Change Your Name? To What?

Change Your Name? To What?

By Lawrence W. Reed

If for some reason you had to change your name, and you could pick a new one yourself (unlike your original one), what would you choose?

One of the coolest names I’ve ever heard would be high on my list of candidates. It belonged to a celebrated motorcycle racer from Italy who, if he were still alive, would have turned 100 this very week. His name was Libero Liberati. He was born on September 20, 1926, in Terni, a town 65 miles northeast of Rome.

Libero nurtured an early love of racing motorcycles into a nationwide championship in 1948 at the age of 22. Italians revered him for his skill and competitive spirit, his total commitment to the sport, and his inspiring self-confidence. They cheered him wildly in the 1950s when he raced in the Grand Prix world championship competitions. His 1956 win in the Grand Prix’s 350cc (cubic centimeters) category and his victory a year later in the 500cc category guaranteed a lasting reputation as a racing legend. Tragically, in March 1962 at the age of 35, he died in a training accident in his hometown.

When I first came across the name, I emailed a long-time friend of mine in Rome, Luigi Manzione. “Don’t Libero Liberati’s first and last names both mean liberty or freedom?” I asked Luigi. Here was his response:

Both the given name and the surname mean freedom. I would say that Libero can be translated to the English expression, “I’m free,” and that “Liberati' means “We are free.” The word Liberati can have two different meanings when spoken, depending on which syllable the accent falls. If the accent is on the first syllable, the meaning changes into “Free yourself.” I remember that these names became very popular in the ‘40s and ‘50s; parents gave these names after the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the [Mussolini] dictatorship.

“Lawrence” and “Larry” are fine names, and I have no intention of ever changing them, especially since I’m named for my dad, Lawrence (Larry) Reed Sr. But if I had to pick another, I could keep at least the “L” and go with a first and last name that both refer to something to which I’ve devoted my professional life. Would it add a little extra weight to my articles if they were signed, “by Libero Liberati”?

The real Libero Liberati is remembered as one of Italy’s greatest motorcycle racers. A stadium in Terni is named for him. From all that I can discern, he seems to have been a great guy with a beautiful name.

(Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty at the Foundation for Economic Education in Atlanta, Georgia.)