Quote:
When people hear their names, it actually affects their body and mind in a unique way. People generally attach a lot of significance to their own names. When you insult someone's name, you're insulting a lot more than just a name. When you say their name sweetly or with any sort of positive feeling, they'll like you more.
In the book
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, he gives 6 ways to make people like you in a nutshell;
Rule 3: Remember that a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in the English Language. Now, although I would find a better way to phrase that, as it leaves too much room for ambiguity, what with the language and gender bias, but aside from that, it's pretty damn true, don't you think?
I spent the larger portion of my life up until about a year ago, looking for a name that I truly loved, because my given name (which should be sweet sounding to me) got me teased a lot growing up from other kids and often mispronounced by everyone from teachers, to bosses, to you name it. When I took on the name Rye though, it made a tremendous impact on how I felt when people addressed me, because they changed how the entire manner in which they spoke my name. When someone makes fun of my given name, I almost expect it (I have a bad habit of bringing up how often people screw it up even though it's a perfectly normal name), but if they mock the name that I gave myself, it bothers me, just like it bothered that girl.
If you're still unconvinced of the worth of a name, then think of the use of it in the bedroom. Have you ever been having sex with a girl and told her to say your name (I know I have, but she was a little too far gone at that point to care much what I was saying, lol). Ever watched a show where someone says the
wrong name in bed; now THAT is something that causes pretty much anyone to freak out!