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WhatsInAName | ... in the spirit of service

WhatsInAName

What's in a name?

"What's in a name?" is the title of a chapter in Chase S. Osborn's The Iron Hunter (1919; 2002). In it, he describes the origin of the family name, Osborn, which apparently is Asbjorn (via the Scandinavian invasion of Britain in the 900s in the area once known as the Danelaw). Asbjørn - with a literal meaning of divine bear - is a name still seen in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.

The variant forms, Osbern, Osburn, Osborne, Osbourne, etc have the same origin.

Warren and Zhang

After marrying in 1993, I changed my middle name from Warren (the surname of 18th century ancestors from the Chelmsford, Massachusetts area) to Zhang, my wife's family name. She and I felt that to adopt each others' names reflected our commitment to each other and to the Baha'i teachings on the equality of women and men and the importance of the family.

After a long road together, we decided to end our marriage. For the present, I still have the same middle name.

Page last modified on 2019-09-18 09:35
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