Name change? Best with letters R and J as 1st and middle name?

Question

A close friend of mine deciding to change his first name. Because his, well, has brought nothing but trouble since the first gulf war.

He will keep his surname.
He's been using the initails J.R. or R.J. for the past 16+ years, even though there was no actual name behind them!


What names do you suggest? J and R could be either the first or middle names.

Answer 1

More power to J. R.

In many societies, individuals are allowed to choose (or earn) their own names -- at puberty, as an adult, in an initiation rite, in honor of a new achievement or a new stage in life.

In our world, Hollywood stars and rock singers take advantage of that option. John Wayne would hardly have projected the same persona with the name Marion Morrison. Sting sings in a way that one might not expect of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. Oprah makes waves that Orpah didn't. The high-school dropout Peter Charles Archibald Ewart remade himself as newsman Peter Jennings. Then there are the popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI.

Most of us jump at a chance to choose another handle. Witness our internet ID's with which we communicate in Y!A: johnthecontentloser (John the Content-Loser, another JC?), B Frank, Heart o' Gold, secondwish2 . . . .

So, J. R., go to it. Rise above J. R. Ewing (everyone's favorite villain from Dallas) and J. R. Reynolds (one of the notorious tobacco giants). Well, maybe not beyond J. R. R. Tolkien (John Ronald Reuel, alias Gandalf).

At birth, I was given my grandfather's name. As a child, I couldn't pronounce it, so I gave it a twist. As a first grader, I was too shy to explain, so those so-and-so's assigned my another one, which I was stuck with for 16 years. At age 22, on my own in another environment, I chose another: my other grandfather, the one I never knew but whose genes I obviously carried on in my frame and nature.

I am who I am, I was saying to my family, to that school I hated so, to the past. Think what you will; I am who I have become.

So tell J. R. to have at it! He's keeping his feet on the ground and his ties to the past with his initials. But with his name, let him soar! We can all make suggestions; he must make the decision.

Our new grandson, born December 28, is being christened Joshua Robert. Now you can't beat that for a J. R., can you? Two strong old names: heroic.

Joshua is a Hebrew name, meaning Rescuer or God Saves. Joshua was a national hero, sort of the George Washington of Judah/Israel. "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls come a-tumblin' down!" In the Greek of the Christian Testament, Joshua became Jesus, meaning Savior.

Robert means Bright Fame. For us old Scotch-Irish it goes back to Robert Bruce. He won his fame as Robert I, King of Scotland, becoming the first master of guerilla warfare, leading the common man to victory and securing independence from England finally at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. His perseverance against great odds is legendary. Supposedly, after seven defeats, hiding in a cave, he saw a spider fail at spinning a web seven times, only then to master the task. This gave him his winning maxim, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

So Joshua (Rescuer) Robert (Bright Fame). You just can't beat that.

And if J. R. is more interested in creativity than in heroic deeds, there's Robert Burns and Robert Browning. Sir Joshua Reynolds, a painter in the Grand Style, was the first president of the British Royal Academy of Art. And in our own time we will be hearing more and more of Joshua Field, a symbolic narrative painter, whose work explores themes including isolation, sexuality and conflict. He uses a diverse variety of media including charcoal, gold leaf, oil, gouache and acrylic.

So I can't think of a better J. R. name than Joshua Robert (but then, to "be frank." I might be just a little bit biased). Each man must find himself. Quite literally, we all make a name for ourselves.

B Frank

Answer 2

Rafe
Raiden
Radley
Rafi
Ransom
Reeve
Roman
Rocky
Ryan

Jack
James
Jared
Jason
Jonah
Justice

How bout Rocky Justice? (chuckle)
Jack Ryan is a classic...
I'm actually better with pet's names...
These came from thinkbabynames.com, which is by no means complete and also gives the meaning of each name. Would need to know surname to make better suggestions, these were just the ones I liked...

Answer 3

Jayson Ramon

Answer 4

Ron Jeremy...hehehe..no no..that's a bad idea..you'll prolly know why if you were canadian..and if you don't u can look him up on wikipedia or something..

hmmm...well i dunno...am da worst in pickin names..i even had a frnd pick a name for me when i wanted my own made up middle name (since where i come from we dont have middle names)..

sorry for da useless post..i just HAD to mention ron jeremy..

have a gr8 new yr

Answer 5

JOHN RYAN