I used to hate my name. Why couldn’t my parents have named me something cool like Musetta, or Lyric, or Aria.? Something musical. After all, my mother and father were musical people. And the doctor who delivered me and my twin brother was at the Opera on Christmas Eve when he was called away to the hospital.

Why Dena?

I guess it’s an okay name.

But my childish imagination ran more along the unique, one who stood out from the crowd. One who—I wished—would one day make her mark in history.

I guess my parents knew better. That I would not be famous, or great, or even remarkable.

Just little Dena. Five foot one. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Type O negative. (the blood banks love me!)

A lover of Jesus, impatient, analytical, love to teach, love research, love music, skillful in several instruments, persistent, too sensitive, love all things creative, love nature, terrible at higher math, love to listen to people and wish they’d listen to me,too, love writing, love road trips, love the mountains and can’t understand why others yearn for the tropics….

Is this my essence? It doesn’t seem unique. These adjectives might describe thousands of women in Colorado.

Did my parents capture my essence with my name? Or did I simply grow into the petite name?

Sometimes I wish I could change my name. Find a name that captures my essence. Or the essence that I wish I personified.

Like Jewel, or Queen, or Noble, or Crouching Tiger?

Have you wondered about your own name, too?

Would your life have gone another direction if your name had been different? Or what if your name was the same but the meaning was different? Like, what if the name “Karen” meant Lion-hearted? Or the name “Don” meant Bound-to-succeed?

What is your essence? Have you ever asked those who know you well what would be the one word that best describes you?

Did God make you to resemble that word? Is there a destiny or a purpose in that essential word? And if it’s a great word that describes you, how could you align yourself with the meaning of that word for the good of the world?

There are other cultures where you choose, after you’ve gotten to know yourself well, what your second name is. It’s a name known only to yourself. It has great significance, and helps you make the right choices in life.

The name Dena means “little valley.”

Personally, I think my parents should have named me “Tiger.” Maybe that could be my second name.