They call me Kerr or Kerry now. Once upon a time my childhood bedroom had a heart with my name written in it and a Care Bear painted on the wall next to it. I became Kerr-Bear. Cute, no?
Nicknames are fun and sometimes irritating. We don’t get to choose our names, but nicknames can follow us around forever.
I used to be annoyed by being called a cartoon bear, but now I kind of miss it. A boyfriend did it to get under my skin. Not so cute when you’re fifteen-years-old.
The story of how I got my actual name, which I may have previously told here. Ah, but who’s counting?
My big sister, born two years before me, they named Kim. Another K name was what my parents were going for. Then, in the bed next to my mom was a woman named Kerry. Interesting spelling, not all that common, so that is the one they went with. The perfect K name. It was meant to be.
I like that story, for some reason. I wasn’t named after family. I could have been Kelly or Karen or Katie, if it weren’t for that woman in the next hospital bed that day.
Middle names are odd to me. Mine was Lynne. Sometimes Lynn. I would forget actual spelling for a chunk of time. Mine was/is the same as my cousin. Now I share Lynne with my new niece. I am beyond thrilled and honoured that my sister and brother-in-law would grant me this gift.
Mine is a name that must be annunciated clearly, or else people hear Karen or Kaylee. They never spell it right. I like being me, being her, being Kerr.
This has been a
Finish The Sentence Friday
with Kristi from Finding Ninee.
One final thought:
I am currently watching the new adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale and all women are forced to change their names. It helps strip them of any prior identity and it made me wonder what I would feel, if suddenly, I was forbidden to be me, forbidden to be Kerry?
Her Headache 
Lovely name , Kerry. I am happy that your sister decided to name your niece after your middle name . 😊 I too don’t understand the logic behind the tradition of adopting the husband’s last name after marriage . I didn’t have to but then for women who do , probably just continue to be the same old person in a new dress that she didn’t necessarily want to buy .😊
Best wishes,
Moon
https://aslifehappens60.wordpress.com
Thank you. I was thrilled when they told me. Love sharing such a thing with her.
Nicknames are a dangerous game. When given lovingly, they can be a sweet connection to our loved ones. When given otherwise, though, as a taunt or with cruel intent, they can be very harmful.
Your name story is cool – I always think it’s interesting to know how and why our names were chosen.
You are right. I went through stages with my nickname. It was, no doubt, a cute one when I was small. Then, as a teenager, I put as much distance between me and it as I could. Now, meh.
I love that you have a name story! I just know I would have been Damien had I been a boy. That would have been unfortunate, because as I started kindergarten “The Omen” came out, and Damien is the devil. Far cry from a care bear!
Ooh, that wouldn’t have been so great. Names are an interesting part of all of us. That’s for sure.
OMG I’m watching Handmaid Tale too and the whole Offred, UGH. I’d not be allowed to be with my husband because he was married before but IF I were of him, I’d be Ofrobert. UGH. Also I love the name Kerry. When I was pregnant, and didn’t yet know Tucker was a boy, I was thinking of both K and C names. Chloe, Kerry, and Kallie (long a) were the girl names. Care Bears – I’d forgotten about them.
They were a big thing, the cartoon and stuffed bears, when I was young. I think there has been an updated version of the show. I’ve seen my niece and nephew watching it.
Yes, so horrible. I just know those extremes are out there. It’s a small population of those who might want to go to that sort of world, but I hope it never comes to that. It’s nightmarish.