ABSTRACT
Objective The purpose of this activity is to build group cohesiveness and insight on the part of group
members by exploring the various meanings behind each member’s name.
Rationale for Use Names have significant power and meaning in culture, family, and individual lives. Seeman
(1983) speaks to this power in the following passage: Personal names serve many purposes, both for the namer and the named. They are conferred, at least in part, in honor of someone who has gone before. Cultural traditions dictate the extent of commemorative name-giving. Names inform about genealogy and geography, and about the circumstances of birth. The etymological and linguistic associations of names are grasped intuitively without conscious knowledge of semantic roots. These unconscious associations frequently emerge in nicknaming and in dreams. Passage from one life stage to another may accompany a change of name, as may religious conversion or new ideological affiliation. Because so many inferences can be drawn from the choice of a given name, it is no wonder that, in some cultures, the personal name is kept secret, a protection against betrayal. (p. 237)
Meanings attributed to names, therefore, are rich windows into intrapsychic and interpersonal realms of group members’ lives. Exploring the meanings behind members’names can thus be used as the catalyst for enhanced cohesiveness, insight, and growth.
