What is your name? Do you like it? Where did it come from? Are you named after someone in your family? Do you have a middle name? Is that in memory of someone? Is your name spelt in a different way to the normal? Can it be shortened? Do you have a favourite way of saying it? Do people say it wrong? If you could, would you choose a different name and if yes, what would it be? Answers on a postcard please ha ha.
Our names for most of us define who we are, they stick with us through life and are chosen not by us but usually by our parents. But how many of us actually realise why this name was chosen? Not many know the meaning of our name and if you do, is the meaning a fair depiction and does it truly represent who you are?
It might surprise you to know that quite a lot of people don’t know the answers to these questions and further more if they are named after someone, they don’t know who that person was!
A famous quote from the brilliant Shakespeare from his play Romeo and Juliet but what is in a name has more than you realise.
One of the best links I get during my readings time after time is about the name. Relatives in heaven all eager to come along and share the fact that the person receiving the reading was named after them!
In some cases, a long line of people all claiming to have the same name as every boy in the family has to be called John or William… you get the picture! They are literally brimming with pride at this fact and sadly too many of the people receiving the messages only have a faint idea of whom this person was!
I always think, wow this person must be grand if they named you after them! It is an honour and a privilege for many that goes relatively unnoticed.
I also have a lot of people with unusual names and I always ask the same question “that’s a lovely name, where did that come from? What does it mean?”.
You would be shocked at how many do not know! It’s YOUR NAME! You carry it with you, it’s on every document that defines who you are, the very least you can do is find out who you are name wise.
https://www.behindthename.com/
Seemingly my name is NOT that popular except in Spain that is!
My Family Names
I know that I was not named after anyone in my family. My mum wanted a name that could not be shortened although my brother Mike always called me Paul and my mum took the name from a girl in her street who died just before I was born! Always linked to people who have crossed over eh! Even in the womb.
My eldest daughter Jess was named after my Nana Jessy who sadly passed away just after Jess was born and I was going to name my baby Jessy even if it was a boy! When my Nana found out my baby was a girl, she insisted that I called her Jessica (a name Jess hates) so I did out of respect for her but she will always be my Jess Jess. Her middle name is Olivia simply because I liked it.
I then had Patrick my only son, his name was easy to pick as sadly his Nana Patricia passed away just before he was conceived and his middle name is Kevin after my husband. Gabby (Gabrielle), my daughter was also named after Kev’s mum as it was her middle name and as we went to say goodbye to her, the lid of her coffin was in the corner of the room and on the name plaque was her full name… Patricia Gabrielle Obrien! I fell in love with the middle name and it was easy to choose!
Poppy however was a change of heart at the very last minute. Throughout the pregnancy she was a Lily! Then on the day of her birth I was rushed into hospital and we both nearly died during childbirth. I flatlined and had to be brought back and when I came back after having a seizure everyone was wearing Poppies as it was memorial weekend so we simply had to call her Poppy! I hope they all like their names.
So, who are you? Why not go and look up your origin of the name and see what it means – find out who, if anyone you are named after and if you are like them in any way.
Tell your kids why they are named that particular name and let them know if it’s in memory of a loved one in heaven. Our loved ones in heaven ALWAYS know and will make a huge statement out of telling me, especially if they were named after they crossed over.
Several times during readings I have even told the pregnant mum what the name of her unborn baby is as the loved one in heaven was so excited and had to share!
I have enjoyed writing this article and hope you have fun finding out who you are… what’s your name?
Love as always
Paula x
