The name: Ricardo

The name: Ricardo is the Portuguese and Spanish name associated with Richard, therefore it's historical meaning being "Great/Powerful leader". My mother chose my name after my dad, which in Colombia is actually very common for people to name their sons after their father, it is part of the tradition. There are definitely some pros and cons in having your father's name which can definitely form part of the personal significance on my name, these include already having a bond with your dad and there is already an incentive for you to succeed him, but you will also have to deal with this "pressure" to live up to the name and match or improve on his accomplishments or following his footsteps. Similarly to Julia Alvarez's essay, their relatives called her "Julita" and for me it would be "Ricardito" to show a closer connection and to differentiate me and my dad, other cases can be seen when people call me Ricardo Jr even though "Jr" isn't really part of my name. Nicknames or changes to my name have also been said to me such as Ricky and Rick, which for them would be easier or preferable to say, also functioning as a way to translate my name into English. 

The name is reflective in my identity and character, as I said before, having the same name as my dad gives me an incentive to be a successful person, looking up to him and following his footsteps, but also makes me want to differentiate myself from him by doing things he hasn't done in the past. This can be seen as I consider myself good at sports and more of an athlete, having played for numerous football clubs and done swimming for around 10 years, his of course would be a totally different area my dad wasn't too successful in.