Names

 

The Name Game

Shirley!
Shirley, Shirley Bo-beer-ley
Bo-an-an fanna Fo-fer-ley
Fee-fi-mo.-Mer-ley
Shirley!

“What's in a name?That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”…..Or
“Her name was Magil, She called herself Lil, But everyone knew her as Nancy.”

If you look at my user profile, you will see my name is Daniel Beagan. My late father was also Daniel which meant that when I was very young, I was called “Little” Dan while my father was “Big” Dan. This lasted until I was a teenager, and it became obvious that I was going to be taller than my father. At that time while I was living at home, I was called Danny, a diminutive of Daniel, and my father was called Dan. It was not until I left home that I also became Dan. Beagan means “little” in Gaelic. That means when I was very young my name could be translated as Little Dan Little.

Daniel in Hebrew means God’s (-iel) Judge(Dan). Which means that my name translated is Little God’s Judge Little. Grammatically, it could be questioned as to whether the first Little modifies God while the second Little is a modifier of Judge. In order not to not be blasphemous. I prefer to think that little modifies judge in each instance. Which means that my name could be translated as God’s Little Judge. You hear that, Harlan Crow. Where is my bribe? Tens and twenties please!