I believe in the importance of names. It’s really my parents fault. Mainly my daddy. He wanted my sisters and I to know the meaning of our names. Emphasized in us that our name is our nature. And that every time someone calls your name they are declaring its meaning. My mother named me Kendra Shanae (Last name mind your business lol). Kendra means wisdom and understanding according to multiple sources. And the most common meaning for Shanae is God is gracious. Honestly, I didn’t really like it when I was younger. Kendra wasn’t common enough for me. And Shanae always remind people of the character Shanae-nae from the tv show Martin. I wanted to be Lisa…please imagine the sound of crickets here as you give me a bombastic side eye. Because what the actual fuck was I thinking? Glad that only lasted through a few months of 4th grade. Any way. My parents sat us down in front of the mini series Roots sometime shortly after this name thing (that I don’t think they ever knew about). Something about Kunta’s attachment to his name and identity wrang a bell in me. And when Kizzy was born and she was told “Behold, the ONLY thing greater than yourself” I felt that somewhere deep in my spirit. Any way I think I been a little name obsessed ever sense. But it didn’t stop with people’s names.
The names of everything around me matters. I speak the names of my loved ones when I pray both for the living and those who have transitioned. I love the multiple names for Christ. I love the multiple names for praise. Name is something I am precious about because I truly believe it is the first impression. It sets the tone for the thing, the person, the work. Some might think this makes me one of those name snobs who bulks at the things Black folks name their children. To the contrary, I deeply support it. I believe you should name your baby as you see fit as long as it is with the best of intention. But that don’t mean I think some of them are funny lol. On the other hand I also believe in the power to name one’s self. I respect the names people choose for themselves. Because again your name is your nature so it only makes sense for a person to want to ensure the name that they are called matches their nature. Also every name ain’t for everybody. My daddy and sisters call me Sissy. Everybody can’t do that. My good friends call me Ken. You stranger reading this cannot lol. Even if I put my nickname in this title lol.
The titles of the things I write are super important to me. And beyond that, if the thing doesn’t have a proper name I cannot proceed. I get stuck in the naming. Spinning my wheels about how to launch whatever it is into existence by speaking its name. This blog stalled for a minute while I chose a name. I sent the options on my mind to my closest friends and family for counsel. And took their suggestions. I needed to talk through my ideas lol. It’s a trip. Everything has been named by my village lol. The paralysis I feel prior to something being named is totes connected to my perfectionism but child that’s a musing for another post. Well, I reckon that’s it.
Jus ThinKen 