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I logged on to my Friendster account as soon as I got home.Out of curiosity, I typed my name in the search field.I was surprised to find out that there are 144 Karen Santiago’s in Friendster.There were only 40++ when I checked it several months ago.

Out of the 6 newly recruits in our audit firm, two of them are of the same name as mine.

We are two Karen Santiago’s who took—and passed—the October 2007 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Licensure Examinations.

Based on what I discovered and experienced, I therefore conclude that my name is ordinary. Plain. Simple.Very common.

*****

This is the story behind my name.

I texted my parents how did they come up with my name.

“Mom, dad, bakit Karen ang pangalan ko?”

After I sent them the message, I realized that I just asked a weird question.When I was young, I envied my classmates in Kindergarten because they have two or three names before their middle and last name.I wished that I have a longer name because for me it is a basis in answering the question, “Does your parents love you or not?Answer now and get a free pizza!”The longer your first name, the more your parents love you.

The last sentence is just a joke.

My two sisters also have a longer name than mine—Karisma, my older sister, and Karmina Grace, the younger one.People call them Karis and Karmi, respectively.I asked myself back then, “Bakit sila ang hahaba ng pangalan, ako Karen lang? Unfair!Para magka nick name din ako (shorter name).” Now I’m sure you are confused what do I really, really want.I was confused as well.

My father replied to my message several hours later.

“Kasi maganda ka at magaling kumanta na kagaya ni Karen Carpenter.”

I almost texted back, “Wrong sent ka dad?” But certainly that message was for me.He texted again, “Kasi kailangan “K” kayong magkakapatid.”

Like some other parents, they patterned their children’s names in accordance to the alphabet.In my case, they chose “K”—Karisma, Karen, Karmina Grace.KKK.

Punitin ang sedula!

I almost asked them why is my first name short.But forget it.I’m happy with my name, though.

*****

Out of my curiosity (am I getting too curious enough?), I searched for my name’s meaning and origin.I visited several “name-meaning-and-origin-webpages” to find it out.Let me share to you some:

Nametranslation.co.uk - Huge tits, shags like a rabbit. (My comment:Now this is really weird! Should I hate the fact that this is my name? Hmmmmmm!)

Babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com – Greek and Danish name meaning “pure”.(I heard of this when I was just a kid, now this is confirmed.Nice!)

Thinkbabynames.com - It is of Danish origin. Short form of Katherine (Greek) “pure”. (I think Katherine is a cool name.)

Wikipedia.com - As a female name, Danish form of the name Katherine and means “pure”. It was one of the top ten names for girls born in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, peaking as the 3rd most popular girl’s name in 1965.In Armenian, the name Karen is masculine and its origins lie in an exiled Armenian prince in Persia.(Now this is cool.)

*****

Though ordinary, plain, simple, and very common, I thank God and my parents for giving me this name.This name labels the person who wrote this article that you’re reading right at this very moment.This name characterizes a person with an extraordinary purpose in life—to put a smile on people’s faces, to serve as an encouragement to those who needs one, and to live an ultimate service to God—the one and only source of this life.

Ako po si Karen Santiago.

~ by karensantiago on November 6, 2008. Tagged: blog, cam, jil, karen, kkb, my name