What’s in a name?

by Hannah Cartwright

I have the joy and privilege of baptising/christening many children and adults; it is one of my favourite parts of Ministry.

Naming plays a significant part in baptism as the person is named before God and the congregation, then baptised ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’. As part of the baptismal rite, a child is given their ‘Christian [first] name’ to mark their distinctiveness as a person amongst those who share their family [sur]name(s). Adults or older children may also choose to take on an additional name at baptism, such as the name of a Saint to follow in the example of, or to reaffirm their baptismal vows in a new chosen name after a major life event such as gender affirmation and transition. There are many occasions in the Bible when a new name or change of name are given as a sign of transformation or blessing; such as Israel (formerly Jacob) or Abraham and Sarah (formerly Abram and Sarai). The first thing God does after creating humanity is to give the name ‘Adam’ and there are also times when God individually chooses the name of a person with a particular purpose eg. the Angel Gabriel tells Mary to name the child Jesus meaning ‘Saviour or God saves’.

Names often carry with them great meaning and expectation or tell us something significant about someone’s culture or character which is why it is so important that we find a name which ‘fits’ and feels congruent with who and how we choose to be in the world. For some this means a change of name, for others using an abbreviation or nickname. Our names, in many ways, represent us. They are not solely for our own benefit but they carry with them the authority of the person. We are sent out ‘in the name of Jesus’ not to speak our words but to share his and to act in his stead for which we have been commissioned. We are not called in the generic and we are not sent in the generic, we are specifically named, individually known and uniquely called by God for a particular purpose in this world.

On 11th September we will celebrate our Patronal Festival, the feast of the Saint from whom we take our name: Mary. The name Mary has a fascinating Hebrew and Aramaic heritage of its own but, we choose to take on Mary’s name because of her significance in God’s story of salvation and we continue to look to the example of her grace-filled life of openness and joyful consent to the unexpected work of God, her persistence in prayer and her unflinching and costly dedication from the labour of birth to the foot of the Cross and beyond. Our community take Mary’s name as an aspiration and encouragement in our own discipleship in following her Son who, with the prophet Isaiah, gives us cause to rejoice as God reassures us with the words:

‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.’ (Isaiah 43.1)