Names reflect their substance ―― Image Shiritori has begun (#139)

(#138) Magic trick → "Na" → Names reflect their substance

I received a newborn kitten.
I named it Tama, after Sazae-san.

It grew up in a way that made me think, "That's the direction you chose?"

"Names reflect their substance" is a proverb meaning that the name given to a person or thing accurately represents its nature or reality, and that the name and the reality correspond to each other.

Regarding the names of objects, there are many cases where names are given in consideration of the characteristics of what is already there; in other words, since the "reality" comes first, it is, so to speak, only natural that "names reflect their substance."

However, for things where the future is unknown, such as a child's name, whether it will become "Names reflect their substance" or whether it will become "living down to one's name" (*1) " is truly something only God knows (￣∀￣).

However, regarding this "naming," there are research results that go one step further than "names reflect their substance," suggesting that one can "steer names to reflect their substance".

Research by David Figlio at Northwestern University in the United States concludes that "names have a significant impact on a child's life."
Of course, it's not as simple as saying that if you name someone "Millionaire" they will become a millionaire^m^, but it suggests that certain tendencies can be seen in the sound and meaning of a name.

In Figlio's research, female students with names socially recognized as "feminine," such as "Isabella" or "Kate," are less likely to pursue science and mathematics than female students with names like "Taylor" or "Madison," and
even among students from the same background, students with names associated with "low status" do not perform as well as students with names associated with "high status" (*2) …(・_・)

Hmm....
It's a somewhat unsettling research result, and I, being a skeptical person (￣∀￣), feel a bit like resisting and asking, "Is that really true? Could it be a far-fetched conclusion based on a small sample size?"

However, although the specific number is not stated, it was sampled from "a whole lot of (*3)" (lol) birth certificates, and well, since it is a paper published in a proper scientific journal, they wouldn't write anything too sloppy, so I reluctantly accept it (￣～￣)💦

However, what I found interesting among all this is that the research states that people have a tendency to "like things that resemble themselves," and as one example, it mentions the tendency to like the spelling of one's own name, especially the first letter (*´∇｀*)♪

And as examples derived from that:

Dennis (Denis) is more likely to become a Dentist (Dentist) than a dermatologist,
Lawrence (Lawrence) is more likely to become a Lawyer (Lawyer),
and Raymond (Ramond) is more likely to become a Radiologist (Radiologist)^m^

......No, well, that might be true, but that conclusion seems no different to me than Razor Ramon RG's "I want to say the common occurrence quickly"......I wonder if I'll get scolded if I say that (^^ゞ💦

Well, setting RG aside, on a serious note, perhaps what is convincing about the influence of names is that the image a name carries is not absolute, but it is certainly not zero.

A girl named "Sophia" was named so because of her parents' wish for her to "be wise," and at the very least, her parents will likely raise her with the hope that she becomes that way, and Sophia herself will likely have a tendency to naturally gravitate toward behaviors and ways of thinking that align with that.

Furthermore, the more the people around her—as environmental factors—and their words and actions nudge her in that direction, even if only slightly, the more Sophia will likely draw closer to the "desired Sophia."

That said, it's a bit much to expect Tama to become a "balltama"^m^
For starters, I haven't the slightest wish to "become a ball" myself(￣o￣)

Come to think of it, I wonder how popular the name "Tama" is for cats these days?(・_・)?

I was curious, so I looked it up.
It seems that Anicom Insurance, which has the largest share of pet insurance, creates a ranking of names every year for newly insured 0-year-old cats(ФωФ)♪. Now, let's see how our Tama ranks—

……Hmm, it's not in the overall top ten(￣～￣)💦
No, no, there's still the gender-based ranking👆

……Ugh…. No Tama for the boy cats(￣o￣)
No, no, surely Tama is a name for a female cat(*4)👆

…………(・_・)
I feel like I came to see the university entrance exam results and saw that my cherry blossoms had scattered beautifully(*´Д｀)

By the way, the ranking page published by this company didn't list names or rankings below the top 10, so in the end, I never found out the specific ranking for Tama(*´Д｀)

So, I searched for "cat name ranking tama" and found a few hits:
2015: 41st place (Source unknown)
2014: 26th place (Survey by Recruiting Studio)
2008: 18th place (Survey by Anicom Insurance)

……This might not be the whole story, but it shows a trend where "Tama" is steadily decreasing. Well, rather than saying "Tama" is decreasing, one could also view it as the number of options other than "Tama" increasing^m^

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Now, it is clearer than day that a person's name is imbued with the wishes of the person who named them.

Finally, I would like to look at a few samples from the Japanese version.

