Nominative Determinism

I ran across this phrase a couple of days ago and I had no idea what it was. I was reading a thread on Ravelry and they were talking about people who lived up to their names, like Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales or Anna Smashnova, an Israeli tennis player. What a cool phrase. Nominative Determinism (as defined by Wikipedia is "the theory that as person's name is given an influential role in reflecting key attributes of their job, profession, or general life. Pretty cool, huh. I believe in this theory. Kinda of like a self-fulfilling prophesy so to speak. I would like to think that I am a happy person somewhat because of my name. I didn't like my name when I was growing up. I was one of many Mary's. In class I was always Merry S. I envied my friends who had more unusual names like Suzanne or Carrie. They didn't have to have the dreaded initial after their name to distinguish them from the other multitudes of Suzannes or Carries. I wanted to be named Melissa. I don't know why. I just loved the name. As I got older, I began to love my name, especially the spelling. I am often asked if I am born around Christmas (I am not) or if I am merry (I would like to think I am). Anyway, it is something to think about, no?

This picture of Whiskers? Her name does not demonstrate the theory of Nominative Determinism. She just has them. I could not resist taking a picture of this pose and sharing it with you.

Merry Christmas Merry

I love the spelling of my name. When I was little I didn't like my name. There were usually several Marys also in my class and I was always known as Merry S. to distinguish between us. I would wish my name was Melissa. Why that name? Who knows. Now that I am older, I love my name and I run into very few Marys. I wonder where they all went. I haven't run into any Merrys yet, but I know they are out there...somewhere.