A Name is Destiny

I've always been amused by people whose names match their profession exactly -- is this chance, or does having a name so specific draw someone into a particular profession? Upon research, I have discovered that this is a whole area of academic inquiry, looking into nominative determinism. If a name fits but has no direct causal relationship to occupational choice, it is known as an aptonym.

A prime example of this that I have always enjoyed is the chief ornithologist in Quebec, Dr. David Bird. He is professor of Wildlife Biology and Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University, as well as being a long time essayist and author. There is also a book on jam making in my library written by Jan Berry, which makes me smile. Does anyone else notice this phenomenon?


But, as it is Poetry Month, this is one name I really wanted to share. Although it's her first name in this case, Canadian poet Sonnet L'Abbé really couldn't be anything but a poet, could she? How lovely to have such a name to inspire you throughout your life. Somehow mine seems very mundane... but anyway, here is an example of Sonnet L'Abbé's poetry, from her second collection:


Uh

The shyness, the delay to say
I'm thinking, I'm processing,
the silence before the words
string into coherence I can't leave
unfilled, all my ignorance,
the mice scurrying in the maze,
please wait while the images
load, sound saying I'm not
dumb

or the coyness, the delay to say
I'm answering, when I'm processing
the first thought into a string of words
less hurtful, less assessing,
less revealing of the blunt fact
of my unkindness, all my interiority,
the scurry to hide it behind my back
please wait while I remember
your heart, sound the safety on a sharp
tongue

Sonnet L'Abbé
from Killarnoe
(McClelland & Stewart, c2007)