A Name I Can Live With

From WikiName

Author: Pamela A. Lewis

"How did you decide to name me 'Pamela'?," I once asked my mother. There had been no previous Pamelas in the family, so I could not have been the namesake of some beloved and departed forbear. Although both of my parents had completed high school, I was certain that neither of them were aware of my monniker's literary pedigree. Despite the Greek origin of the name, meaning, "honey sweet," there are no Greek branches on my family tree.

The name had enjoyed much popularity in British Guiana, the then-colony of my parents' birth, and before she emigrated to the United States with my father, my mother decided that were she to have a daughter, "Pamela" would be her name. To her ears, the name suggested grace, poise, and refinement, all the qualities a girl should possess. "I just thought it was a beautiful, feminine name," my mother answered, "and it will go well with 'Anne,'" which would be my middle name.

But about that literary pedigree: The name Pamela first appeared in the late 16th century in the poem "Arcadia," by Sir Philip Sidney. In 1740, the name was carried by the eponymous heroine in Sam Richardson's novel, Pamela or Virtue Rewarded. Obviously the play was a hit as Pamela soon became a common given name. "Pamela" would not experience such popularity again until the 1940s and 1950s in the United States.

Although I do answer to "Pam," I really prefer the full "Pamela." Some have tried to get my attention by calling me "Pammy," which is always met with glacial silence on my part. One of my college professors, thinking she was being playful, once called me "Chamela." Like Queen Victoria, I was not amused, and I firmly (but politely: I did not want to jeopardize my grade) asked her to desist.

Placing the stress in the middle or end of the name causes smoke to come out of my ears; the name simply does not lend itself to such exotic pronunciations, so I am quick to correct such faux pas.

"Pamela" makes me feel classy, yet not snobbish; graceful and a little special since not many women have the name. It's delightful to have a name whose meaning I try very hard to live up to. (Being honey sweet is not always easy!)

It's a comfortable fit, a name I can definitely live with.