What’s in a name?

Because it is my name!

Because I cannot have another in my life! – John Proctor, “The Crucible” Indulge this quick review of your high school Junior English class. The fictional version of the nonfictional Salem witch trials concludes with John Proctor refusing to sign a forced confession admitting to witchcraft. Proctor is not an innocent man in the story, but he—along with the other wrongfully accused—is not guilty of sorcery.

In the final scene of Arthur Miller’s play, Proctor preserves his dignity by refusing to write his name. He will not sign to a lie just to avoid death at the hands of religious zealots of Salem, Massachusetts.

In the end, John Proctor’s reputation is saved by honoring his name.

My mom gifted me. Sue was a church friend and neighbor, a young mother herself with the infectious laugh that Mother needed. Jane roomed with Mother at Abilene Christian College, sharing their love of reading poetry aloud and being silly. I went by both names from the cradle. When teachers tried to drop the “Jane” portion of my name, I balked. It was my name, after all.

Whether you treasure the words you sign on your checks or think you got stiffed with something akin to Milliard Fillmore, you have only one name.

From birth, our names are verbal tattoos that will be heard on roll calls. They will be printed in dance and piano recital programs, announced at Little League games, monogrammed on back- packs, and etched inside graduation announcements.

What will people think when they hear, read, or speak our names?

********************** I have a new great-nephew, born last week.

My nephew and his wife chose a blend of history and literature and faith to gift their firstborn on his birth certificate. We will call him Teddy.

I hope I’m around to see photos of Teddy visiting the national parks that Theodore Roosevelt helped secure. Maybe Teddy and his cousins will visit me in assisted living someday so we can watch the Rough Rider in all of the “Night at the Museum” movies on Netflix.

Someday, Teddy’s dad will tuck him in and read to him the story of spiritual magic and beauty that come to Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter by knowing Aslan. As a namesake of Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis), Teddy will no doubt learn from “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” that courage within comes from God above.

Perhaps you are the beneficiary of a family name. Maybe you carry the name of a parent’s best friend, a sports hero, or a name reflecting cultural ties. All were chosen for us. Whether we like them or not, we still hold the power—along with the responsibility— to wear those names honorably.

Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West Texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.