I've been musing over the possible signifigance of changing ones name.

I had a friend whose name was Donna and she was known as Dee Dee. She wanted to change her name to Sunshine and tried it for a while but she found it didn't suit her when she wasn't feeling bright and happy - like it was an onerous task to live up to the name Sunshine.

Do you think that changing ones name to something spiritual or particularly meaningful to oneself could help one shift old emotional patterns or help in moving forwards along a desired path in life?

Perhaps names have a particular resonance or energy attached to them which we instinctively like or dislike.

What is the signifigance of a spiritual name - what is a spiritual name compared to any other name.

I'm hoping Prana and Geo might both offer something here and anyone else who is interested of course

I have to say I like my name very much and always have done; it is Philippa by the way

Philippa is a lovely name .

I was given a spiritual name when I graduated a yoga teacher training course but I doubt I'll ever use it, I didn't choose it after all and frankly it's meaningless to me. It was chosen to reflect what the teachers had gleaned of my personality over 4 weeks so it touches on some aspects of my personality but only very lightly, it doesn't feel personal or significant to me at all.

The names I chose myself for our family do though. I use them happily.

Aren't most names spiritual names?

In our faith, both the first and middle names should be spiritual, either tied to Christian idioms, or pagan ones. My first name is Tamara, from the Hebrew, Tamar: palm tree. My middle name is Nadia; accented on the second syllable, it means "hope," but in a more metaphysical sense of the word. I used to hate these names--hate them. I don't think I could take a "spiritual" name because it turns out that my given name IS my spiritual name, because of how much "inside" work I had to do, for years, to be at peace with my names and to try to honor their meanings. In my case, I needed to grow into the inherent spirituality of my names.

Agree with coco that Philippa is a lovely name

My middle name is Brie. Yes, spelled, like the cheese.

I suppose I have to get really good at making fermented nut cheeses to live up to my name.

My fiance and I have been contemplating creating our own last name for when we are married. Of course, the whole family will probably be insulted. But I like the idea of something to reflect the creation of something new... assuming a role as someone committed to living sustainably, with the earth, raising children with a paradigm that won't collapse... etc. We haven't found anything we really like so far, though. =\

phantom,

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My middle name is Brie. Yes, spelled, like the cheese.

LOL!

Perhaps the name will come to you both as your union approaches. Abide

P.S. Congrats on your engagement!