The Significance of a Name

Everyone around the world starts their life with a name whether by their parents or known siblings. Names are used to identify a person without knowing their personality or their gender. People need a name to “have their dignity and recognize from others. When they start to introduce or answering a call they mention their name.”(Moradpour, Khodamorad. Interview). Some names can be described as really long or hard to say in the first try. My name, in general, can relate to that because it is hard to spell. Even Though my name sometimes can be hard to deal with, it has a huge history behind it. My parent chooses the name Khashayar because it was one of the kings of Persia during the 5th century B.C. “Khashayar(Xerxes) was the grandchild of Cyrus the Great.he was the fourth king of Achaemenid dynasty of Persia(Interview. By Shirin Khosraviani) During his kingdom period, he built a lot of historical palace in Iran. He is described as the symbol of justice and fairness. Khashayar means brave and strong person. In my life, however, it is counted as a very long name with hard pronunciation. When coming to united states, everyone had a very hard time saying my name. Due to that case, I changed the way of my name has been pronounced. Instead of Khashayar, I went with something more simpler like Kashier which was named by my friend in middle school. During freshman year in high school, people used to make fun of me just because my name had great similarity as a cashier. My name sometimes benefited me with the great background and sometimes didn’t due to the way it is said. Although Americans are often confused to pronounce my name, I still like my name because it was named after a king, and it is a very unique name in America.

As one of the greatest thing that is behind my name is its history, the name Khashayar was a king's name involving with the most significant of Iran's history. Xerxes was destined to Darius I and Atossa (little girl of Cyrus the Great). Darius and Atossa were both Achaemenids as they were the two relatives of Achaemenes. While Darius was getting ready for another war against Greece, a revolt impelled in Egypt in 486 BC because of overwhelming duties and the extradition of specialists to construct the regal royal residences at Susa and Persepolis. Under Persian law, the lord was required to pick a successor before setting out on perilous undertakings. Exactly when Darius chose to leave, He orchestrated his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam (five kilometers from his magnificent imperial living arrangement at Persepolis) and appointed Xerxes, his oldest child by Atossa, as his successor. Be that as it may, Darius couldn't lead the crusade because of his fizzling wellbeing and kicked the bucket in October 486 BC at 64 years old. Artobazan guaranteed the crown as the oldest of the considerable number of youngsters; while Xerxes, then again, encouraged that he was sprung from Atossa, the little girl of Cyrus and that it was Cyrus who had won the Persians their flexibility. Xerxes was likewise helped by a Spartan lord in a state of banishment who was available in Persia at the time, Eurypontid ruler Demaratus, who contended that the oldest child does not generally mean they have guaranteed to the crown, as Spartan law expresses that the main child conceived while the dad is the best is the beneficiary to the majesty. Some cutting-edge researchers additionally see the strange choice of Darius to give the honored position to Xerxes to be an aftereffect of his thought of the extraordinary positions that Cyrus the Great and his little girl Atossa delighted in. Artobazan was destined to "Darius the subject", while Xerxes was the oldest child conceived e after Darius' ascent to the position of royalty, and Artobazan's mom was a usual everyday person. Xerxes was delegated and succeeded his dad in October– December 486 BC when he was around 36 years of age. The change of capacity to Xerxes was smooth due again to a limited extent to the colossal expert of Atossa and his promotion of imperial power was not tested by any individual at court or in the Achaemenid family, or any subject country. Quickly, Xerxes pummeled revolts in Egypt and Babylon that had broken out the earlier year and chose his kin Achaemenes as satrap over Egypt. In 484 BC, he insulted the Babylonians by fiercely reallocating and softening down the brilliant statue of Bel (Marduk, Merodach), the hands of which the legitimate lord of Babylon needed to catch each New Year's Day. This blasphemy drove the Babylonians to revolt in 484 BC and 482 BC, so that in contemporary Babylonian archives, Xerxes denied his dad's title of King of Babylon, being named rather as King of Persia and Media, Great King, King of Kings (Shahanshah) and King of Nations. This, moreover, implies that my name has been through a lot of history that changes the way I think about my name.

