What's In a Name?

People often ask me about my name. Senai is not my birth name. I changed it to Senai when I was in college. I am a child of the late 60's and we were all seeking our afrocentric identity. No one wanted a "slave" name. I did not get on the bandwagon until I began dating a man from Ethiopia. We were in love, or so I thought, so I allowed him to choose a name for me. He said a word and told me the meaning but he was not sure how it was spelled so I created the spelling based on what it sounded like he was saying. His native language is Tegrinia (sp?). Our relationship lasted another year but I loved my new name so I formalized it and kept it. It is a part of me. I would have made it my first name but I was named after my Aunt Jenny (Virginia) and she was not too happy about this name change business...so I compromised and made Senai my middle name. I love my aunt.

What does Senai mean? According to my Ethiopian friend it means peaceful, beautiful, and blessed. Over the years I have been reluctant to share the entire meaning of the name because I did not always feel that way. I now realize that it was an excellent choice for me. It is just that back then I did not see myself the way he and others saw me.

I think names that have meaning attached to them and if that meaning is known it helps shape the person. To some extent, I see that has happened in the names that I have given my children. Maybe it is how I raised them I don't know but they do seem to exemplify their name.

Tomorrow I will share my experience with the flawed legal system.