A Rose by Any Other Name

Do you look at the posts about names on this site and ever ask yourself, what is the big hullabaloo about names? It’s not like there are a lot of people changing their names out there. Right?

Well, the truth is, there are a lot more name changes going on than you realize. I think it’s a bit like buying a new Mini-Cooper and feeling so unique until you start passing one after another out on the road. Name changes are like this. I thought I was so strange when I decided to change my first name. I thought I would be the laughing stock of my friends, family, community, work, etc. It took a lot of courage for me to take the leap, but once I did, I was surprised to learn about so many other people who had changed their names. People I never suspected!

Popular Name	Birth Name
Jon Stewart	Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz
Elton John	Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Barack Obama	“Barry” Barack Obama
Maya Angelou	Marguerite Ann Johnson
Gene Wilder	Jerome (Jerry) Silberman
Sugar Ray Robinson	Walker Smith
Gerald Ford	Leslie Lynch King Jr
Whoopi Goldberg	Caryn Elaine Johnson
Bono	Paul David Hewson
John Wayne	Marion Robert Morrison
Sigourney Weaver	Susan Alexandra Weaver
Freddie Mercury	Farrokh Bulsara
Tori Amos	Myra Ellen Amos
Elle MacPherson	Eleanor Gow
Alice Cooper	Vincent Damon Furnier
Elvis Costello	Declan Patrick McManus
Michael Crawford	Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith
Bing Crosby	Harry Lillis Crosby
Barry Manilow	Barry Alan Pincus
Meat Loaf	Marvin Lee Aday
Queen Latifah	Dana Owens
Gene Simmons	Chaim Witz, and later Eugene Klein
Sting	Gordon Matthew Sumner
Tina Turner	Anna Mae Bullock
Shania Twain	Eileen Regina Edwards
Stevie Wonder	Stevland Judkins
Billie Holiday	Eleanora Fagan
Babe Ruth	George Herman Ruth
Spiro Agnew	Spiro Theodore Anagnostopoulos
Malcolm X	Malcolm Little
Joseph Stalin	Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvilli
Mark Twain	Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Frank Lloyd Wright	Frank Lincoln Wright
George Eliot	Mary Ann (or Marion) Evans

Name changes are woven throughout the fabric of our nation as well. For example, getting a name right is crucial—even for fictional characters. Margaret Mitchell in writing the book, Gone with the Wind originally named the heroine Pansy. At the editor’s request, the author spent months going through names for the feisty main character—everything from Nancy, Peggy, and even Margaret, before finally settling on Scarlett. Getting Scarlett’s name right was an important first step for one of the most successful novels in history.

The thing is, you may not realize how prevalent name changes really are, because you may not realize how many people have changed their name. The table at left demonstrates the pervasive nature of name changes in our culture. In the course of my research, I’ve talked with people around the country about their names and also conducted an online survey. One respondent indicated that she never liked her name, but she didn’t feel comfortable changing it. So she chose instead to give her daughter a name she would have liked for herself. Maybe parents are searching for something more than a unique name for their baby; maybe they’re looking for something unique within themselves as well.

I was in the check-out line at Macy’s recently when three nearby women (all of a similar age) noticed they had the same name, Rosemary. They talked about nicknames, spelling, and their frustrations about the name. I was left thinking about the name Rose. It reminded me of the words of Shakespeare. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The name Rose hit a peak in popularity in 1960 and has plummeted since then, leaving women with that name anchored to a certain age and image.

Why couldn’t a rose change her name? It worked for Eileen Edwards who changed her name to Shania Twain. It worked for Leslie Lynch King, Jr., who as a young adult changed his name to Gerald Ford (yes, the US. President).

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot.