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By: Camilla Lyubarov
I was born on January 12, 2011 at 4:20 p.m. in NYU. “I think we should call her Camilla,” my mother explained to my father. It was agreed with both of my parents that I would be Camilla. I was named after my great-grandmother Kam-Wa, (also known as Kam or Cam) who took care of my mother when she was a child, and my mother’s roommate/best friend from college named Camila who became a talented artist and designer. My parents also liked the sound of the name Camilla and thought it was unique.

My mother wanted a name with an international meaning (having a name that means a lot of things in different languages). Cam means gold in Cantonese. Camilla was a Roman warrior and the word Camilla means “female fighter” in Latin. In Italian, Camilla means perfect as is, and Camila (with one “L”) is a common Spanish name. The name Camilla also originates from Camillus, a term for a youth serving Acolyte in ritual of Ancient Roman religion.

I like the name Camilla. If someone asked me what name I would like to have if I could change it I would just keep my name as is. Sometimes I don’t really feel like I’m the person that’s golden, a warrior, or perfect but the Camilla I’m thinking about is the person that I already am. That name has grown into my identity over the years. Yes, there are more people and named Camilla. But none of them are the same as me.  I  am Camilla. No, I am Camilla Lyubarov!

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By Alex Pardo

It all started with the letter A. In the car ride up to Maryland, it was February,snow was falling and my parents were rushing to get me at the hospital! “Do you think Alessandro is a good name?  We can use Alex as a nickname!!!” blurted my mom. When I came out I shot out like a cannonball (lucky no concussion). I am adopted, which is sometimes a pain when people ask that. My mom is Jewish. In the Jewish tradition your name needs to have the first letter of someone who recently died.

My great grandfather Aberham (not Lincoln) fought in WWII. I like to think that I have a fighter, soldier, warrior, and hero in my blood. That is probably why I never miss a nerf gun shot (and no Eleanor or Kati I won't call myself the   MEANANNOYINGADICTEDTOVIDIOGAMESTRON2000).  I am good at sword fighting. I can disarm an opponent in 30 seconds max. I can shoot a nerf gun blinded and do a 360 no scope (that means you fire without using a scope or looking).

My mom wanted to name me Alessio but she named me Alessandro because she wanted Alex as a nickname. My other nicknames are AP, CT-5555 (from Star Wars. I like Star Wars and my friends know that I do so they gave me that nickname), The White Wolf, The Lone wolf, Da boss and MEANANNOYINGADICTEDTOVIDIOGAMESTRON2000. What nicknames do you have? I like those nicknames except MEANANNOYINGADICTEDTOVIDIOGAMESTRON2000.  Noah and Jackson Poindexter call me AP, Ben and Marcel and Ben call me the white/lone wolf and they all call me CT-5555!

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Ten years ago my parents figured out that in nine months they will welcome their first born child into the world. My mom was a teacher. When my mom was pregnant with me she taught a kid named Julian. All of a sudden my mom loved the name Julian and thought maybe she could name me that. Well, obviously my mom did end up naming me Julian because here I am. My dad also loved the name Julian.

When my dad was a kid he just so happened to have a babysitter named Julian. When my mom brought up the name Julian, my dad remembered this little bit of information. My dad loved the name. Plus, my parents both love the Beatles and one of their lead singers' kids  is named Julian Lennon so that helped them agree on the name Julian.

My family members call me Juju all the time. I like hearing my name when my parents call me for dinner. My nickname is juju. When my parents call me Juju I know they're just messing around, but when they call me Julian I know it’s more serious.  Julian Isacc Leibowitz is my full name. Overall I love my name Julian and my parents couldn’t have picked a better name!!  Julian Isacc Leibowitz is my full name.

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By Baxton Ling

My parents were looking for a name that starts with a B, so me and my dad can have the same nickname Bling. My mom and dad were struggling to find a name for me because they didn't know if I was a boy or girl. Until my mom had a test to figure out my gender. Then when the test was finished the doctor finalized that I was a boy. My parents were so relieved that they didn't have to think of girl names any more, but the only problem is that now they have to  think of a boy name now. It took them a long time to figure out what name to give me. They finally found the name Buxton. They did not like the U in the name luckly my dad loves James Bond, and he owns the Aston Martin so they took the A from Aston Martin to replace the U.

Traditions in my family are that the start of the name has to start with a B. The tradition is kind of new, and it started in my dad's generation. My grandfather started this tradition because he wanted me to share the same nickname with my dad. My dad's name is Brian Ling and my name is Baxton Ling. Also when I grow up I want to name my son/daughter with a B so we can also share the same nickname. Overall I think that my tradition is awesome!

My middle name is Austin, the capital of Texas. My parents actually met in Austin and it took them a little while to figure out if they wanted to make it my middle name. They met because my mom had a friend that was also my dad's friend. They didn’t mean to meet, but they did. My dad lived in Austin and my mom lived in Boston and my mom’s friend invited her over to Austin. She found out that my dad was also her friend's friend. The name Austin feels unique and special.

Overall, I think my whole entire name is pretty unique and special because I’ve never met anyone else that has the name Baxton Austin Ling.

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By Molly-Michael Lamb
My name story isn’t very convoluted but I think it really shows that Molly will always be my name and that it was always meant to be my name, so I want to share it with you. By the time I was born my parents had narrowed the list of names down to two names Molly-Michael and Rowen they had been thinking for a long time and people were getting kinda restless. The people who were with my parents were like what’s her name and my parents were like we haven’t decided! Hours had passed  since I was born and  they still didn’t have a name. So they decided to flip a coin.(Heads for Molly-Michael, tails for Rowen.) They flipped the coin and it landed on tails, when they then looked at their daughter they saw a Molly-Micheal not a Rowen. So that’s how I got my name.(P.S. I’m glad my name is not Rowen.)

There are some naming traditions in my family that I know of, on my mom’s side I know that sometimes children have double names, with a name of their own and their father’s name after it. On my dad’s side I don't really know of any naming traditions. These naming traditions have slightly influenced how my brother, sister and  I were named . My sister’s full name is Tallulah Virginia Lamb, her middle name Virginia is my mother’s mother’s name. My brother’s full name is Nathanial Morrow Lamb, his first name is my dad’s grandfather’s name and his middle name is my mother’s father’s name.

Do I like my name? Yes, I love it! I love it when my mama calls me down to dinner, I love it when my daddy says hello after coming home from a long day of work. Sometimes I think, is Molly my nickname, because my name is Molly-Michael and I’m being called Molly for short? I don’t want to be called Molly-Michael right now because I think it’s long and hard to say but in the future I think I will go by Molly-Michael because it’s my name and I love it. Molly-Michael Lamb, that’s my name, don't wear it out.

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By Fiona Inamoto

My name is Fiona Rika Inamoto. I was born on the morning of May 15, 2011. My parents knew what my name was going to be even before I was born. They had a whole list of other names for me, but one stuck out more than the others. This is the way they chose my name. My mom’s name is Amy. As she was growing up, she knew lots of other people with the same name as her, and she still knows a few today, and never liked it a lot. My dad’s name is Rei, and many people he met pronounced it wrong, like “Ree”, but the right way to pronounce it is “Ray”. Those are some things that helped my parents choose my name; they didn’t want names that were really common, but they also didn’t want names that were something weird, like Flamingo or Closet or something.

My dad’s side is from Japan, so my parents wanted a Japanese middle name. My middle name, Rika, means pear blossom in Japanese. In some other places, it also means things like loved, peaceful ruler, and ruler. My nickname is Fifi, and as well as being short for Fiona, I realized the two letters in it are also my initials. F and I, for Fiona Inamoto. My parents and some of my friends call me Fifi, but my brother, Jasper, never does, and I never call him his nickname.

Fiona, Fiona, Fiona. My name makes me think of my upstate house. The calm wind, the pool, and shining sun. Even though it doesn’t mean anything, I think it fits me. I’ve known people with similar names, but I don’t know anyone with the same name as me, (except for one or two people in books and movies) and that makes me unique.the was a whole list of other names my parents had for me, and some of those I wouldn’t mind having as a name, but I feel like it would make me different as a person. For example, I can’t really imagine someone saying something like “Hi Annette!”, or “Bye, Ellie!”. It just doesn’t feel right, if you know what I mean. So, overall, I love my name, and I always will. Fiona Rika Inamoto.

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Hi, my name is Leo the Lion/Leo Cohen. I am the kid who is in 4C named Leo so you really know where to find me. My mom found out she was pregnant after tearing her ACL and going to the ER. Ok, now that I introduced myself and showed you how my mom found out she was pregnant let's go back to 6:00 PM on 11/17/10 at a hospital in Manhattan where my mother is having surgery (I was facing the wrong way luckily nothing bad happened).  A boy with goo on his face and a cord coming out of his belly crying, causing a ruckus, and yet my mom was crying with happiness. My mom said “Hello Leo”.

My name means lion in Latin and fun fact sahim in Malayan means Leo Lion and King of the beasts. My name resembles who I am but more importantly who my family is: fighters. They were fighters because they survived the holocaust (the holocaust is when Adolf Hitler killed a chunk of the population of Jews) (my great grandfathers and grandmothers survived the holocaust)  my grandpa was the biggest fighter of all because he had Crohn's disease, grew up in poverty, had a family and made a living. He also went to an amazing medical school for free. My name makes me feel like I am as amazing as my relatives and I am the richest person with happiness like my grandpa. I was named Leo to keep fighting and never give up.

My mom naming me Leo has a funny backstory.  Not many people have been named after the main character in their aunt’s romance novel but I have. My aunt offered the name idea to my mom and my parents loved it. To clarify I am not Leonardo my name is just Leo and if you ever had a play date with me and my doorman called me Leonardo that is just a nickname he called me ( Don’t get any ideas). My name is very fun to say and to hear and I am happy to say I am Leo Cohen.  I will never stop and I will always rest at the top, at least in my book.

(corny ending)  😒

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By Caiden Silverstein

Three months before I was born my parents had come up with two names Luca and Caiden (Although they didn't know the spelling of Caiden yet). My mom had supported the name Luca but my dad favored Caiden. After about a week of debating my parents came up with one name: Caiden. In my opinion I think the name Caiden fits me better because Luca means light and I don't  think that defines me as much as the name Caiden. I think that the name Caiden just fits me more than the name Luca because when I say my Caiden I just think of me. But if I say Luca I think of a random kid.

Caiden - /Kay - din/  Def.1 Loyalty Def.2 Warrior Def.3 Friendship Def.4 Resilient

The traits above apply to me because I'm resilient and a warrior. I  never give in, never stop fighting for what is right, and I keep on working. Friendship and loyalty apply to me because I love making friends and I'm very loyal to them. My name has different meanings in different cultures, Arabic, Hebrew, and Irish. Even though I'm not Arabic or Irish I love that because I have lots of interest in different cultures and countries.

When my parents decided my name they had to pick a spelling and there were many spellings to choose from: Cayden, Caidin, Caiden, Caden, Caydin, Kayden, Kaden, and many more. I like that the way I spell my name is unique, not like other spellings of Caiden. Some of my other favorite spellings are: Cayden, Caden, and Kayden. Overall I think that my parents chose the right ame with the right spelling. My name is Caiden and I'm proud of it!

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How I Got My Name P.S Make sure to read the story too

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By Lillian Ziff

On September 16th, 2010 at NYU hospital an amazing human was born. On my due date I came into the world toward 8:30pm. My mom and dad had already decided my name. My mom wanted me to have an L name so that I would have the same initials as my mom, LMZ. Before my mom married my dad her initials were LMS, Leslie Marie Simpson and my grandmothers was Linda Marie Simpson. My mom and dad were deciding between the name Lillian and the name Lilah I believe Lilah was the name of one of my great grandmothers (all on my moms side). I’m glad I was named Lillian because I can’t imagine being named Lilah.

My middle name is Marie which means bitter (that 100% does not describe me) (unless I'm really mad). My mom's family goes down three generations with that middle name. Linda Marie, Leslie Marie, Lillian Marie, and my sister Sofia Marie. If you counted my great grandma’s first name being Marie then it would go down four generations which I think is pretty awesome. Even though Marie was a very common name and is a very common middle name, I still think it's unique. You have to admit, Lillian Marie Ziff’s gotta good ring to it.

I’ve never known the meaning of my name, so I decided I would look it up. It turns out that Lillian means purity, innocence, and beauty. It also comes from the latin word Lillium which means Lily. I asked my mom if that is why she named me Lillian. She said she had no idea Lillian meant something special. She just really liked the name. Unlike my dad who originally said he would call me Lily instead of Lillian (but he never did). If someone calls me Lily I always say my name is not Lily it is Lillian. I think if my dad called me Lily it would probably be different and Lily would be pretty much my name but he doesn't. Lillian is a not a very common name but also a common name but, the thing is like 70% of people who are named Lillian go by Lily so I find my name very unique and I love it (my full name not just Lillian)!