My Name is Cameron.

One of the most mature people I know said they call people by the name they introduce themselves. When I met this man, I introduced myself as Cameron, and he has called me Cameron ever since. 

He even has a nephew named Cameron and they call him Cam, but he didn’t assume that I would be okay with being called Cam, too. Otherwise, he asks people how they want to be referenced before assuming they’re okay with their name being abbreviated.

He’s the only person I ever met like that, and it’s a character trait I will carry myself. 

In high school, my friends would call me Cam or Killa Cam, in reference to the rapper. It made me feel proud then. Inclusive.

But I’m 33 years old now. I have a wife and a child. Choosing to abbreviate my name without my permission comes off as disrespectful even when I can tell that people have no ill intentions behind it and it just comes naturally to them. Like calling someone named Gregory, Greg. Joshua, Josh. Thomas, Thom. 

If those people are okay with their name being abbreviated, then that’s fine. But it’s ignorant to assume that everyone is okay with abbreviating their name, especially when you don’t have a personal relationship with them or when you only interact with this person in the workplace.

I know someone who said they gone call me camcam. I didn’t nip it in the bud at the moment, but I will tell them to not call me that again. It’s even more disrespectful to tell someone what you’re going to call them.

Ask a Black man I’m even more sensitive to people abbreviating my name. 

Names hold significant cultural, familial, and personal importance. 

In African-American history, the reclaiming and respecting of one’s name is linked to a broader struggle for dignity and identity, especially in contexts where names were historically altered or disregarded during periods of enslavement and segregation. Therefore, the decision to abbreviate my name without my consent is perceived as a lack of respect for my identity.

And Black people alike abbreviate names too. But that can also be linked to a feeling of familiarity that I did not give you a pass to. How many Black people take it upon themselves to abbreviate white people’s names?

And I loathe people who call me buddy. I’m nobody’s buddy. I’m not your fucking dog. I’m a husband, a father, a son, a friend, a coworker, and my name is Cameron.