Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
The first thing man did after his creation was to engage in a huge effort of creativity. Imagine having to name every living thing, from emus to elephants. Today we tend to be rather flippant with names, and forget that names had meaning that could reveal deep insights into a person. When you look at the people in the Bible and see what their names mean, you often know instantly whether this is a "good guy" or a "bad guy." His name in itself was sometimes enough to shape a person's life.
In my family, there a tradition for naming the first son after the grandfathers' middle names. Luckily for me, my parents broke with that tradition, or I've be Alvin Truman Miller. However, I've often considered whether I will eventually restart that tradition, if my future wife is agreeable; Curtis isn't a half bad name for a kid. However, what would I name a daughter? Or my second son? I hope that when that time comes, I would remember how important a name can be.
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