We have never been able to call our babies by their given names. I'm not sure why. It seems they take a while to grow into them or something. We never set out to give them nicknames, but that's what always happens. Eventually the baby nickname fades away though, and our kids become the name they were given. So strange how that happens...how they become their names.
But the baby is not the embodiment of his name yet, and so we find ourselves calling him...Herman. Here's how it happened. Son4 is the squirmiest baby we have ever met. He doesn't cry much, and I think squirming is his brand of fussy. Which is not bad as fussy goes. In fact, if you could order up a brand of baby when it comes time to have one, I highly recommend the Herman brand because he's sweet and delicious and squirming is the quietest kind of baby fussing that there is.
Anyway, Herman squirmed so much that we began to call him Squirmy Hermy. This stuck for a while, and we still refer to him that way...but eventually it just became Herman. Now we say it all the time. When Herman is sleeping, my husband will say, "Where's Herman?" When Herman is feeling sad and fussy, we say, "Oh, Herman..." with voices full of sympathy. I'm pretty sure my husband and I say it every chance we get. I think it somehow makes us love him even more.
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3 comments:
haha! I love this, Nina, and I completely get it. You pick a name that will bring them through life with some dignity, but little people, well, they just are not dignified all the time, mostly because squeezable cuteness takes over. Herman is delightful.
When I was pregnant with Nathan we called him Harvey...from the Jimmy Stewart movie with his invisible rabbit friend with the same name...after he was born we gave him other nicknames. These names were variations of some aspect of his name or his cuteness. He was alternately called NatZackKrak (sung to the tune of Jimmy Crack Corn), Nathan Spitski, Sir Fuss-A-Lot, and Little Face, to name a few. With everything we call them, it's a wonder they ever learn their real names!
Nina, this practice reminds me a little of what some Native Americans did when naming their children. They would take their child to someone (their medicine man, I think) to be given their real name, which would be secret. Then the child would be given a name, or names, that others would call him or her, that would be based on some aspect of their character or some prowess they displayed. They could have several of these public names, but their one "real" name was known by very few people. I read about the Lenni Lenape people doing this, perhaps other native people did it, too.
The naming IS important! It gives us identity. In scripture, when something huge happened, God renamed people. Can you even imagine, having God re-write your name?!
I love my name, my real name, it means "captivating." I love to think that people think I'm captivating, but only a precious few, very close people actually call me by my real name. I have learned about myself that I hold people at bay my introducing myself with my nickname and then, over time, I begin to refer to myself in the third person with my given name. I give them permission, so to speak, to access that part of me.
I have a plethora of given nicknames, Bex, "Cousin Bex", Beckers, Chex, Rebs, Ca, Becca, and even B.
Don't worry, Herman will totally grow into his peace-bringing boots, just like the others did.
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