The meaning of a name...

Alright, I've been meaning to post something about the name of my blog, and that go me thinking about names in general. I'll start with the name of my blog, "Musings of an Almost Redhead." As you may have already figured out, it's a reference to my hair. My hair is the type of hair that old ladies stop you in the supermarket to gush over. "Such as stunning color, look at the curls," blah blah blah. It's best described as being strawberry blonde. My Mother was convinced that I would be a redhead when she was pregnant with me, and she was right, to a point. I mean, I can only recall one person ever calling my hair color "red." The woman then proceeded to tell me that redheads will soon be exctint, but I'll get into that later. Anyway, that's the main reason behind the name of my blog. I , technically speaking, could almost be considered a redhead. To be honest, I wish that I was closer to being a "real redhead." Less blonde and more of a stunning Cayenne pepper color. There are certain personality traits that are also associated with different hair colors. Brunettes are brainy, Blondes have the most fun and, redheads are full of fire. Would I be a different person if I had a different color hair? I mean, I don't think that if I suddenly had chocolate brown locks that I would be a genius. And I don't think that I would lead some sort of crazed party girl lifestyle if my hair was few shades lighter. But, would a few more strands of red make me, maybe, more outgoing, exciting, or less shy? I highly doubt it, but it's also fun to think about. Talking about the name of my blog made me also wonder about the meaning of my given name. So, I looked it up on baby center.com...

Katelynn

#245 on BabyCenter

Gender: Girl

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Pure

And my middle name...

Anne

#422 on BabyCenter

Gender: Girl

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Full of grace

Hmmm... I rather like the meanings of my names. But again, I can't help but ask the same question, would I be a different person if I had a different name? Would I be more serious if I had always gone by "Kate" instead of "Katie"? Does the name make the person, or does a person create the meanings of these names? How many smart brunettes were there or dumb blondes were there before those stereotypes became common knowledge? And how many years, smart blondes, and dumb brunettes will it take before new stereotypes are formed?

- Katie