Hello my name is...
Growing up with a funky name becomes more and more fantastic as the years go on!
“What’s your name little girl, What’s your name”
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Now that I’m in my Second Half, the “uncomfortable deer in the headlights, I have no idea what you just said your name is,” has become very entertaining. Those poor souls; subject to digesting my name for the first time: Carami.
Typical First Meeting
“Hello, I’m Bob.”
“Hi, my name is Carami.”
“Nice to meet you, what do people call you? What’s your nickname?”
“People just call me Carami.”
I’ve loved my name my entire life, but I’m not sure people (new to me) feel the same. It’s different and complex. It’s hard for people to remember and certainly troublesome for people to read and pronounce in English. Substitute teachers stumbled over it and I perpetually feel for the nurse who collects me from a doctor’s waiting room. It’s invariably the same every time: the waiting room door from the back office opens, a nurse appears, looks at the clipboard, freezes, crunches his/her eyes and nose, looks at the clipboard closer, and then attempts to call out an undesirable version like: “Care-RAH-Mee” or “Car-a-MYE.”
Carami (CARE-ah-mee) is unnatural to read aloud in English and has proven to be extremely rare for a stranger to read aloud correctly the first time. Even when I share my name verbally, it’s forever impossible for someone to hear, discern, and repeat. People kind of stare blank eyed for a second and then nod with a half smile. I’ve probably said, “It’s Carami, like Jeremy with a C,” thousands of times. I realize they have no idea what was just presented to them and I am certain they hope not to be obligated to speak to me for the rest of the engagement. Socializing with new people is just a blast! Mixing my awkward virgo (non) social skills with the other party never really getting my name in the first place. Everlastingly good times.
How did you name me?
Officially, I was given my name at the Houston Northwest Medical Center. My mom begins the story below of how they named me, their third child, with how my parents named their first two children…
Mom: I thought that was such a pretty name, and so when [our first] was born, a girl, I named her Angela and [my sister] Joey was mad, because that was her [baby] name which she had told me, and I had forgotten that, and I stole her [baby] name.
Dad: Yoooouuuu stole her naaaame.
Mom: So we had little Angela. And then when Ben was born I wanted Benjamin and Lynn didn’t want Benjamin, he didn’t like the name.
Dad: What did I want for a boy’s name?
Mom: I don’t know but you didn’t like Benjamin. And I was sitting in the hospital and I thought oh, I know, wouldn’t it be cute if we [named our kids with] A, B, C and he loved that idea and he just caught right on to that idea. So he went with Benjamin. Ha ha.
Dad: Yeah, that’s true.
Mom: So when the third baby was coming I said well you can name this baby. We thought and thought and I thought Tara was a nice name, I liked that name Tara. And he said no, it has to be a C, and so what could we do? And so then I was in the grocery store and I saw Caramia in the grocery store. It was that company that makes food, and they call it Caramia. Well, I thought, Cara-mia is kind of like Tara, that’s a pretty name. And so I went home and told him.
Dad: So in English it’s one thing but then in Spanish you carry it a little further, but the song, “Sweet Caramia.” I can’t remember the rest of the song, but there’s a song. I think it’s an English song but it’s about a Spanish girl. Mom: Well I thought Caramia was a really pretty name. We had already talked about Jean being a middle name.
Dad: The thing is, cara is face and mia is my. It’s like “my face” in Spanish. So I thought mia is not a name and cara…we can’t name her a name that is “my face.”
Mom: So then we had the baby and she was a little girl and I told Lynn, it’s your turn to name her. So maybe Cara Jean, because we liked the name Jean. It wasn’t Jane like mine, I like my middle name Jane; Jean was different. So we talked about that. I said it’s your turn to name her.
Dad: So then I said, well why don’t we be creative and just have Carami and we could have Jean as the middle name.
Mom: So that’s how we named you and it turned out to be a very beautiful name.
Dad: Yes, people envy that name, they like that name. The Japanese read it just fine
My husband and I jumped on the opportunity to travel with my sister-in-law, Tomoko, my brother, their son, and my other sister to Japan recently. Tomoko’s Japanese family curated name tags for all of us as we toured around together. Our names were written in Japanese, while their names were written using English letters. As I wore that name tag around Japan, complete strangers would look at it, look me in the eye, and pronounce my name exactly right. WOW, that was the first time of my life that happened! I can count on one hand when someone in the past has read and said my name aloud for the first time with the correct pronunciation. I was sooooo impressed. I stood a little bit taller. Furthermore, Tomoko’s cousin fabricates hanko seals for his trade. A hanko is a personal stamp that is traditionally used in lieu of a handwritten signature in Japan. He made me an official hanko of my name and now I feel like I’ve fully arrived. (Picture below)
Realizing that around the world my name may not be super funky has made my Second Half just a little bit sweeter.
As a young girl growing up I looked for my name on those little license plates and other nicknacks that adorned names of boys and girls. I just hoped it would appear one day. It never did and never has. I know others can relate. I realize I'm special, custom made, and so is my beautiful name.
💙Carami
Let’s interact: Share something - anything - about your name! or what you thought of my name, Carami, when you first saw it / heard it - be honest. Leave a comment below.
You wrote your name on my email list and I read it out loud--no wonder you were so surprised I said it right! Does this mean I have some Japanese in me?? Or maybe it’s because I love words, segments of words, playing with words. It also reminds me of the song Cara Mia by Jay and the Americans back in the 60s. I have always loved that song. I just now listened to it and then I found the artist performing it when he was in his 60s--he still could hit those high notes! Btw, Cara derives from Irish and means friend!
You have a beautiful name, I love each part of it. I also know how to pronounce your name, and I always remember two sounds in Portuguese that mean caramel and want me around. You are unique, your name is a prove of it. Such incredible human being!