How did I get my name?

My friend Carla over at All of Me...now has a wonderful idea. She wants to tell her story to her children. Not just one snapshot in time, but a series of stories to show them who she was before they knew her as "Mom". I love the idea and will be participating in the weekly series. It is important to me that I retain my identity and not just be seen as a mom. I had a full life before I had kids and that didn't disappear once I had my first child. So with out further ado, the first installment of "Me before Mom".

How did you get your name? Did you always love it? Have you ever wanted to change it?

Kameron Louise

From what I've been told, my first name had 2 major influences. My mom's best friend Dean's middle name was Cameron, and then there was a dancer on American Bandstand named Kami. My mom said she always loved the name and that is why she decided to spell it with a K. The ironic thing is she never called me Kami and I hated it so much when people would call me that, that I wouldn't allow it! The only one who ever got away with it was my uncle. He called me Kami-Lou until I was an adult. I think he did it just to get a rise out of me! 

My middle name is my grandma's middle name. While I thought it sounded slightly "Little House on the Prairie" when I was younger, I have always like the fact that my Gram and I shared a middle name. We were really close when I was growing up and it felt like our own secret club.

I have a pretty unique name, but I didn't always like it. People couldn't pronounce it right. I got called Carmen, Candace and Kam-or-on a lot. I would just politely correct them and watch their puzzled face as they tried to say it right the next time.  I don't think I met another girl with my name until I was out of high school, and even then it was spelled with a C. My mom was adamant that people spell my name correctly. She always introduced me as "Kameron with a K".  It was humiliating back then, but I find myself doing it now. People often thought I was a boy by my name. I even got a notice from the U.S. government after I turned 18 saying it was a felony not to register for the draft. I think, just like everything in life, the grass is always greener on the other side. I wished I had a more normal name. I wished I didn't have to pronounce it for everyone or spell it all the time. Having a unique name made me a target for teasing too, but I think kids will always find something to tease about anyway.

It wasn't until I got into high school that I started liking my name. I started appreciating the fact that I wasn't one of 3 Heathers in my class that had to go by Heather followed by their last initial. When someone said my name, there was only one of me. I liked it even more as I got into college. It was a conversation starter. I started to really own it. I think it fits me. I sort of don't like the fact that if you Google my name I am the only one that shows up, but I guess it is cool that there is only one me.