The problem with using your name as a website is it doesn’t allow for total anonymity, nor does it allow for the creation of another piffy website name such as anotherwittypastorwitha.com. It can be perceived as arrogance or self grandeur. Also it does not allow for me to claim to be the ultimate creator of the name of this website. Bare with me, I hopefully will explain it a few short piffy paragraphs.

I believe a name is a small reflection (at least possibly a foreshadowing) of who you are, can be, or could be as a person.

I didn’t choose to be Will Adair! It’s true, my parents named me with out even waiting to ask me what I thought my name should be. The origin of my name is intriguing, well at least to me. My last name was a given since I am my father’s son. My first name almost was going to be John (after a great grandfather) and my middle name was going to be Bennett (a surname of another great grandfather). I was almost John Bennett Adair and I was almost given the nickname J.B. Just trust me, I am not a J.B., I am not a initial kind of person. As you can tell by the beginning of the url my first name is Will. My grandfather Willis (my Mom’s father) looked at me shortly after I was born and called me little Willis. He was a resolute man, when he spoke people listened. He named me after himself and my parents wisely agreed that it would be futile to try and correct grandpa, to call me anything else but Willis was a waste of time. That is how I got my long name of Willis John Bennett Adair, just imagine signing that long name as a kid learning to write.

For most of my life I have gone by Will. For the first part of my life I went by that moniker to distinguish between my grandpa and me. He died when I was nine. In later years, I didn’t feel I had any right to call myself Willis. After my grandpa died I struggled with calling myself by his name. My grandpa Willis was a good and godly man. I knew I simply was not.I still am not half the man he was. I am proud of my name Willis, but for this part of my life I prefer to be called Will. I make a pretty descent Will.

The name is such a powerful thing. It can so easily paint a picture of what something can be. Names are also something that few of us ever get a chance to pick for ourselves. Now of course, we can as adults change our names if we so choose or pretend to be someone else. I suppose Tullalla B. Bignose could change it to Viviyan Fox. Yet the question that comes to my mind is Tullalla or Viviyan or whatever personification she chooses to call herself be what she is not? Isn’t part of her at her core whatever her real name is? A rose by any other name is still a rose is it not?

Part of who we are that is reflected in our current names. I know for myself, I take a great deal of stock in the names I am called. I feel honored to be called “Honey” by my lovely wife. I feel grateful that I am called “Christian” by God’s grace. I feel privileged to be called “Pastor”. I am also not so thrilled to be called “Jerk” and other four letter words when people name me in less than charitable ways.

Do you ever ask yourself how important the names you have been give are to you? Who knows but God the full significance of our names. Scripture tells us that in the life to come we will be given new names. I look forward to that day. Right now, for me I am happy being Will Adair. It’s my name and now it is my not so piffy url. Welcome to willadair.com and welcome to a little slice of who I was, who I am, and who I will be. I couldn’t think of a better url name than the one God planned for me during this earthly sojourn. Leave me a comment and let me know your name and who you are. So what’s your name?