Tag: names

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The Power of Naming

Fresno Bee, Feb, 23, 2025

If Trump can rename the Gulf of Mexico, why can’t a trans person adopt a new name and pronoun?

Philosophers have long wondered about the nature of names.  Is there any essential way that words connect to the world?  Or are names merely arbitrary conventions made up for personal or political purposes? 

Donald Trump’s magical sharpie directs our attention to this perennial problem.  Trump’s signature on Executive Order 14172 (“Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”), apparently suffices to rename things.  He turned Alaska’s Denali back into Mt. McKinley.  And he imposed a previously unheard-of name, “Gulf of America,” on the waters east of Mexico. 

In response, Mexico has threatened to sue.  And Americans are left wondering.  What is the true name of these things?  And who gets to decide? 

Most philosophers think names are merely conventional, and that there are no “true names.”  But mystics suggest that the true name of a thing provides a direct connection between word and object.  As one of Plato’s characters suggests, a thing’s true name is given by the gods.

A version of the “true name” idea can be found in Trump’s executive order about gender identity, which is named, in part, “Restoring Biological Truth To the Federal Government.”  The Order states that there has been an “ongoing and purposeful attack against the ordinary and longstanding use and understanding of biological and scientific terms.”  It states that “gender ideology” has resulted in “invalidating the true and biological category of ‘woman’.” 

But according to “ordinary and longstanding use and understanding,” the Gulf of Mexico is the name of the body of water in question. If the president can rename it by fiat, why can’t a person adopt a preferred pronoun or gender category in the same manner?

Naming is often about power, privilege and control. A biblical myth says that God gave Adam the power to name things along with dominion over the world. He who bestows names also owns and dominates them.

There is a kind of royal or religious prerogative in naming, christening and dubbing. Elaborate ceremonies are required to establish names and titles, and make subsequent changes. We see this in weddings, christenings and other rituals.

When power shifts, things are often renamed. The renaming is part of the point of acquiring power. The conqueror, after all, has the right to name what he has conquered.

Sometimes names are overtly practical. A “computer” computes and an “automobile” propels itself. A “bicycle” has two wheels, while a “tricycle” has three. Utilitarian and prosaic names function like “true names,” directly expressing the meaning of things.

But naming is often arbitrary and even whimsical. Elon Musk changed “Twitter” to “X,” which is also the name of one of his sons. Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter has (absurdly) proposed renaming Greenland as “Red, White and Blueland.”

Some names have deep significance, as when a child is named after a departed loved one. Others inspire and edify. But other names are silly or insulting (as in the effort to rename Greenland).

Behind the words, of course, is the thing itself. This point was immortalized by Shakespeare, who asked, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet’s love for Romeo is more substantial than their parents’ feud about names, titles and power. Juliet begs Romeo to refuse and deny his family name so that it will no longer be an obstacle to their relationship. Romeo responds by announcing he will be newly baptized under the name of “love.”

This angsty teenage romance reveals something deep and true: Authentic things — love, beauty and self-identity — exist beyond names. Disputes about names are contrived by the powerful to control, dominate and limit. But the names shouldn’t matter as much as the thing itself in all of its raw truth and natural glory.

Plato wondered whether we have direct access to the “real existence” of “things without names.” Perhaps we do. For swimmers in the seas east of Mexico, the name of the gulf they’re in is likely irrelevant. When Juliet and Romeo die in each other’s arms, their loving embrace transcends their family names.

But the history of the world is a struggle for the power of naming. That struggle begs us to consider what is true, what is real and who has the authority to name things.

Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article300673459.html#storylink=cpy

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Changing names in Yosemite

Yosemite Name Debate Not That Novel

Fresno Bee, January 22, 2016

  • Names are powerful, mysterious and constantly changing
  • Yosemite history includes numerous name changes
  • The best names are poetic and inspiring

Names are powerful. They shape the human world. Names are focal points for struggles over money, identity and meaning.

While we might wax nostalgic about Yosemite’s trademarked landmarks and rue the intrusion of capitalism into the Sierra heartland, businesses have been making money in Yosemite for over a century.

Yosemite opened for business under the Curry Company in the 1890s. Camp Curry changed its name to Curry Village in the 1970s. In the 1990s, the Delaware North Company took over. Somewhere along the way, DNC claimed ownership of the names of the hotels, including The Ahwahnee.

Behind that recent history is another story of expropriation and exploitation. The word “Ahwahnee” was the native name for the valley. The native Ahwahnechee people were forcibly removed from the region by the Mariposa Battalion in the 1850s. The Battalion renamed the place “Yosemity.” A member of the Battalion explained that the spelling was changed to make the word look more “scholarly” – but also harder to pronounce.

NAMING AND RENAMING ARE ACTS OF POWER.

Names are powerful and mysterious. We affix them to people and places through elaborate christening ceremonies. We change them for a variety of purposes.

In some cultures, names are thought to connect people and things to spiritual and magical power. Fairy tales such as Rumplestiltskin remind us of the sorcery of names.

Name changes often reflect spiritual transformation. The Bible is full of spiritual name changes: Abram became Abraham, and Simon became Peter. A cardinal adopts a new name when he becomes Pope. And so on.

The spiritual view of names seems old-fashioned. We tend to view names as human conventions. They are created for our convenience and changed according to our interests and desires.

The names of drugs and other products are created by marketing wizards, interested in money instead of magic. Names are changed in order to maximize market share. Bruno Mars, Cher, David Bowie and other celebrities have changed their names for the entertainment market.

Similar market forces are driving the name changes in Yosemite. In our capitalist culture, corporations own names and demand payment for them. We sell naming rights to objects and put corporate logos on things. We no longer connect names with spiritual power; instead we sell them to the highest bidder.

Naming and renaming are acts of power. Names reflect cultural values and structures of dominance. Only the powerful are authorized to name or rename things.

For centuries wives have taken their husbands’ last names. That tells us a lot about the patriarchal structures of family life. But that naming convention is changing. In the era of Caitlyn Jenner’s name and gender change, our assumptions about family and the order of things is in flux.

Names shape our personalities. They color our perception of the world. They reflect changing political reality. And they resonate with meaning.

The best names are poetic. “El Capitan” stirs the spirit. “Bridalveil Fall” fills the imagination. But the name “Half Dome” is frankly a bit disappointing in its prosaic obviousness. If San Francisco were called “Peninsula City,” would that be a place to leave your heart?

THE NATURAL WORLD IS, OF COURSE, INDIFFERENT TO OUR SHIFTING NOMENCLATURE.

Natives called Half Dome “Tis-sa-ack.” That name honors a legendary woman, whose crying profile appears on Half Dome’s face. Most don’t notice her at first. But when you hear her name and story, you suddenly see her weeping face on the cliff, gazing across the valley at her husband. Names open vistas, which are previously unseen.

Last year, Mount McKinley was officially renamed Denali, returning the mountain to its native name. That’s a noble and nostalgic gesture. Perhaps Half Dome should again be called Tis-sa-ack and Ahwahnee should be returned to the natives.

But Ahwahnee is a brand name and the natives have been destroyed. History is turbulent, fluid and often sad. You can’t go home again. Nor can you return to your original name.

The natural world is, of course, indifferent to our shifting nomenclature. Tis-sa-ack will endure long after our names are forgotten. From her perspective, our squabbles must provide another reason to weep.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/article56063955.html#storylink=cpy