Do you know? The origin of your name

Do you all know the origin of your own names? It feels like the kind of thing you get assigned as homework in elementary school to "go find out," so perhaps that's when you might ask your parents about it.

In a TV drama or something, let's say, for example, her name is "Mika." I heard a wonderful anecdote about how Mika's name came from the wish that "she would become a child who smells as beautiful as a flower," and I thought parents always attached special value to their children's names.

With the typical conceit of a child, I naturally believed that since I was special, my name must have a special origin. Like Werther's Original, you know!

So I asked my mother, but she said, "Yeku's name was chosen by your grandfather. You should ask him." Why doesn't my mother remember the origin of her own daughter's name? Is that even possible. Maybe she forgot it in the chaos of childbirth.

Well, that doesn't matter. Anyway, since I couldn't know without asking my grandfather, who lived apart from us at the time, I waited excitedly for the day I could see him.

While I waited, my delusions grew.

Yeku, huh.

Since 'Ye' is probably 'house' (ie), it must be a name with some meaning when combined with 'ku'. Is 'ku'... nine (kyu)? Like, hoping the family prospers for nine generations? Or maybe 'long time' (hisa)? If it were Iehisa, it would be like a name from the Tokugawa Shogunate, but is that okay? But either way, it sounds like the family would prosper.

With that, the day came to visit my grandfather's house.

My grandmother passed away when I was about one year old, so my grandfather lives in an apartment in the countryside. My aunt lives nearby, but he says he prefers living alone.

By the way, I lost both my grandmother and my father when I was about one, but isn't my family connection a bit too thin? This is beyond just being named Iehisa. Well, my mother has lost her husband, her mother, her daughter, and her sister, so maybe it's my mother who has no family ties? Or perhaps my mother's hardships began after she gave birth to me.

Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I barely greeted my grandfather before I asked about the origin of my name. Then, my grandfather smiled, brought a thick book onto the tatami mat in the Japanese-style room, and licked his finger to turn the pages.

"Yeku's name, you see, I found it in this book."
He said.

I thought, Oh, is that all. Making the family prosper or some grand intention like that didn't seem to exist. In fact, it didn't seem like a name he had thought about at all. He had just randomly picked it out of a name dictionary. My inflated expectations deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle.

"Huh. What does it mean?"
I asked, just in case.
"Meaning... I wonder. I forgot."
My grandfather scratched his head and showed a crinkly smile on his wrinkled face.

Well, since there are many grandchildren including me, he probably doesn't remember the origin of each one's name.
I was disappointed and lost interest, but I stared at the naming book my grandfather had shown me. It was indeed written as Yeku, but... to think it had no particular meaning.

So I decided to forget about the naming dictionary and the origin. My name is precious just because it is my name, and it's not that the name has meaning, but that I have meaning. Besides, my great-grandmother had so many children that she was at her wit's end and named them things like "Tome" (Stop) or "Sue" (End) to tell them not to be born anymore. Compared to that, it's much better. Names are just decorations.

So, I tried writing Yeku as if it were my real name. Iehisa... it's not a bad name, sounding like someone who would inherit the family estate.

Well, since you don't name yourself, it can't be helped if you aren't satisfied with your name. There is a saying that flowers should bloom where they are planted.

Those who have a wonderful origin for their name are fortunate, but even if that's not the case, I think it's fine as long as you don't get discouraged and can love yourself along with your name.

Thank you for reading until the end! If you'd like, I'm waiting for your likes, follows, and comments. May good things happen to you! ✨