Finding the perfect name for a baby these days is a nerve-wracking experience on its own.

Parents face societal pressures to stay politically correct. Some want to hold on to familial allegiance, naming their son or daughter after a beloved grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, etc.

Names have always played an important role in cultures throughout the world. For example, in a ceremony called bris, literally meaning covenant, 8-day-old baby boys are circumcised and given a name, borrowing from the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 17:10.

Jesus himself, being a Jew, had to undergo this process as well. Naming your child was not something you took out from the baby book, which sounded cute. The name had to mean something. Your name was significant.

But in our society today, not everybody thinks highly of his or her name. Many people go through life feeling a sense of shame about their names. Some family members are sworn to secrecy never to decode the TD, KT or CJ in their relatives’ names. Many of these people are suffering in silence, handicapped by the burden of their names.

Some people have used those abbreviations as corporate prestige, but there is much pain infused inside of those cocoons of shame.

I recall as a student journalist meeting the new chancellor for the University of New York, W. Ann Reynolds, for the first time at a press conference. She was introducing herself to the many editors and reporters from the various campuses of the university.

“Madam Chancellor, what does the W in your name mean?” I asked. By now, you could hear a pin drop. She gulped, sighed, and stared at me in a way that seemed to say, “Why did you have to go there?” A few more gulps later, and she offered, “…It stands for Winetga.” Even with all of that prestige, the woman was uncomfortable with her name.

What is your name saying about you today? Have you lived up to it? Has it opened doors or closed doors for you? Are you a Zipporah or Shequonda wishing to be a Camille? Are you Nethaniah or Aloysius longing to become a Brent? You can do something about your name and how you feel about it.

Is there an etymology linked to your name? If none can be found, don’t be discouraged. Remember that human beings were the ones who wrote all those glowing words for names like Victoria, James, Cynthia or Michael, say 700 years ago.

So why don’t you write yourself a glowing tribute of what your name means for all the world to see? Write one denoting an expectant future, teeming with all the wonderful things this world has to offer.

When you accept your name, people will have no choice but to fall in line and accept it, whether they like it or not. And the more you accept you for you, the more they will give you the respect due. Those who hear it for the first time perhaps will giggle, but over time, it will be accepted.

Think for a minute what the Oprah Winfreys, Condoleezza Rices, Meadowlark Lemons or Barack Obamas had to go through in middle school. People with last names like Hogg, Roach, Mosquito, etc., have had to cultivate a lot of confidence in order to stay focused, but today most of them are stronger as a result of their names.

Make sure you go out of your way to call people’s names properly. Show the utmost respect when calling their names. Elevate your name to prime-time status. The good thing is that you don’t always have to change your name in order to feel like somebody. Just change how you feel about your name. Let it turn heads and command respect for you today.