When I went to school, the history behind my name couldn’t help my reputation among people. Before we come to united states, my parents had no idea that I might come to a different country with a name that would be hard to pronounce. They named me Khashayar due to the fact that it is one of the most respectable names in Iran. During middle school, I was always made fun of due to my name. Even Though I had made some friends, when I came up to them, I was the center of making fun of. As I saw people struggling to say my name I changed it to an easier tone which was Kashier. After changing the way my name has been said I had less struggle to tell people my name. My teachers started to call me “cash money” which became my nickname in middle school. When coming to high school, however, it has benefited me to become more popular. During freshman year since people heard my name, they started to act more friendly. Since people don't make fun of me anymore my life has become way better.

When I think about my name I think about a long name. In my parents' vision, however, it is way different. In my family, they think of my name as an identification of a successful person. During an interview that I’ve had with my mother about my name, she has said that “your father's cousin”((Interview. By Shirin Khosraviani)) has the same name as me. My father's cousin is a very successful person and well known around relatives. Into that note my parents expect me to turn into one as well. He has known to have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. As it comes to being social, he is known to be the best at it.with his realistic optimism. He thinks of himself that no matter what the result may be, he believes that his success is inevitable. He believes like a child learning to walk, it needs to take action first and then modify the action according to the feedback that they get. He is a very positive person and if things don’t go his way he becomes more persevere and resilient. With all these characteristics that my parents expect me to have, I have none of them. In the article “Power Of The Name” by Michael Ryan explains that name can have a huge effect on knowing the person based on the way it sounds. He proved his explanation by doing an experiment about how people react by describing a person by knowing only sex and names. It shows that a name can lead to a person's future. By showing the significance of names can express the feeling that when choosing a person's name, it can have huge consequences in the future. By Michael Ryan showing that “people with such misspelled names will be, unlikable, and unintelligent”(Power of Names 1) clarifies that misspelled names can change people's thinking into knowing the person as the stereotypes. Even Though some of the information the author said is true, names don’t fully identify person future. Names are only described as an identification and personality can have a huge impact on a person's life. During the interview that I had with my brother, he answered that people only need a name in order to “have their dignity and recognize from others. When they start to introduce or answering a call they mention their name”which shows that names are nothing other than for identifying.

As a similarity to my name, some people get their names from a respectable person with a great background history. In some cases, however, names can come up from known relatives. In Sandra Cisneros “My Name” short story, she expresses herself with not having a satisfaction with having a name, Esperanza. She explains that her dissatisfaction comes from having the same name as her great-grandmother. Before her great-grandmother has died, she used to be a very energetic woman. As the days passed on, she was limited to things she wanted which led to depression. She always hated her name and always wanted to change. The reason that she hated her name was due to her long and confusing name. with her name having a different meaning in two different language (English, and Spanish)and her name overall she has been affected in her day to day life. Being in America, she had a problem with people saying her name. Her name was being said in a thick voice which later on made fun of due to that name. she expresses herself with not having a satisfaction with having a name, Esperanza. As the days passed on, she was limited and being forced into having a family and gave up her dream. The other reason that she hated her name was due to her long and confusing name. with her name having a different meaning in two different language (English, and Spanish)and her name overall she has been affected in her day to day life.

Even if people with a long name can be accepted by an individual, it still might have an effect in the long run. In Kendra Hamilton's Article, he is trying to address the credibility of getting employed between the types of names. As he explains in His article (What’s in a name), he shows that the percentage of employment based on a black or white name. In his experiments, he argued that names that involved with usual blacks were the least amount to get employed from whites. He explains that “‘white sounding’ names-like Jay, Brad, Carrie, and Kristen-were .50 percent more likely than those with ‘Black-sounding’ names to receive a call back”(#1.Hamilton) which by proving his point he shows “black sounding names have less chance of employment. The lesser chance the employment gets, it could lead the people with a “black-sounding” name into less successful life in the future. As a whole, this article explains that names can have huge consequences in life which I could agree upon on. When communication takes place in the long distance, the thing that people judge upon on is names.

In the article by R. R. S. Steward, she explains that whether it is good to keep the name after getting Married or not. Even Though personal decisions can have a huge effect, thinking of being accepted in society can find its way through it. She explains that “...society has still convinced women it is a nuisance to keep their own last names after marriage”(#1. Steward) that shows that society can society can make people into thinking differently. By the way that she explains it in the context, she says that to put less care into thinking about the behavior of society after the outcome and”...consider whether you really want to change your name”(#1 by Steward).

After all the thing being said, I'm still not embarrassed and even proud to have a name with a great cultural background. I like my name because it is defined as my identity. I introduced my self with this name in my whole life. I really grateful that my parent chose this name for me.