What's in a Name?

If you wanted to get to know a person what would the first thing you asked that person?

No doubt it would be their name. Our names are a big part of our identity, how we want people to perceive us and how we perceive ourselves.

The first thing you learn about a person is their name, and it is something that you remember.

According to Jet Magazine dated August 7, 2006, "Names like LaShara, Dasha, Sha Juan, Quantell or DeQuan are considered "Black" names because Blacks are most like to use them. some even argue that having "Black Sounding" names could hurt you in the long run."

Ronald Fryer, Jr, assistant professor of Economics at Harvard University and Assistant Director of Harvard's W.E.B Dubois Institute for African and African American research to find if this was really true if your name could keep you from getting a job or affect you at school and should parents be more cautious in naming their children? Just how important is a name? After much research he came to the conclusion, "no negative casual impact on life outcomes were found from having a distinctly Black name."

I decided to do some research on my name, I was named after a Queen name Zenobia of the city Palmyra. She was a third century warrior queen. She was half Greek and half Arab and one of the great beauties of her day. While married to Odenthaus she bore him three sons and an unknown number of daughters.

Zenobia often accompanied her husband when he went hunting lions, panthers and other animals. She often accompanied him in war; together they attained Rome, the territories of Syria, Mesopotamia and West Armenia.

After her husbands' death, Zenobia continued to accompany her soldiers in battle. To her people she was a great queen who gave them a satisfactory lifestyle under her rule.

Eventually Zenobia was captured and her city of Palmyra was turned to ruin by the Roman Army. Zenobia was given an estate at Tibur (now Tivoli, Italy), where she spent the rest of life in pensioned retirement.

Queen Zenobia was brave, ambitious, intelligent, level headed, practical and full of attitude. She was a beautiful strategic warrior, courageous, a woman so ahead of her time; I could not and would not lead anyone to war, no would I ever participate in one. I was in the military for three years and hated it!

The most important name to know is found at Psalm 83:18, the name JEHOVAH which mean, HE CAUSES TO BECOME. In the original Hebrew Scriptures the name appeared nearly 7000 times!

Jehovah showed the Egyptians and more importantly his people that he would and could become anything that he wanted in order to make known his name and his purpose and his power. We are even told to get to get to know him and his son could mean everlasting life for us, how cool is that? (John 17:3)

Do you think that is a name you would like to now?