What's in a name?

So I've been thinking about names, and what they're really for. They're the "logo" for your identity, and in a sense they're the ancient ancestor of business cards*; in many social situations they're all somebody has to communicate with you. They exist for a very simple purpose: to be remembered. Bearing this in mind, it's very important that a name - or people's understanding thereof - be clear, concise, and that it not cause confusion. On the other hand, it's okay to be unique and show a little of your personality in your name. In some situations - depending on your company - it can actually help people to remember your name more easily, which is its main purpose in the first place. So it would appear, like many other things in life, a balance between these two factors seems to make the best names (in an evolutionary sense), and not just for people either.

To use a personal example, I've been in social situations before where I introduced myself in a way that caused confusion about my name. As a result, people who may have wanted to talk to me and make a concrete social connection avoided doing so. Oops. Since learning from that mistake, I now try to make my introductions simple, "Hi, I'm Andy," and that's usually it. I know, it's kind of boring and dry, but it leaves no question in people's minds as to who I am. When they want to talk to me, they say "Hey Andy..." It can be very fun and interesting to mix it up and make some kind of joke, and it's hard to resist the temptation to inject a little humor/irony/sarcasm into every interaction with the world. Everyone does it, myself included, and since all of this depends on the company you're with, it can be advantageous sometimes. Overall though, if you want to express yourself there are plenty of venues other than introductions, and they'll all be much more effective and less prone to misunderstandings.

The same thing applies to anything with a name, really. Companies, restaurants, bands, products; on average people are less likely to do business with / eat at / listen to / buy things if they don't know for sure what to call them. "Hey man, check out this great band, they're called... uh, something fucked up with two umlauts." Yeah, I'm gonna go track them down. Of course, I'm a little more forgiving of this in my own life, but that's not the point of what I'm saying. Public relations are an important part of the life of any organism, if you think about it.

To sum it up, I think names should be used for what they do best: identifying things in the most basic sense, just so you know what they are and what to call them. The rest of your interactions with the world (be you a person, band, company, etc.) are what show people your personality.

*Yes, I do realize that names can be much more than business cards, but that's fodder for another discussion entirely.