Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

  • home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Anthologies
    • Blue Birds
    • The Burning Season
    • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine
    • May B.
    • Miraculous
    • Over in the Wetlands
    • A Race Around the World
    • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Author Visits
  • Virtual Visits
  • Events
  • Teacher Resources
  • Contact
  • Writing One to One

Caroline Starr Rose: Making Sense of My Name

32 Comments

It felt like time to pull this post out again, as I’ve gotten questions of late. Here’s the inside scoop.

Because it seems to come up often during school visits and while chatting online (there’s even been some confusion at Random House), I thought I’d explain my name today, specifically the Starr business.

Starr is my middle name. It’s not my maiden name. It’s not hyphenated. Just my plain ol’ middle name. I know my email address doesn’t help make things clear (I don’t use my last name, just my first and middle). I was named for my grandmother, Gene Starr, and my mother, Polly Starr. As I don’t have any daughters, my boys have graciously named the dog Boudreaux Starr.

When I was a middle schooler, Starr felt like a curse. I was always asked if my parents were hippies and if I had sisters named Moonbeam and Sunshine at home. Now I like it. A lot. It flows so nicely with Caroline and Rose.

So now you know!

Anyone else with a unique name?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Filed Under: family, this and that

Comments

  1. Matthew MacNish says

    May 2, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    My middle name is Minneice, which is an Anglicization of my paternal grandmother’s maiden name. It’s where I got the pen name MacNish from.

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 2, 2013 at 6:26 pm

      Very cool! Where was your grandmother from?

      Reply
  2. Faith E. Hough says

    May 2, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    I love your name! I’ve always thought it sounded like an L. M. Montgomery heroine. You must have loved the Starr when you read Emily. πŸ™‚
    I’ve been asked if my parents were hippies, too. I guess “Faith” is a pretty unusual name, but I like it. Except for the fact that no child under 4 has ever been able to say it! (Some can’t say “F” and some can’t say “th” and some can’t say either…so I have been Aunt Faif, Face, Tace, Tacy, Taith, Kate, Katy, Faish, Shaish…)

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 2, 2013 at 7:37 pm

      The Emily Starr connection was the one thing I loved as a kid.

      And now, I will always think of you as Aunt Face. πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  3. Kenda Turner says

    May 2, 2013 at 7:23 pm

    My name is Kenda–not Kendra or Kendall or any of a number of other versions I’m often called πŸ™‚ My dad’s name was Kenneth and I was named for him. Enjoyed reading about your name, Caroline…

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 2, 2013 at 7:38 pm

      Perfect! I can see why people might want to add some extra letters, but it’s you, through and through.

      Reply
  4. Melissa Sarno says

    May 2, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    The Starr is my favorite part of your name. : ) I like it even more now that I know the story. It is also the last name of a main character for a novel I wrote years ago so I particularly like it! My name is annoyingly normal. I grew up with dozens of Melissa’s in the 80’s. But most people just call me Sarno which is far less common and I like it that way. : )

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 2, 2013 at 7:55 pm

      I’ll have to start thinking of you as Sarno!

      Reply
  5. Linda Jackson says

    May 2, 2013 at 9:31 pm

    I love your name, Caroline. I think it goes with your book. My name is simple: Linda Joyce. But I always thought it was cool because I’m named after my first cousin, whom I thought looked like Diana Ross.

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 3, 2013 at 2:29 pm

      You can’t beat Diana Ross, Linda Joyce!

      Reply
  6. colby says

    May 3, 2013 at 3:04 am

    Great post!

    My name is a little odd “Colby Sharp”, but I’m cool with it.

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 3, 2013 at 2:30 pm

      I love that your last name tells us what kind of Colby you are. πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  7. Margaret Simon says

    May 3, 2013 at 10:46 am

    I love hearing about your Starr. I have wondered myself. It fits you well. I am working on a verse novel in which the main character hates her name. Names are important to us. I am named for my maternal grandmother who died a few months before I was born, so I have always thought she was my guardian angel.

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 3, 2013 at 2:31 pm

      Love this, Margaret. And it’s so true: names shape us (and shape the ways we think of others, at times).

      Reply
  8. Lily Cate says

    May 3, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    I love the name Starr! I went to grade school with a Star, and my bestie’s sister is also a Starr!
    My given name (Lindsey) came from Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame (yes, I know that is a guy :). My brother is Ian, after Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Yup.

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 3, 2013 at 11:31 pm

      Maybe YOUR parents were the hippies? Kidding!

