“But still it would be a confusion,” Berenice insisted. “Suppose we all suddenly changed to entirely different names. Nobody would ever know who anybody was talking about. The whole world would go crazy.”
“I don’t see–“

“But still it would be a confusion,” Berenice insisted. “Suppose we all suddenly changed to entirely different names. Nobody would ever know who anybody was talking about. The whole world would go crazy.”
“I don’t see–“
“Because things accumulate around your name,” said Berenice. “You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in various ways and do things, so that soon the name begins to have a meaning. Things have accumulated around the name. If it is bad and you have a bad reputation, then you just can’t jump out of your name and escape like that. And if it is good and you have a good reputation, then you should be content and satisfied.”

From “The Member of the Wedding,” by Carson McCullers

In this snippet, Carson McCullers exhibits her insightful perception of our world.  Berenice, the black housekeeper and caretaker of 12-year-old Frankie, answers the youngster’s question about our name: “You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in various ways and do things, so that soon the name begins to have a meaning. Things have accumulated around the name.”  What a wise answer!  Every day, we build our name with our deeds.