Blog: A Person’s Name

A Person’s Name

A number of years ago at my sons’ Taekwondo class I watched two exchanges that I still remember that remind me about how important a person’s name is.

The first occurred when a boy about 5 years old came in. The teacher, a 7th-degree black belt, asked what his name was and he replied in a voice too quiet to be heard clearly. “Jonathon?” the teacher asked. Again, a quiet answer from the boy. “Jonavon?” asked the teacher. Then the boy’s mother answered for him, “Donovan.”

The teacher looked at Donovan and said, “Donovan, that is your name. When someone asks you your name, shout it out. DONOVAN!” And the little boy, with a smile, yelled, “DONOVAN!”

Our name is the first way that people identify us. I hope that all children learn to be proud of their name and who they are. We should say our name with pride when someone asks.

“It means that I care enough about you to learn your name”

Ten minutes later, the same teacher was beginning a class. Of the 10 students there, more than half were there for the first time. He told them that he had taught for many years and sometimes had trouble remembering names, so he asked what it meant if he asked someone what their name was. A small boy answered, “It means that you care enough to learn our name.” “Right!” the teacher replied, “If I call you by the wrong name, you need to tell me. If you don’t, I will call you the wrong name until you graduate from college. Let me know your name.”

That concept, “It means that I care enough about you to learn your name” is so important. How many people do you see every day, or maybe even work with, whose name you do not know? I challenge everyone to learn the name of one person this week. Taking it one more step, imagine how many more people we would all know if we learned someone’s name every day.

Let’s start right now. “Hello, my name is Brian, what is your name?”

Brian Hock, CMA

46 Comments

  1. liseesh on July 25, 2013 at 3:15 am

    my name is liseesh.s.I am from kerala, India.



    • Sreejesh s pillai on July 5, 2021 at 11:19 am

      My Name is SREEJESH



      • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:09 pm

        Hello, Sreejesh. I am pleased to meet you.



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:09 pm

      Hello, Liseesh. It is a pleasure to meet you!



    • IBRAHIM SIDIQUE MANSARAY on July 9, 2021 at 7:56 am

      My name is Ibrahim Sidique Mansaray I am from Freetown, Sierra Leone.



      • Brian Hock on July 9, 2021 at 10:28 am

        Hello, Ibrahim Sidique Mansaray! It is great to meet you.



  2. HOCK international on July 25, 2013 at 8:52 am

    Liseesh, it is nice to meet you. We hope you have a great day today!



  3. Khalid on July 5, 2021 at 11:12 am

    Hello Mr. Brian, my name is Khalid from Sudan.



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      Hello, Khalid. It is nice to meet you!



    • Ahmed on July 6, 2021 at 6:59 pm

      What’s up Mr. Brian, my name’s Ahmed from Yemen .
      Nice to meet you .



      • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 7:47 pm

        Hello, Ahmed. How are you? It is great to meet you!



  4. Safiatou Tahirou Halidou on July 5, 2021 at 11:33 am

    Hello Dear, My name is Safiatou



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      Hello, Safiatou. It is great to meet you!



  5. Mogtaba on July 5, 2021 at 11:54 am

    Hello Mr. Brian, My name is Mogtaba.



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      Hello, Mogtaba. I am glad to meet you.



  6. nabil abdalla on July 5, 2021 at 12:42 pm

    Hello, My name is Nabil



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      Hello, Nabil. Pleased to meet you.



  7. Sunil Jangid on July 5, 2021 at 1:14 pm

    Hello, This is sunil jangid from India



  8. Sunil Jangid on July 5, 2021 at 1:17 pm

    Hello everyone,
    This is Mr. Sunil Jangid from Incredible India.
    Thanks Hock for giving me lot of knowledge and push me bottom to up for covering most significant concepts for CMA exam preparation.



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 1:22 pm

      Hello, Sunil Jangid. It is nice to meet you. It is our pleasure to help you in your CMA preparations!!



