What is in a name?

Published: Sat, 04/18/20

My mother died on the first day of 2020. My sister and I were talking about her at the weekend and we agreed that she had a great sense of timing. Remember when old people just used to die of heart or some other organ failure, pneumonia, maybe even cancer, or as in my mother’s case, a massive stroke from which she didn’t regain consciousness before passing on thirteen days later? The stroke ward which cared for her allowed us pretty much 24 hour access and, between members of the family, friends and her minister she had company for several hours in every day. We can’t know quite what she was aware of but, between the wonderful NHS staff and visitors, my mother received a huge amount of love, care and support during the final 13 days of her life. As far as I can gather the situation would be rather different now, my mother timed it well.

One thing that was slightly awkward was that the name board over my mother’s hospital bed read Kathleen and the staff were expected to address her by her name, so they were calling her Kathleen. Indeed my mother’s full name was Kathleen Joan Butcher. For some reason which I never discovered my mother was always called Joan. It could be a useful filter so, if someone rang up claiming to know my mother well but referred to her as Kathleen they had fallen at the first hurdle. While my mother was preparing for her final journey I had a word with the ward manager and explained that, regardless of the paperwork, the elderly lady they were caring for was in fact Joan and not Kathleen. As you might have hoped the staff were happy to add a note to the paperwork and I was handed a white board pen and invited to change the name as I saw fit. So, for the last few days of her life my mother had her actual name over her bed and was addressed
accordingly. A trivial detail perhaps, but I was happy that my mother was still identified by her name, even when she was beyond speaking up for herself.

Four days before my mother was struck down by the stroke our baby was delivered into the world. There are many responsibilities that go along with parenthood and a not inconsequential decision is giving the child its name. As you may or may not know, I became a father late in life. This does mean that I have had time to think about what it might mean to become a parent. Some of what I am experiencing is pretty much what I would have expected. Some things are quite a surprise. Either way there is an experience of a new kind of love which I could never have imagined in advance. One thing that came to me a long time ago was the idea that if I ever did have a daughter I would like to call her Iduna. I shared this notion with Venetia (my wife and Iduna’s) mother as soon as we knew a baby was on the way. We agreed that we would not be told whether we were having a boy or a girl and this information was successfully withheld from us
even during the ultrasound scans. We also agreed that, if our baby did turn out to be a girl, we would have to see if Iduna actually suited her as a little person. As soon as I saw her I knew it was the right name for her. There was some more debating between Venetia and I but a few weeks later I took a trip into Hull and registered our little girl as ‘Iduna Charlotte Butcher’, Charlotte is her maternal grandmother’s name and it provides an option of adopting a more ‘conventional’ name if our daughter decides that is what she would prefer later. In many decades time it may even cause some confusion as happened to her grandmother.

What is in a name? Are we doing our daughter any favours by giving her an unusual name? Everyone seems to agree that it is a nice sounding name if unfamiliar. Very few people have enough knowledge of Norse Mythology to pick up on the reference. So, it was a great when, on a Zoom planning meeting for this year’s Druid Camp, the response to hearing Iduna’s name was, ‘oh yes, the golden apples’. Iduna is a special name for a very special little girl. When she is older will she want to stand out as an individual? Or will she prefer to blend in with the crowd? I guess that is a choice she will have to make and it is okay either way.

One of the problems people have with Stav and Norse mythology is the unfamiliar names and terminology they have to get to grips with. It is easier for a Scandinavian since a lot of the names and terminology are still in everyday use in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. When the Norwegians named their North sea oil and gas installations they used names from Norse mythology, including Sleipnir, Frigg and Aesgard. For English speakers who are reading the Eddas in translation the names are more of a challenge, but that is the point. It is language and names that provide the basis for our culture, thinking, and identity. If we only work with the names we are familiar with and the terminology other people already know then our cultural references, capacity for thinking and expressing who we are is immediately limited. Discovering names and understanding the terminology which is associated with them gives us the power to expand a culture or
even create a whole new one. Our thinking can only expand if provided with new concepts and a deepened understanding of familiar ones. The names we take on define our identity and once we understand the power of naming our potential as human beings expands too. The Havanal describes the purpose of knowing the runes, stanza 141 describes the benefit in terms of the creative process. ‘Then I began to grow and waxed well in wisdom. One word led me to another, one work led me to another.’

Knowing and giving names gives us the power to be creative in very many ways, which names do you know that few other people do? I don’t just mean mythological names and terminology. A gardener knows the names of plants and trees. A craftsman knows the names of tools and materials. A livestock farmer knows the names of animals. Expand your knowledge of names and you too will ‘grow and wax well in wisdom’.

regards

Graham

PS I am still hoping we will be able to go ahead with the Midsummer Rune Retreat, but I can’t be sure what will be possible. Here is the website as it is and if you might be interested, circumstances permitting, let me know and I will make sure you are kept informed http://rr.stavcamp.org/