Also, since it would be dull to just list them mechanically, I would like to emulate that moving scene from the final episode of the nostalgic "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei Season 6," where Kinpachi-sensei calls out the name of each student written on the blackboard and tells them about the episodes related to the kanji in their names and the wishes their parents likely imbued them with.

First up,
Kyuji FujikawaKyuji Fujikawa.
――Yes!

「Your name, the 'kyu' in Kyuji, is the 'ball' of baseball. Your father achieved a no-hitter in a sandlot baseball game the day before you were born, and he was so happy about it that he named you 'Kyuji' (Ball Boy).

Don't think, 'He shouldn't have been playing sandlot baseball so carefree when his wife was in her final month of pregnancy.' That is how much your father loved baseball. I hope you, too, will become a young man as straight as the 'fireball' fastball your father threw when he achieved that no-hitter. Congratulations on your graduation.」

Next is――
Torai FushimiTorai Fushimi.
――Yes!

「Your father was a rugby player who had even participated in national tournaments. With the spirit of rugby, 'One for All, All for One'—one for all, and all for one—he named you 'Torai' (Try) with the wish that no matter what group you are in, you will become a person who can bring that group together, and that you will face everything head-on and 'try' without losing to anything.」

You were always the mood maker of the class, keeping your voice bright and cheerful. I truly appreciate that about you.

You will likely return to your home in Hokkaido next year, but even in your new environment, please continue to bring the class together with your inherent brightness and the spirit of 'One for All, All for One'.

By the way, I'm revealing this for the first time now, but I am actually your senior from junior high school (o^-')b♪
In that sense, I have high expectations for you. Congratulations on your graduation.

Next is—
Louis OkoyeLouis Okoye.—Yes, Sir!

“No, you were born and raised in Higashimurayama, you're a full-blooded Japanese person, right? That's the kind of thing I'm talking about💢

Well, never mind.
Your father is a Nigerian who loves soccer. Perhaps because of that, I really wanted you to become a soccer player. So, I named you 'Rui' with the wish that you would become a soccer player like Ramos Ruy.

However, in English, it is spelled 'Louis'. Like 'Louis' from Louis Vuitton. Don't you go getting all flashy. Congratulations on your graduation.”

The last one is—
Kenshi SugiyaKenshi Sugiya.

—Yes!!

“...No, your voice is too loud💦
Your father is Mitsuru Sugiya. He is a former featherweight boxing champion. And your uncle is Minoru Sugiya. He is also a former junior welterweight champion. Your father named you 'Kenshi' because he wanted you to become a boxer too.

You were a student whose admission was granted by Principal Yoshimura's mysterious, sudden decision, saying, 'Because it sounds interesting'.

You couldn't keep up with the level of the classes, and your grades were always on the verge of failing. But you were always worrying about the students taking remedial classes with you more than yourself, and I always thought,
“You're not in a position to be worrying about others.”

But you were always bright, energetic, and above all, you gave it your all. Even though your grades were always at the bottom, I love that you always studied with all your might. I will never forget how you took on the role of the class clown for the sake of the class.

Come to think of it, you were always being teased by Suzuki from the broadcasting club after school (lol). Those are very good memories.

Congratulations on your graduation, truly!”

“Teacher—”
“Hmm? What is it?”

“Only Fujikawa-kun is following the career path his parents hoped for.”

......(・_・)

Well... that's just how life is👆

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Well then, today's song. The keyword is definitely "name," isn't it?
The third song of the week, King & Prince with "Namae Oshiete"

King & Prince, who could be called the legacy of Johnny Kitagawa, having three members leave unexpectedly... (*´Д｀)

They are a rare young group that, from the very beginning, had the attitude of thinking about everything together, from concerts to MV shoots, and producing it under their own responsibility, whether it turned out good or bad (*´∇｀*)♪ I wonder how they will grow from here on out (*´∇｀*)♪

...and because it was a group I was looking forward to, it is extremely disappointing (T＿T)

This "Namae Oshiete" is the lead track from their 3rd album "Re:Sense".
It was produced by Babyface, wasn't it? ♪(≧▽≦)♪

No wonder it's so cool (*´∇｀*)♪

Oops, it's already this late tonight.
Is it finally time for the first snow... The life cycle of waking up at 4 AM has arrived (￣o￣)

With that said,
tomorrow, it might be nice if as many people as possible
could take some time to occasionally recall the meaning of the precious names they were each given (o^-')b♪

■ Bonus

This is the car before the current image shiritori train (138th car). If anyone felt curious about the title "Magic" and the joke image on the bottom right, please take a look when you have some time to spare.

■ References/Sources