What Do Names Suggest?

Before even reading Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon", our class was directed to talk about meanings behind each of our names. "Grace"... what meaning could that have? Everyone at my table had an intricate story behind why their parents chose the name they did and all I had to say was, "I think my parents just liked the name." Although I found the situation kind of funny, I couldn't help but feel a little down about the fact that my name didn't have a meaning. In my eyes, this meant that my name was just a name. Although as I read Morrison's novel, the motif of names was often brought up especially when talking about the naming of streets. It allowed me to think, "what are names and what do they really represent?" When talking about streets, many city legislatures referred to a specific street as "Doctor Street" while many others refereed to "the avenue fronting the lake to the junction of routes 6 and 2 leading to Pennsylvania, and also running parallel to and between Rutherford Avenue and Broadway not as Mains Avenue, but Doctor Street" (Morrison 4). The two different meanings and interpretations behind the street to me meant that one's name can mean more than just one thing. These different perspectives in the book can be compared to your family and friends and how they can each view your name as differently as desired. The night of the in class conversation, I went home and asked my parents what "Grace" meant to them. Although they did just pick my name out appeal before I was born, now my name means more to them but is different ways. My mom said my name to her suggested a "breath of fresh air" as she then explained how I offer her peace. My dad then went on to say that my name suggested "beauty" as he then said that is sums of my personality. Notice how I didn't use the word "means" but rather "suggested". Your name isn't determined by a singular "meaning" at birth, but rather is developed throughout your life as multiple things as you grow into the person you're becoming.