      Reply
  9. Mia says

    May 4, 2013 at 12:19 pm

    I just assumed it was your maiden name!

    Reply
    • Caroline Starr Rose says

      May 4, 2013 at 3:50 pm

      It’s an easy assumption, as Starr is a surname. To add to the confusion, my grandmother, the original Starr, was named for an uncle, whose last name was Starr.

      Reply
  10. Augusta Scattergood says

    November 14, 2014 at 6:56 am

    My daughter’s name is Ivy, a family name. Everybody always asks if her parents were hippies.
    (Okay, maybe a little bit hippy-ish, but not really.)

    I’ve kind of given up explaining my own name. No, it’s not a pseudonym. Yes, it’s real. And my last name is spelled just like it sounds, a compound word at that!
    I love names and their stories! Thx for sharing.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 14, 2014 at 7:20 am

      I’ve always loved your name, Augusta! Just read an article that says Ivy is gaining popularity as far as girls’ names go.

      Reply
  11. Niki VL says

    November 14, 2014 at 6:59 am

    When Dani was doing her book report on May B., she almost left out the “Starr” part of your name for the author line. I quickly explained that is a key part of your name. The girls LOVED the story behind your middle name!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 14, 2014 at 7:21 am

      Make sure you tell them how I was teased, Niki! Hope you and your family are well. xo

      Reply
  12. Sarah M says

    November 14, 2014 at 8:16 am

    I really like your name! I figured it was a middle name, though I don’t know why I assumed that. My kids have “strange” names, but they’re for a reason. Their first names are Lukka (my son, like Luca) and Anikka (my daughter), and yes, we did the “k” thing so they would match. πŸ™‚
    Sarah M

    Reply
    • Caroline starr rose says

      November 14, 2014 at 9:41 am

      Lovely. Are the names Scandinavian?

      Reply
  13. Stephanie says

    November 14, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Apparently my parents were trying to decide between Stephanie and Pamela. Thank heavens they chose Stephanie. Pam Graham would have been a burden to heavy to bear.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 15, 2014 at 12:03 pm

      Love.

      Reply
  14. Becky says

    November 15, 2014 at 10:47 am

    My middle name is Jo. I’m not sure how unique that is, but I’ve never met anyone besides my mother who shares my middle name. I remember one time when I was in first grade (I think), my teacher insisted that I was spelling my middle name wrong. She said it should be spelled J-O-E.

    That certainly wasn’t the last time a teacher proved to me that teachers don’t know everything. Ha.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 15, 2014 at 12:04 pm

      There’s a blogger named Lisa Jo Baker. Wonder if that’s a two-name first name or a true first and middle name…(

      Reply
  15. Kimberley Griffiths Little says

    November 15, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    I love the story of your name – and I adore your name! I’m sure I’ve told you before that my very BFF from Kindergarten – 8th grade was a girl with red hair named Starr. πŸ™‚

    I’ve been noticing lately how much I’m getting the last names hyphenated, too. Griffiths-Little and shelved under G. Oy!

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 16, 2014 at 1:53 pm

      I do remember that! Another reason we’re meant to be friends. Tricky, tricky names can be.

      Reply
  16. Joanne Fritz says

    November 16, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Your name has a lovely story behind it. And I’ve always admired the way your three names flow together. My first name is terribly common among my generation. But I don’t even have a middle name! My parents figured my last name (Rossmassler) was so long I wouldn’t have room for a middle name on official papers. So now I use my maiden name as my middle name.

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      November 19, 2014 at 7:18 am

      My dad doesn’t have a middle name, either. I remember a girl scout camp counselor whose “name” was Fritz. I thought it was a perfect name.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Caroline Starr Rose
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

my books

Subscribe to my newsletter + to receive regular blog posts

categories

  • A Race Around the World
  • authors
  • Blue Birds
  • books and reading
  • classroom connections
  • encouragement
  • faith
  • family
  • historical fiction
  • home
  • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine
  • May B.
  • Miraculous
  • non-fiction
  • Over in the Wetlands
  • poetry
  • publication
  • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Song of the Raven
  • teaching
  • The Burning Season
  • The Notebook Series
  • the writing life
  • this and that

Copyright © 2023 · Caroline Starr Rose · Site by Design by Insight

I participate in Amazon Services LLC Associates and Bookshop.org, affiliate programs that allow me to make a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting this site!

Sign up for biweekly blog posts + my quarterly author newsletter and receive a printable quote from my novel, Blue Birds.