Running head: ACTIVITY #2 1

Activity #2 – What’s in a name?

Diego A. Gutierrez

ID # 1068722

Maria-Cristina Cruz-Wiley, Ed. D.

University of St. Thomas

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Activity #2 – What’s in a Name?

Most often a name is acquired as soon as the parents find out the gender of their

offspring. It is officially given to the child as soon as he or she is born and as quick as

the baby is christened. The parents have long conversations about the name and why

they might name their child with that particular name. Some get named after a relative,

some after a long time friend, but all hold meanings. Although many share the same

names, each person holds a different meaning, and that meaning is held close to their

hearts.

Just like Maria Isabel in “My name is Maria Isabel,” I too am proud to be Latino

and carry a name with meaning that I would never change. My name is Diego Azael

Gutierrez Garza. My parents are from a small town in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and the

names that they chose for my siblings and I carry meanings in their life. After talking to

my parents, choosing my name took them a while, as I am the youngest of three, but

that did not stop them from giving my name a long thought.

The name Diego comes from who now is Saint Juan Diego. My parents being

Catholic all their lives wanted a name that meant something to them in their faith. Being

from Mexico, both my parents grew up being devout followers of Our Lady of

Guadalupe. Saint Juan Diego was a poor indigenous man to which Our Lady of

Guadalupe appeared to in several occasions and to whom we owe for getting the image

of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Azael, my middle name, was simply a name that my parents liked after hearing it

on television and searching its meaning. Also, my mother thought that it was a unique
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name and that it sounded good with my first name. The name Azael apparently comes

from the Hebrew language and it means made of God.

The first last name, Gutierrez, is after my grandfather Felix Gutierrez and of

course my father Fernando Gutierrez. It is a last name that I carry with honor and that I

have been able to research after growing up. This last name appears to come from

Spain and its meaning is battle sword.

My second last name, Garza, is for my grandfather Santiago “Chago” Garza and

my mother Maria Elena Garza (Gutierrez after marriage). This surname is also Spanish

and means heron in English, but according to my grandmother it is also a variation of

the surname Garcia which means ruler of the spear.

As noted before, the name Diego Azael Gutierrez Garza has much meaning to

the family and is a name that I wish to be called by, just like Maria Isabel. Sometimes as

educators we do not realize that we take away the students identity when we try to give

the kids “nicknames” to differentiate one “Maria” from another. Educators need to

remember that the children have already gone through so much change by coming to

another country and had to learn a new language and culture. An extra change like

calling them by another name to make our lives easier is just an extra stressor for the

students.

Names are not only names, these names hold meaning and is some cases carry

history of the families that we come from. Names make people unique and many times

help us identify ourselves with our roots. For that reason I want to be called Diego Azael

Gutierrez Garza.