To stand by your birth name or not? One of the most important questions expecting parents have to  answer is what to name their child. Is there really power in a name? Corporations of all sizes pay for the right to protect their namesake. Thousands of people legally change their name every year.

President Barack Hussein Obama has the most powerful job in the United States. You could probably count the number of people on one hand and still have fingers left who would have believed he would become the 44th. Even First Lady Michelle questioned who would name their child Barack. The fact that he made history is why the world will never forget his name.

The woman who said then Senator Obama was “the one” has a unique misspelled biblical first name. Oprah is a phenomenal person with a calling to empower humankind. Many colored girls her birth age were named Mae. You know of whom I speak without stating her last name. I’m glad she just said no to the news director who asked Oprah to change it to Susie.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger terminated his agent’s advice to change his surname. The majority of people definitely can not spell nor pronounce it. Does the world know his agent’s name? This gives a bigger meaning to standing out among the crowd. 

Are hyphenated last names just another chore for women’s already hectic life? There usually is not enough space for all that name. How annoying is this freedom of choice? Imagine saying and writing Maria Shriver-Schwarzenegger. I’m rolling my eyes at myself.

Career advancement is the reason for some name changes. Would linen feel as luxurious and clothes as classy by Ralph Lifshitz or Ralph Lauren? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was Michael until a death bed request from his grandfather for Martin. It gives me chills to think a black man living during America’s ugly racist times knew his grandson was destined to be a king for all people. By the way, what is your name?