What's in a Name?

I just got an FB wall message from my sister that this week is National Best Sister Week. (I don’t know who sets these things!) And I ran a mental note of the names of my sisters (and my brother), and I was reminded again of why we were named this way.

My three sisters, only brother, and I were all named with a capital B. Benilda, Belinda, Bernadette, Benilyn, Bernard. Let me tell you my father’s rationale behind this absurdity (at least for us who were at the receiving end!). His siblings made a pact among themselves to name their children according to their corresponding birth order in the alphabet. So, my first uncle christened all his children A--Alice, Arlene, Amor, Alvin, Amparo, and Angelie. My third uncle named his kids ‘C’--Carlo, Cesar, Cecille, Celso, Corazon. My fourth uncle’s children are Donnabelle and Dante. And his last brother named his children Elma, Elsa, Eloisa, Efren, and Eric. You get the drift. So can you guess what order my father is in his band of brothers?

Brand B

Ba, be, bi, bo, bu!!!

Such was the power wielded by our parents over us the moment we were born. They either make or break our future by designating to us a moniker we would be carrying with us the rest of our lives. Some parents seem not to care if their whimsical decision could scar their child on the playground or on their job application. But some give a lot of thought, for they know that the name they give their child is like a brand that would stay with him forever.

I’m not saying here, though, that my parents misnamed all of us. Well, we have heard worse names on other people than ours. But couldn’t they just have scrapped their promise and named me Francesca instead?