What's in a name? Does a name matter? Does it really matter if you're named Tom, Dick, or Harry — or Sharon, Sue, or Maggie? Hard to say.

Consider the case of Gerald Ford, a former president of the United States. He was sixteen years old when a strange man sat down next to him at a soda fountain, introduced himself as his father, and told Gerald his name was really Leslie King, Jr. President Ford sounds very American, but in our democratic society, would we really want a person named King to be president?

The noted Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, was born Clive Stapes, but when he was four years old he walked into the family room, thumped his chest with his thumb, and said, "He is Jacksie!" And for the rest of his life his friends called him Jack, which seemed to suit the man much better.…