Tuesday, November 17, 2015

How To Remember Names: of People you meet; singers, restaurants, wines, chocolates

I was reading a newspaper article on Charlie Sheen and decided to look up the origin of the name Estevez. I was astonished to learn that it means son of Stephen.

A seasonal link is that Stephen was the first Christian martyr. You may remember the Christmas carol, On the feast of Stephen - when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.

Many other names are related to or derived from Stephen. For example, easy to recognize, when you stop to think about how names are related, is Stephano.

But I had not spotted that the French name Etienne is Stephen. Change the initial E into S and you start to see the relationship of one word to another.

This may be an amusement for a day for those sitting at home, or working alone. But is it any practical use when travelling?

Yes, it is. So much easier to remember that your new friend or acquaintance, the manager of the hotel or restaurant, your business contact, club president, is named a variation of Stephen or Steve, especially if you can relate it to somebody back home, the President of your club, a brother in law, a boss you used to work for, anybody else in your mobile phone list of contacts.

That helps you to remember the Steve or Stephano or Mr Estevez you have just met. Or the company producing the local wine or making a brand of chocolates. or the cathedral. Another hook on which to hang information you need. And to remember to tell acquaintances the name of somebody you met, or a place to visit.

Singers
I used to have trouble remembering the surname of singer Gloria Estefan. She was very popular in the USA. Her name sounded Spanish. Now it's much easier. I also know the family name is the equivalent of Stevens, and means crown of glory. I can imagine her wearing a crown.

Cathedrals
I recall visiting cities which had two cathedrals.  The old and the new. The Catholic and the Protestant. Which was which? Now I have a vision of the three cathedrals named Stephen. In Vienna you could visit Stephansdom. The dome of St Stephen, the home of St Stephen.

Meaning of name estevez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estevez
surnamedb.com
I have earlier posts about remembering names. I met the author of a book on memory in Singapore.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and English teacher. Public speaking and workshops.


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