Definition Essay: Why My Name Is My Name?

My name was given to me by my parents after a long and hard debate about what to name me. My father wanted to name me after his father Jack, my mother did not like this idea because she said that the name was too simple and mundane. Eventually after many months of high pressure arguing they settled on a compromise, my first name was a compromise name of Nathaniel and my middle name was for my dad’s father Edward. They liked this idea especially because it gave me a plethora of nicknames ranging from Nate to Nathan to NEW, however when all was said and done i chose the option of having no nickname much to both of their dismay.
Nathaniel is a name derived from the greek form of a biblical hebrew name נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el). This name was borne by many people ranging from the famous Nathaniel Hawthorne to one of Jesus’ disciples. Hebrew is an ancient language dating back to before 1200 BCE and still spoken today by over 9 million people mainly coming from the country of Israel. It was extinct for a very …show more content…
My favorite story about him comes from when I was a very small kid. My grandfather used to be in the army as a drill sergeant all around the world but before that he was a decorated combat veteran managing to even get the purple heart. In one of his deployments he came across an army teddy bear that was small and green. He happened to have a little boy at home who was about 6 years old so he wanted to give it to him when he came home. Skip forward and my 6 year old father was waiting for his dad at the airport and he finally saw his father and went to run up to him and give him a hug as most 6 year olds would do. After the normal pleasantries he gives this teddy bear to my father saying “ make sure when you're done using it son pass it on” and he did which is how I got one of my favorite stuffed animals that i will cherish