When Names Matter - By Fred dela Rosa
"What's in a name?" asks William Shakespeare. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
You're wrong, Mr. Shakespeare. Names matter. Ask Brazilian males who are named Braulio. Ask former senator Boy Herrera. Ask people who answer to interesting names.
Brazil's health ministry has dumped a name given to a "talking penis" used in its anti-AIDS campaign after angry protest from people with the same name. What's the name of the "talking penis?" Braulio.
The coordinator of the national AIDS program said that henceforth neutral terms such as "partner", "buddy," "ditto," would be used for the noisy genitalia instead of the popular name "Braulio."
Former Senator Herrera has suggested that PAGASA should stop using female names to code typhoons as the practice suggests bias against women.
According to the senator from Bohol, the practice is unpleasant and unwelcome because it might be based on the erroneous and decadent stereotyping of women as moody and whimsical, and worse, unreliable and destructive.
Names are important. As my grandfather used to say: "The best legacy is a good name." One movie star once told a Hollywood reporter, "You can write anything about me, honey, for as long as you spell my name right."
Naming kids used to be an easy task. Just look at the calendar and check the name of the saint in whose feast day the child is born. Several generations of Filipinos were named this way. This explains why there used to be plenty of Aguedas and Bartolomes in the neighborhood.
There was a time when it was popular to add Maria to a girl's name. It was not enough to name a girl simply as Lourdes or Carmen; she had to be named Maria Lourdes or Marilou, or Maria Carmen or Marichu. I have a niece who was baptized Maria Isabel, and we call her "Mais"
Parents are now choosy about names. They have started to realize that the name gets to reflect the owner, that it is difficult to undo an unflattering or unusual name. There was this girl who was christened "Christmas" and there was never a day when she was not being greeted "Merry Christmas" by friends and acquaintances.
I remember when people were named after their physical characteristics or some outstanding traits. In the neighborhood, we had a "Juanang Bungisngis" and a "Mariang Makulit." You can tell whom people are referring to when they talked about "Pedrong Kirat" or " Pedrong Peklat.
Where in the world can you find adults who responds to nicknames like "Boy," "Girlie," "Sonny" and "Baby"? The winner must be "Baby Boy" Poblador. Isn't it redundant? There are also a lot of "Juns" but why are their fathers not called "Sens"?
Names can also be used as weapons. Some characters with a ghoulish humor name their pets after the bosses or personal enemies. Beware when people call you "Brenda" or "Inday," but "Daisy" can be flattering.
People can legally change their names. A Korean-American whose last name was simply "O" has difficulty with banks and employers. They thought "O" was a digit or an initial. So Mr. O his name changed to "Oh". Then he started having problems with the postal office.
In the Filipino community in the United States, a favorite joke about Pinoys who want to Westernize their names. A classic is the one about a guy named Casimiro Boquecosa who has his name changed to Cashmere Bouquet.
Don't you think it is about time they put a stop to the practice of renaming streets? Changing names of thoroughfares is confusing and expensive. The proponents do not even exercise the basic courtesy of consulting the residents who live in these streets. Most streets have a history behind them, a sense of character that the rest of the neighborhood or the city does not have. I don't care if the street is renamed after a councilor, a senator, or a former president. Just leave the street alone, unless its name is Osama bin Laden.
I don't know of any particular name-changing among Filipinos except about the illegal alien who took advantage of the amnesty law and had his name changed from Bok Choy to Dakilang Mamamayan. But noteworthy is the starlet who decided to leap out of anonymity by changing her name from something ordinary to "Pookey Moreno."