what's in a name...

i have no idea why, but i've been thinking about names lately, and their meanings. every name has meaning - some denote nobility, while others pay homage to the Almighty, and still others reflect natural and supernatural characteristics. the name Charles is simply a statement of fact, as Charles means 'man'. the ever-matronly Gertrude means 'spear of strength' after Saint Gertrude the Great. that 'ol Gert, she's great! growing up i knew some folks with...unusual names - April May June, Anna Rucksick, Zack Zack. i delivered furniture once to a Eugene Nimrod - really? what's the meaning behind those names? furthermore, how would one live up, or down, as it were, to any of those names? how does anyone live up to their name? my father was Ray John III. i came within a flea's fart of being Ray John IV. since #3 buckled so completely under the standard set by his forebears, i am relieved to be named anything else. but i like my name. i was named after Brian Boru, high king of Ireland. Brian, or in my case Bryan, means 'noble'. N laughs at that and she should. i fall far short - rather ignoble really. (maybe that's my purpose: to find my (inner?) nobility? but shouldn't that be the case for each of us?) N's name is more spot-on - hers means 'Christmas Day', and is doubly appropriate due to her faithfulness, and her love for the holiday. K1's name means 'little, fiery', like the ball of energy he is, and K2's means whatever she wants it to. sometimes a name takes us down memory lane, or possibly elm street, depending on what a particular person has meant to us. i have never met a Dan that i haven't disliked. and Ashley, as far as i'm concerned, may as well just call herself stripper. and maybe that's what i've been chewing on here - regardless of what my name means, or who held it before, i am hopeful that Bryan does not become someone else's Dan or Ashley.