Andrew? Sterling? Which is it!?

Okay, so just about every time I start to get to know someone new this question inevitably comes up. The basic confusion is that I like to use my full name on things, Andrew Sterling Hanenkamp, and sometimes I use Andrew and sometimes I use Sterling and things get really confusing. I'm writing this blog post to try and explain the history of my name and the basic issues involved with its multiple uses.

I was born, Andrew Sterling Hanenkamp. I'm not exactly sure where "Andrew" came from other than my parents liked the named. I like it because it means "manly" and "strong," which I hope reflects on my character some, since it doesn't at all reflect my physique. My middle name, "Sterling," comes from my dad's dad, Delmont Sterling Hanenkamp. His response to having me named after him was basically, "Why'd you give him that name? I hate it." Grandpa Del didn't much care for his name, though I can't say I blame him with Delmont as his first name.

When I was a wee short person, I went by the name "Andy" and my surviving grandparents, who are in their 80's, still call me that to this day. About third grade, I got tired of Andy and started demanding that everyone call me a serious name, "Andrew." (No offense to the Andy's out there, I was a third grader and didn't know any better.) The name "Andrew" lasted through the end of high school and into the first week or two of college.

Problem. I lived in an all guy's dorm on Manhattan Christian College's campus. Not only that, but women weren't allowed up the stairs to our hall. In general, this meant that folks, especially girls, were yelling up the stairs whenever they wanted someone. There were three Andrew's on my floor. One was a sophomore, he got to keep his name. One decided to go by his last name, Medlen. The last, me, decided to go by his middle name. I'd halfway considered doing it anyway, so this was the last bit of motivation that carried it through.

Now, fast forward about 10-12 months and I started chatting with this girl online named Terri. We exchanged emails. We chatted. We talked on the phone. We met up in person. This was in 1997, when Internet dating was still one of those naughty no-nos for creeps, but we only lived a couple hours apart and somehow managed to keep our relationship after she moved up to Manhattan. Most of you probably know that we got married had a kid, etc. But I digress. When she asked me what to call her, I decided that it would be "cool" for her to have a special name for me that happened to line up with what my parents called me, "Andrew." So, know I have two names. One familiar and one for my colleagues.

This became further confused when she moved up to Manhattan. She wanted me to be known as Andrew in the contexts we shared, which mostly included church. Therefore, many of my friends here know me as Andrew. Some know me as both and pick whichever they prefer. Thus, I pretty much always signed email and such as "Sterling" and that lasted up until about 2 years ago.

At that time, I switched jobs and started working for Boomer Consulting. When that happened, one of my new coworkers new me from church and insisted that I be called "Andrew" at work. This was against my preference, but since it's only a minor preference I gave in. Had I to do over again, I would have said, "Nope. I'm Sterling." It would have led to less confusion. Now, I sign emails as Sterling and Andrew and sometimes forget which context I'm in as I'm typing so sometimes I sign it as one or the other in either context. Argh!

Therefore, if you have any doubt, just call me "Sterling." That's my preference. The only folks that should be calling me "Andrew" are those that already do (don't change what you call me just because you read that I prefer "Sterling," it's not that important), my neighbors, those that go to my church, and family. Everyone else should go with "Sterling."

Anyway, I hope that clears everything up. :-p

Cheers.