What's in a Name?
I have a friend named Sonya Faye. Her name means "dreams with faith." Or at least that's what she decided it means. See, "Sonya" is actually a Russian form of "Sophia," which means "wisdom." That sounds good to me, but Sonya wanted more out of her name, and she found it one day as she was learning Spanish as a student missionary in Honduras. In Spanish, the verb "soñar" (pronounced "son-YAR") means "to dream." So Sonya decided that sounded close enough to her name, and adopted "to dream" as her new official name definition. (And of course "Faye" really does mean "faith.")
That's a great story, isn't it? But actually, that's how I remembered it, but not how it really happened. In Sonya's own words from the comments below:
Umm. Actually my mom always wanted a girl and the sonogram said I was a boy. When I came out a girl I was my mom's dream come true. Since they spoke Portuguese and the word dream is sonhar, pronounced sonyhar, my mom named me after her dream coming true :) Other than that the story is accurate.
Whatever. So anyway, we were talking about this the other day for some reason, and I was lamenting that I once was ignorantly content with the definition of my name until I took a semester of Greek. Before that, I just figured all the cute little name cards were accurate: "lovely" or "womanly." When I took Greek, I realized that it came from the word Ἀνδρῶν ("androne") which means "man." So technically, my name is just the feminine form of "man," which is ironic, because you would think that would be "woman," but that is an entirely different word in Greek. (Incidentally, the only sentence I know in Greek is "Sophe hey gunay," or "The woman is wise.")
Not long after our conversation, I discovered a new definition on a name website: "courageous." I like it. I'm adopting it. This is what I want to be known for and what I want to give to others. At least while I'm on earth, anyway.
That's a great story, isn't it? But actually, that's how I remembered it, but not how it really happened. In Sonya's own words from the comments below:
Umm. Actually my mom always wanted a girl and the sonogram said I was a boy. When I came out a girl I was my mom's dream come true. Since they spoke Portuguese and the word dream is sonhar, pronounced sonyhar, my mom named me after her dream coming true :) Other than that the story is accurate.
Whatever. So anyway, we were talking about this the other day for some reason, and I was lamenting that I once was ignorantly content with the definition of my name until I took a semester of Greek. Before that, I just figured all the cute little name cards were accurate: "lovely" or "womanly." When I took Greek, I realized that it came from the word Ἀνδρῶν ("androne") which means "man." So technically, my name is just the feminine form of "man," which is ironic, because you would think that would be "woman," but that is an entirely different word in Greek. (Incidentally, the only sentence I know in Greek is "Sophe hey gunay," or "The woman is wise.")
Not long after our conversation, I discovered a new definition on a name website: "courageous." I like it. I'm adopting it. This is what I want to be known for and what I want to give to others. At least while I'm on earth, anyway.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I
will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Rev.2:17 (NIV)
Umm. Actually my mom always wanted a girl and the sonogram said I was a boy. When I came out a girl I was my mom's dream come true. Since they spoke Portuguese and the word dream is sonhar, pronounced sonyhar, my mom named me after her dream coming true :) Other than that the story is accurate.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think courage fits you better than man.
Details...
DeleteTake courage...
Delete