If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?
My honest answer? No way.
A surname is passed down through family, and a given name is chosen by parents or grandparents—a sacred tradition respected across cultures.
Yet there are always those who go against tradition. I know a few people who changed their given names simply because they didn’t like them, or because they believed a different name would bring better luck.
Looking back at history, God created the first man and named him Adam, bringing flesh into the world. God named the last Adam—Jesus—opening the way to new birth. Both Adam and Jesus lived with their names until death.
The authority to name a newborn belongs to parents. Biblical history records a few people whose given names were changed later in life—not by themselves, nor by their parents, but by God. And God did this for specific divine purposes.
These significant figures include: Abram to Abraham (“father of many nations,” Genesis 17:3–5); Sarai to Sarah (“mother of many nations,” Genesis 17:15–16); and Jacob to Israel, because he struggled with God and with men and overcame (Genesis 32:22–28). God blessed Israel and his descendants as His chosen people—the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49).
Though I am not as legendary as Jacob, God gave me my name through my father. I stand in reverent awe of my name, for it means “Be grateful to the LORD.” While it is an honour to be given such a name, it is also a great responsibility to carry it.
Perhaps today’s prompt might be enticing, but I have no desire whatsoever to change my given name. Instead, I will continue to honour it by living out my gratitude to God.
Would you honour yours?
✨✨💖
en yan hua fang 