Caron
Someone with my name ran across my other blog this week and left me a comment. How cool is that?! The comment and, someone else with my name! I’m not certain how she pronounces hers. Mine is Car + on, NOT Care + on.
By the time I was in 4th grade I was so tired of being called Karen, that I took action. It caused my 4th grade teacher some worry, ( Honey, is everything ok? You’ve been mis-spelling you own name.) Knowing my phonics, I determined that if I just dropped that damn “o,” there should be no other option that to call me Carn (Car + on, just a little shorter.)
Well, there were. Carrie, Cam, still Karen, and one year I was registered at camp as Carl. I was too young to appreciate how much fun that could have been! Legally, it’s always stayed Caron. Carn became my nickname. I’m probably the only person whose nickname and name are pronounced the same.
A name like Caron is unusual. I can’t get any good stories out of parents as to where the choice came from. I was supposed to be named Denise, but, my aunt and uncle named their daughter Denise a few months before I was born.
People often assume it’s my last name, and then ask for my first name. When I declare, that was my first name, very few people apologize. They most often tell me that my name is pretty. And I always think to myself, HUH??? Pretty??? You thought it was my last name!! Yes, you’re right. Everyone knows the more lyrical, beautiful names are the last names. It’s not that I don’t like my name. I do. I just don’t find it pretty. I can’t imagine having any other name. Would I have become as unique and creative an individual if my name was normal? I’m thinking not.
I have caused a bit of consternation among my friends and family in the last year or so, as I have gone back to the original spelling for many things. It has to be legal on driver’s license, and checkbooks, documents etc… I like the way it looks with the “o” better than the 4 letters.
Some friends have postulated that when I dropped that “o” the winter of “74 - “75 I may have sent it’s energy off to someone who was just starting her broadcasting career. She’s gotten a long way with it, even using it as her magazine’s title. I could really use a little of that energy for myself just now, so I’m reclaiming my “o.”
Are you the Caron who posts on the Dear Jane quilting list? Just curious.
I have never had trouble with people pronouncing my first name, except for my pre-school teacher who insisted on calling me Kristy and an old boss who couldn’t say Care-ee. He would only say Car-ee. Weirdness. My last name (both maiden and current) is a whole ‘nother story so I sorta feel your pain.