“What’s in a
name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell
so sweet?
Is Shakespeare,
in his play Romeo and Juliet, trying to tell us that names
don’t have great importance? You would still be You even if you
had a different name.
However,
each of us has a name and this name is important
to us. There are so many different names. Each country has
their favourites. If you were born in France you might find
they named you Juliette or Etienne. In Spain you could be
a Pablo, or an Angelita.
Sometimes
we “borrow” names from other countries because we like the sound
of them. Recently many English names are “popping up” all over
the world.
It could
be fun trying to translate the students’ names into English.
Girls’ names
Boys’ names
Elena……..Helen
Marco……..Mark
Elisabetta…Elizabeth
Matteo……..Matthew
Diana……..Diane
Giacomo…..James
Liliana…….Lillian
Daniele……Daniel
Cristina……Christine
Giuseppe…..Joseph
Lucia ……..Lucy
Paolo……….Paul
Grazia……..Grace Antonio……Anthony
Marta……..Martha Luca……….Luke
Sara……….Sarah Lorenzo……Lawrence
If their
name is more complicated, they can try finding the translation
using Internet.
You can
also try this activity with your students: Write your name
vertically on the blackboard and then write an adjective next to
each letter.
Ex. E……energetic
L……lively
A……artistic
I…….innovative
N……nonconformist
E……exuberant
Now, have
the students do the same with their names. To do this, they must
definitely have a dictionary on hand. Tell them to find
adjectives that can describe themselves and their character.
I would have them post these “name adjectives” on the
bulletin board for all to see.
According
to a recent poll these are the most popular names in the
USA.
Boys’ names
Girls’ names
Jacob Isabella
Ethan Sophia
Michael Emma
Jayden Olivia
William Ava
A
Nice Thought:
“A
name pronounced is recognition of an individual to whom it
belongs.”
Henry
David Thoreau