There are times when elements of a story are so funny that they threaten to overwhelm the seriousness of it all.

One such was published in yesterday's Gleaner under the headline 'Judge rules what's in a name does matter'. It was reported that a judge in New Zealand made a nine-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed from 'Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii'.

Among the names blocked by registration officials in that country were Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit and Sex Fruit, while Number 16, Bus Shelter, and Violence were among those allowed to go through.

Once the laugh at the idea of a teacher saying 'Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii Jones' during the morning roll call is over, the seriousness of it all remains. Naming is not taken lightly (and we suspect that the parents who bestowed or attempted to bestow these aberrant appellations on their offspring were very serious); and goes a significant way towards a person's sense of self.

We doubt that we have a 'Midnight Chardonnay' enrolled in the school system somewhere in Jamaica, but still parents have long sought to move beyond names such as John and Elizabeth, seeking to give their children names that stand out. Even though, we suspect, the desire for one's offspring to be distinguishable (in the hope that one day they will be distinguished) from the pack is behind the slew of new-age names which are on the registers of teachers across Jamaica, especially in the earlier stages of the education system.

mind-numbing sameness

It is a natural desire to be distinctive among not only the few million persons in Jamaica, but also the approximately 6.6 billion across the world. And we do live in an age of mind-numbing sameness, where standing out often means not really being different but just being more extreme in imitation. After all, just how large can a car's rims get, and how thin the tyre on it can be? And just how many ways can parents combine and contort their own first names in order to bestow something unique on their offspring?

But while the parents seem hopeful of some separation from the pack (as well as some measure of direction of destiny) when they dream up their children's names, we must point out that being different lies not in a name but in actions. If that is the objective, parents would be well advised to concentrate on shaping their children to be driven and dare to be actually different from the herd, which is a much more difficult thing to do than bear even a near unbearable name.

For in the end, while the New Zealand judge Rob Murfitt said that the odd names were embarrassing children or made them seem foolish among their peers, a name can be shed or made light of. Actually walking a different life path from the majority is a far more serious undertaking.

One which may result in name-calling, or more.