  9. Hafiz Ali on July 5, 2021 at 2:21 pm

    Hello dear Brain,

    I am Hafiz Ali from Sudan. I love the subject and the you presented it. I am viewing it as skill. Actually very important skill.

    I will teach it to my sons, Mohammed, Amro and Ahmed.

    I will emphasize on correcting the speaker if their names pronounced wrongly.

    Thank you so much dear Hock.



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 4:16 pm

      Hello, Hafiz Ali! Yes, having spent 18 years living in Russia, pronouncing names correctly is also very important. I know that some names in other languages are different and difficult to pronounce, but pronouncing someone’s name correctly is part of showing respect to that person. Your sons will be fortunate to learn this early in their lives.



  10. Yaw Apaah on July 5, 2021 at 2:23 pm

    My name is Yaw (pronounced; Yao)



    • Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 4:17 pm

      Hello, Yaw. And thank you for sharing how it is pronounced. My daughter’s name is often mis-pronounced because it is not a common name.



      • Prerna on July 6, 2021 at 12:44 am

        Hello brian
        My name is Prerna from India
        Prerna means ‘ a moral’ like moral of the story.



        • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 7:47 pm

          Hello, Prerna. It is nice to meet you and thank you for sharing what you name means. It is interesting to learn the names that have specific meanings in different languages.



  11. Berik on July 5, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    good day, Mr. Brian! my name is Berik. I am from Kazakhstan. hope to get CMA prefix after my name 😉



  12. Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Hello, Berik! It is nice to meet you. It has been too many years since I have been in your country, but it is a beautiful country and one I enjoyed going to. My earliest memories of Kazakhstan are from 1987 – I remember climbing all of the steps at Medeo. 🙂 And if you make a plan and stay dedicated to your studies, you will absolutely have the letters CMA after your name.



  13. Shuayb on July 5, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    Hellow Brian, I am Shuayb from Egypt



  14. Brian Hock on July 5, 2021 at 4:44 pm

    Hello, Shuayb! It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope you are having a great day!



  15. Basharat on July 6, 2021 at 1:50 am

    Hi, Basharat ! from Pakistan have a good day sir



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 8:25 am

      Hello, Basharat. It is great to meet you! I wish you a great day as well.



  16. Safwan on July 6, 2021 at 2:39 am

    Hello Dear Brain,

    I am Safwan From Syria



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 8:25 am

      Hello, Safwan. It is a pleasure to meet you!



  17. Kuliya on July 6, 2021 at 6:07 am

    Hello, I am Kuliya, I am originally from Kazakhstan 🙂



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 8:26 am

      Hello, Kuliya. It is great to have another person from Kazakhstan here in the comments. Hope you are having a great day!



  18. Vikas Menon on July 6, 2021 at 7:27 am

    Hi Brian …!!! My name is Vikas …how r u doing ??



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 8:27 am

      Hello, Vikas. Great to meet you. It is still early in the day for me, but so far it is a great day and I am expecting that to continue. 🙂 Hope you are having a great day, too.



  19. Anastasia Menyawovor on July 6, 2021 at 8:38 am

    That is be utiful. It pays to address people by their names. It rstaushes a relation ship.
    Good Day Brian



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 9:57 am

      Hello, Anastasia! Yes, using people’s names when we talk to them is a great way of showing respect and building a relationship with them.



  20. Houari on July 6, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    Hello Everybody- My name is Houari :):) :).



    • Brian Hock on July 6, 2021 at 4:37 pm

      Hello, Houari! Nice to meet you and great to have you in the group.



  21. Yusif.....is my name on July 7, 2021 at 4:19 am

    A Very Inspiring Message



    • Brian Hock on July 7, 2021 at 8:31 am

      Thank you, Yusif. It is a pleasure to meet you.



  22. My name is Eli on July 7, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    Power of name, very inspiring.Thanks Brian .



    • Brian Hock on July 8, 2021 at 8:33 am

      Thank you, Eli. It is a pleasure to meet you.