What's in a name?

I “Google”- searched my formal Christian name once and in 0.19 seconds I got 720,000 hits.


On top of the list, is a renowned pediatrician, faculty member and researcher in Stanford University. Present Chief of the General Pediatrics Division and Associate Dean of Minority Advising and Programs in Stanford University’s School of Medicine, my namesake was listed by the Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States in 2002. At age 53, Dr. Mendoza continues to be actively involved in community service particularly to children of new immigrants and the underserved.


The second person was a Catholic Bishop (now deceased) named Fernando Mendoza Gonzalez. He was born in Spain in 1549, became a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) by the age of 18 and ordained a bishop at the age of 60. He served the people of Cuzco, Peru as bishop for nearly 9 years before he died in 1618.


Another namesake on the list is a South American Post Doctoral Researcher based in the School of Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary Medicine in Dublin, Ireland. He currently works in Biosystems Engineering, UCD, investigating the quality of pre-sliced ham surfaces using computerized digital imaging techniques. (Food never looked so exciting!)


One namesake wrote an article on the International Journal of Speleology about the “La Cueva del Tesoro” (Treasure Cave) in the municipality of Rincòn de la Victoria, 10 kilometers from the city of Malaga, Spain. Speleology by the way is the study and exploration of caves.


A fifth was a veteran Mexican actor whose work in films started from the late 1930s to the 1970s including a part in the movie, “Emiliano Zapata” who won three major awards in the Premios ACE in 1972.


There’s this drummer who gave a wonderful musical performance at YouTube (Fernando Mendoza's Drum Duet). Interestingly, my eldest son, Fernando Jr. also brilliantly plays the drums (and guitars) and is a member of a high school band. I’m not sure if it’s the same musician but a certain Fernando Mendoza and his Bahia – Percussion Band has 6 musical tracks in a CD album featuring various artists titled “Latin Nights” released back in 2002.


The list of professionals bearing the same name as mine goes on and on.


“Fernando”, my first name is Spanish by origin and is used in English and Spanish speaking countries. Its meaning ranges from “adventurer” or “bold voyager” to “intelligent” to “brave”. It has three main variant forms: Ferdinand (Old German), Fernand (French) and Hernando (Spanish).


“Fernando” continues to be a very popular name. Websites on baby names list “Fernando” has consistently been ranked among the top 200 names for boys in the U.S. particularly from the 1990s to the present time.


According to babynamesworld.com:

“Fernando is in the top 100 of the four American states that border Mexico
(California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas), as well as being the 28th most
popular name in Chile in 2006, and the 51st most popular in Spain.”

I am honored by the achievements of those who were born before me and at the same time humbled by my own seemingly insignificant contributions to mankind. Nonetheless, I still have my whole life before me. What a person does in the next ten, twenty, thirty years of his life makes all the difference.

In the end, it’s not about me so much as it is about God whom I believe is the very reason for our existence.

What’s in a name then? Per se, nothing much. But a life lived meaningfully for God brings honor to Him and to the person through the name that he carries.


Happy new year, everyone!

May you carry your name proudly for God!