I confessed my sin one time on the Morning show of Mo Twister and Sam Oh. Their topic of discussion was about that hint of regret in naming a child. It’s a tricky task that has a lifetime of ramifications. Mo named his youngest daughter ”Amsterdam”, I told him I thought it was a Coldplay reference. He denied it, no, he added a few more layers onto the name preference; From the movie “Gangs of New York and the city of Nether. All the signs that led to the name outside of his devotion to the band. I named my kid Vedder, a big sign in devotion to the band Pearl Jam and its chief writer Eddie Vedder.
About three years ago I was excitedly listing down possible names for my son. He was to be born by as early as December 21 and no later than January 6. Names are challenging because I want it to embody a certain personality and uniqueness that belongs to the one who owns it. I also want to minimize the odds of my kids having a ‘hit’ when applying for NBI clearance.
Zephyr Thierri, my eldest, was supposed to be named Violet Thierri but both grandmothers opposed to Violet vehemently for reasons they never really disclosed. They just shook their head and never raised any form of approval. We settled for Zephyr, which I thought was some variation Seraphim or some cherubic origin. I wanted to name her Zephyra Thierri Aguilar which had 7 letters each, but in a moment of some mini-mental breakdown, I took the ‘A’ out.
Yes, Vedder Elis was named after the Pearl Jam singer, albeit, in full inspiration. Elis was added to give it additional character. Elis was initially ‘Elias’, a Noli Me Tangere character believed to be inspired by Andres Bonifacio because he has the impulse and other alternate qualities of the main protagonist that mirrored Rizal. A symbol of how open I can be if he choose to become someone totally different from who I am and who I aspire him to be.
To someone exposed to American culture, it may seem like I named my son with American surnames. Naming Pinoy kids with American surnames is not new, at least not exclusive with my case. There’s a girl named Morissette getting noticed in the Pinoy pop scene. I think she was a lovechild out of the Alanis craze along with the Bret, the Shawns, the Thalias, and Marimars that were born during the 90s.
But what was I thinking then to owe such fandom the name of my son? Will my son spend much searching for meaning as I did after getting the usual reaction when hearing my second name, Aubrey: the David Gates song and the starlet with great skin and body.
Parents can be so unoriginal even in deliberate attempts to do the opposite. Maybe we should embrace that we are all derivatives and all original thought are but influenced conceptions. I apologize to my son for giving him that name. I just thought at that moment when I saw Vedder, my son, he was given to fly…
danDAman 