Just By Their Other Names

"Just By Their Other Names" is a mini-story that is part of the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series.

Story
Empath and Polaris were sitting together at the counter of Tapper's Tavern having a discussion with Tapper, when Polaris had something on his mind that he wanted to ask about.

"This one is curious about how each of the Smurfs here seem to have names that are based on a profession or a personality, how those names came about, fellow Tapper," Polaris said.

"Oh, the old question of where our names smurf from," Tapper said. "Well, from what I can remember of my own name, Naomhan, it was smurfed to me by my parents, but none of my fellow Smurfs could smurf it properly. It was after my Papa Smurf saw me smurfing with the drink taps at this tavern when I was a wee one that he decided on a better name, which is the one that I have been smurfing up until this day."

"This one also senses that this must also be the case for the other Smurfs, that they had other names before the ones they currently use," Polaris said.

"Indeed it has been, Polaris," Empath said. "Would you believe that this smurf's other real name is Eamon? And this is a name that Uncle Seamus had suggested for Papa Smurf to give as my own, even though this smurf is not part of the Ailill clan."

"Eamon?" Polaris said. "According to the Ailill language, that would mean 'guardian'...an interesting if also somewhat prophetic choice."

"You have guessed correctly, my fellow Polaris," Tapper said. "My Papa Smurf was never a holy Smurf in any sense, but he certainly had a way of smurfing what kind of lives some of us like myself and Empath are going to smurf."

"So why do most of the Smurfs not want to be referred to by their birth names, Tapper?" Polaris asked.

"This smurf has a feeling that most of those names are part of a past that they don't want to remember, having to go through losing their parents and realizing that they just have Papa Smurf to rely on from that point on," Empath said.

"Some of the Smurfs don't even like their birth names at all, Empath," Tapper said. "Hefty and Handy, for example, don't want to hear their old names, Harold and Henry. And Grouchy doesn't want to be called Hamilton by anyone."

"Grouchy's real name being Hamilton," Empath said, thinking about that for a moment. "This smurf could imagine much worse names that he wouldn't want to be called by."

"But what's interesting is that Duncan McSmurf prefers his birth name over being called Gutsy, which is what this one hears Hefty call him," Polaris said.

"That's what he prefers, then that's what I'm going to respect," Tapper said. "The name wasn't meant to be a compliment smurfing from Hefty, back in the days when he could smurf away with being the village bully. But even if I will never call Duncan by the name of Gutsy, I will never say that it's not an appropriate name for him, because I certainly feel stronger in my spirit smurfing around him."

"It still gives this one the impression that the Smurfs don't really have names, but just descriptions of their professions or their personalities," Polaris said.

"As far as this smurf is concerned, the names of the Smurfs are just as much a real part of them as anything else, even if this smurf doesn't call Brainy Brian, or Clumsy Jonathan, or Greedy Gregory, or Vanity Maurice, or Lazy Lawrence," Empath said.

"Aye, indeed, my fellow Empath," Tapper said. "But what matters is that we love our brother and sister Smurfs no matter what they are called by."