ABSTRACT
The given name possesses signifying force and is the point of articulation between the ante-text (family myth) and the text (the subject). The author maintains that in certain families a character trait is transmitted that is expressed by the family name. The name is a compromise between maternal and paternal desires concerning their child. Sometimes this compromise is condensed in a single name and sometimes several are required. The associative chains of the parents' dreams for the child they would like to have are condensed and criss-cross in the over-determined given name. The family's mythical history remains anchored, at least partially, in the birth name. The name enables us to indicate difference. Lineage or genealogy is translated by a name that indicates the boundary, as the skin envelops the subject and distinguishes him from others. If the child's given name coincides with the father's, the second or third name acquires value for the purposes of differentiation.
