr”. Harry Potter becomes “Harrison Bagwis de los Santos Potter-Pacifico”. Lady Gaga becomes “Our Lady Gaga”. Michael Jackson becomes “Michael Magtanggol del Rosario Jacinto IV”. David Cameron becomes “Dabid-Danilo ‘Boy’ Rizal Camilo”. Fred Flintstone becomes “Pred Antonio Plintstone Isagani III”. [1]

Whew. I guess I should be grateful that my name is simply, “Magrey Rojas deVega.”

I’d be curious to hear the background of your own name. Even if you don’t know its etymological origin, or have a unique story about its source, I hope you are grateful for it. Like many of life’s greatest gifts, it was given to you with neither your choosing nor your deserving. It connects you to a reality beyond yourself, and reminds you of a rich legacy that has been generations in the making. Your name is who you are, and reminds you to whom you belong.

Remember it, cherish it, and live up to it.

In the name of Christ,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org

[1] http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/05/30/meet-us-president-bazbaz-obayani-jr.html



WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY
We conclude our summer blockbuster sermon series “God’s Double Agents” with a story about Elisha and the Shunnamite woman in 2 Kings 8:1-15. It’s a follow-up to the story of the widow’s oil, and is titled, “The Case of the Lost Land.”

GUEST PREACHER AUGUST 8
We are delighted to welcome Rev. Kathy Martin as our guest preacher on August 8. She is campus chaplain at Morningside College and will be speaking to us about the Iowa-Nigeria Partnership, which we will be supporting with a special offering that day. For more information about the fund, and to put in a silent auction bid on a dress made by Nigerian women, check out the displays in the narthex and the Fellowship Hall.

FRED SPRINGER BENEFIT FUND
For those not in worship last Sunday, we took up a special offering for Fred Springer, a part of our church community who suffered injuries from a serious car accident that was not his fault back in April. His conditions will preclude him from securing full-time employment, and his family’s bills are mounting as they await disability payments. As fund raisers form around the community, we are asking the St. Paul’s family to contribute to a special “Fred Springer Benefit Fund” that has been started at Central State Bank. If you would like to contribute, make your check payable to St. Paul’s and designate it for the “Fred Springer Fund.” In particular, we would like to raise enough money to pay for two months’ rent (total $850) and defray the threat of eviction.