What's in a name
Family names that identify one's caste may, indeed, be double-edged swords. As per my wife, family name in India recognizes the person with a caste and in her experience a person with a surname will have a superiority complex. But in my case, I always feel a family name is very important and I always wish I had one. And while one could argue that the influence of the caste system will never wane till we attach family names to our own, it is worth noting that even in the West, the
family name continues to be used in spite of its seeming redundancy.
Perhaps for all the drive towards individualism, nothing terrifies us more than the idea that we are truly individual. To be alone in the world, to have come from nowhere and to leave behind nothing that we can put a name to is a thought of unbearable isolation. We need family names because we need our past, not as a memory but something we live inside of. Our family name creates a little world into which we can snuggle up, however unconsciously. We need family names because otherwise we would be nothing but individuals and that can be very lonely indeed.
The family name becomes in this instance a counterpoint to the first name, and is used more as a mark of identification rather than uniqueness where it is extensively used, especially in military or office. But then again, "Whats there in a name" ?
family name continues to be used in spite of its seeming redundancy.
Perhaps for all the drive towards individualism, nothing terrifies us more than the idea that we are truly individual. To be alone in the world, to have come from nowhere and to leave behind nothing that we can put a name to is a thought of unbearable isolation. We need family names because we need our past, not as a memory but something we live inside of. Our family name creates a little world into which we can snuggle up, however unconsciously. We need family names because otherwise we would be nothing but individuals and that can be very lonely indeed.
The family name becomes in this instance a counterpoint to the first name, and is used more as a mark of identification rather than uniqueness where it is extensively used, especially in military or office. But then again, "Whats there in a name" ?
