NPM Celebrations - Name Yourself Day

April 9th is Name Yourself Day. While this holiday is referenced on a number of national calendar and "unofficial holiday" web sites, I can't find any information about where it began or why. I have friends who give themselves a new name every time they place an order at Starbucks, but I've never been inclined to give myself a new name. I do know that when my parents learned they would be getting a new baby (I was adopted), my mother wanted to name me Julie. I'm glad my father and siblings prevailed, as I like my name!

In  honor of today's celebration, here are some poems about names. Surely you know we must begin with Shakespeare!

Romeo and Juliet
Act II. Scene II.

(Juliet is speaking.)

’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part      
Belonging to a man. O! be some other name:
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes      
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

When I thought about name poems, the poem that came to mind after Shakespeare was The Naming of Cats, by T.S. Eliot. Click below to hear Eliot read it.

My Name is Jorge On Both Sides of the River, written by Jane Medina and illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck, is a collection of 27 poems written in Spanish and English. They are written from Jorge's point of view and describe his experiences adjusting life in the United States. The poems are sometimes heartbreaking, but they are always honest. The first poem in the book describes the problems he has when others cannot pronounce his name.

Me llamo Jorge Me llamo Jorge. Sé que mi nombre                          es Jorge. Pero todos me llaman                         —Chorg. Chorg. ¡Qu´feo sonido!  ¡Como un estornudo!                           ¡Chorg! Y lo peor do todo                          es que hoy en la mañana                          una niña me llamó. —Chorg— y volteé la cabeza. No quiero convertirme                         en un estornudo.

My Name Is Jorge My name is Jorge. I know that my name is Jorge. But everyone calls me             George. George. What an ugly sound! Like a sneeze!             GEORGE! And the worst of all             is that this morning             a girl called me “George”             and I turned my head. I don’t want to turn             into a sneeze!

Poem © Jane Medina, 1999. All rights reserved.

Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno, written by Francisco Alarcón and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez, is the 4th book in a series that highlights family and community through the changing seasons.

San Francisco yo me llamo Francisco como mi abuelo y como el abuelo de su abuelo cómo me alegro que esta ciudad lleve el nombre de San Francisco— el santo patrón de los animales aquí mi nombre todos lo saben escribir

San Francisco my name is Francisco like my grandfather and like his grandfather's grandfather I'm so happy this city is named after Saint Francis— the patron saint of all animals here everybody knows how to spell my name

Poem © Francisco X. Alarcón, 2001. All rights reserved.

I'll end today on a somber note, with this poem by Billy Collins.

That's it for today. I hope you'll join me tomorrow for our next celebration.