Why would a person have a secret name?
Stupid Flounders.
It comes in handy when spinning straw into gold.
So sayeth the guy with the username that is a code word.
Once I had a secret love that lived within the heart of me. All too soon my secret love became impatient to be free.
I’ve recently read Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee mysteries. According to these books, Navajo Indians have a secret “war name” that is used for ceremonial purposes. It’s given to a child by a close family member and is usually chosen to fit the child’s personality. One of Hillerman’s characters has a secret name that translates to “Girl Who Laughs”. A person would also be given a nickname, or several, that would be commonly used.
Traditional Navajos would consider it impolite to use a person’s name in their presence. A name, even a nickname, is a label to be used to refer to a person in their absence. You would introduce someone by telling their mother’s clan and their father’s clan, and talking about their family in general.
I asked for Poontang McFurburger, but they threw me out of the LDS.
I’m in a college marching band and about halfway through your first season, everyone is given a “band name” by the upperclassmen. Usually the name sort of makes fun of the person or is offensive/obscene. Mine is Napoleon Cockamite, but I don’t want to say which band it is. So band names are sort of secret.