Names matter. Every parent who has struggled over finding the perfect name for a baby and every pet owner who has struggled over the perfect name for a pet knows it. Something in a name is so fundamental to our core than many civilizations have had public names and private names. The private names have remained hidden from belief that the misuse of them drains one�s power.

People-smart judges know that names matter. Some people think that the longer the sentence and the tougher the judge, the more likely that a defendant will try to appeal a sentence. My experience suggests that another variable is equally, if not more, important: whether the judge appears to know who the defendant is and treat him like a person. In other words, when a judge either does not use the defendant�s name or gets it wrong, the defendant is likely to want to appeal the sentence regardless of the length of the sentence. I�ve had clients with very long sentences accept them when the remarks made at sentencing demonstrate thought and caring and I�ve had clients with relatively short sentences want to fight them when the judge got their names wrong.

Names matter in other contexts too. I love it when the people who answer the phones at agencies and institutions give their names. I�ve found that the use of the name in the conversation opens doors that might otherwise remain closed. Using names doesn�t guarantee that I will get a call the morning I set out to a prison if my client has been moved, but it sure seems to make it more likely I won�t make a trip for nothing.

Yesterday, my girl scout troop experienced the power of names. One of my girl scouts, A., has been trying for the past two years to interest the group in doing a service project by planning a party or outing for some people living in a local group home for the elderly and disabled. She has had no luck. The rest of the girls have shown little interest in that service project, although they have done several others cheerfully. But yesterday, it was A.�s turn to plan part of the meeting and she had the other girls make cards for the residents�and she did something more. She gave each girl the name of a resident so she could make an individual and personalized card. By the end of the meeting girls were asking if we could set up a trip to the home.

Names matter so much that one of my sorrows about the slings and arrows of middle age is that I am having more trouble remembering them. On the telephone, I can jot down the name and remember it that way but, in social settings, I�m stuck. I know the name is important and I can�t remember it. Mr. Philately, who always has been name-impaired, does not understand the depths of my sorrow. But I grieve for my lost ability to remember names easily.

Does anyone know if there is a name for not naming names? Naming this malady won�t cure it but it might make me feel better. After all, names are magical. Names matter.

|