Names Matter
Shakespeare famously wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but there are countless stories throughout the world in which names play a vital role, including Romeo and Juliet. There are stories in which the villain can only be defeated by speaking their true name. Stories in which names bind people together. Stories in which knowing someone’s true name allows you to command them.
There is vulnerability and power attached to a name.
Names can represent a deeper truth, full of meaning and symbolism.
Names are a powerful source of identity. There are countless stories in which a character has lost and then finally remembers their true name, recalling their identity along with it.
Names can protect us in stories. They can remind us of ourselves. They can weaken us. They show the world who we are.
If nothing else the huge number of stories in which a character’s name plays an essential part demonstrates the importance humans place on the naming of things.
People have been asking if the van has a name since I got it. I had imagined the name would only come to me once it was built, or perhaps once I could drive it. But I had an idea the other day.
At Christmas my Mum bought me a gorgeous wireless speaker for my van. When setting it up, it asked for a name. Thinking about A Nomadic Rose, I decided to call it Nomadic Sound.
In the New Year I bought myself a Kindle for the van. I have plans of where to build a few small van bookshelves but will obviously need an entire library and won’t have the physical space. When setting it up, it asked for a name. Following the theme, I named it Nomadic Books.
One of the things I am loving is that I am building my home on Cornish soil. This wonderful county has come to mean a huge amount to me in recent years and building my home from here somehow makes a huge amount of sense.
Cornwall, unlike most other places in the UK, still has its own language. There is even an English to Cornish dictionary with an online translation function.
I looked up the word nomad, which in Cornish translates to:
Gwandryas (masculine noun)
Gwandryades (feminine noun)
Gwandryades.
What a word. It translates to nomad or wanderer. I’m going to have to ask a few folks I know who speak Cornish how it is properly pronounced, but it feels magical. It feels right. It feels powerful. It feels like a name.
So, there we have it. My vans name.
Gwandryades.
My wandering home.