SiTU
MEMO 25
“NOMEN
EST OMEN”.
This
Roman saying means as much as “you name is your destiny, maybe even
your doom”. In centuries past first names were chosen with care. It
was a mark, which would never leave the new-born. The chosen name
would be presented to the gods in a baptising ceremony. Your name is
definitively written down in de book of life.
Choosing
a name was a matter of politics. You followed the ruler or the
fashion of that time-frame.
In
the Netherlands first names have mainly two roots. First the pagan
and local names and secondly the holy names of the Roman-Catholic
church. My first name stems from that tradition. It has shrunken in
time, but the roots are clear. My first name means as much as
“dedicated, devoted to God”. Many saints and holy men carried
this name, so did popes and emperors. Traditionally this name was
given to the boy, destined to join a monastery and lead a pious life.
You can find my name in the Bible, making it thousands of years old
and one of the most common names in the Western hemisphere.
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