The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Pamela!

Comments and insights on the name Pamela: | Edit

My name is Pamela and I was born in 1961. I was named after a little girl my mother (born in 1935) babysat as a teenager. A name being a personal thing, I was not happy with the fact that there were three of us in my third grade class, but it was better than my parents' first choice which was Julie. There were three of them in pretty much EVERY class I was in in school. They changed their minds on Julie because I was born with black hair and they felt a Julie should be blond.

I like the name Pamela, but I HATE Pam. It's not a pretty sounding name, especially when spoken by people from some parts of the US who have a particularly nasal way of pronouncing the short a sound. I was sometimes called "Spam" especially when Monty Python was popular. When they came out with the spray grease product, I wanted to write the company a letter to express how cruel I felt it was it was to turn my name into a nasty-smelling cooking product.

I have, for the last twenty years or so, had the audacity to insist on being called Pamela, which is a perfectly fine name. I usually just quietly correct people when they shorten it, but it is a CONSTANT battle, and my insistance on all three syllables sometimes makes people think I'm a snob. But why can't people just pay attention and call people the names they have printed on their checks, use to introduce themselves, or the name they hear everyone else using? My younger brother Douglas feels the same about his name, says "Doug is the past tense of dig", but my other three siblings are fine with the shortened versions of their names.

Hi - Well, my story's different, I guess. I'm a Pamela, born in 1963, who grew up being called "Pam," and always liked it. In my imagination, "Pamela" was like a formal gown - beautiful and a perfect fit, but only to be worn on special occasions. :-) Nowadays, I use Pamela professionally. The thing I always hated was the nickname "Pammy." Anyone else feel that way? Over the years, only a handful of *brave* friends would risk my wrath and call me the dreaded Pammy.

Personal experiences with the name Pamela: | Edit

I agree with the first Pamela. I was born in 1963 and I think Pamela is a pretty name. Pam is too short and doesn't flow with my last name of Bailey. Pam Bailey - yuch! Don't know what mom was thinking when she named me: Pamela Lee Bailey - got enough L's in there? Anyway, I only use Pamela professionally. If someone (and they always do no matter how I introduce myself) calls me Pam I let it go. I guess they are trying to be friendly. The only person that really accomplished having her daughter by her full name is my sister in law. Her daughter's name is Cynthia - not Cindy. Its not exactly the same but almost. I make it a rule to call a person by they name the were introduced to me as, whether by themselves or someone else.

Nicknames for Pamela: | Edit

Pam, Pammy, Melly

Meanings and history of the name Pamela: | Edit

This name is believed to have been invented by Sir Philip Sidney for his novel "Arcadia". Some think he contrived it from two Greek words: "pan", meaning "all", and "meli", meaning honey. Thus, Pamela could be taken to mean "sweet all through" or "all sweetness".

Famous real-life people named Pamela: | Edit

Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman, ambassador, socialite, and wife of (respectively) Randolph Churchill, Leland Hayward, and Averell Harriman
Pamela Anderson, model and actress, star of 80s television show "Baywatch"
Pamela Sue Martin, actress, known for her roles in the 1980s such as "Nancy Drew" and as Claudia Carrington in "Dynasty"

Pamela in song, story & screen: | Edit

Pamela is the title and main character of Samuel Richardson's controversial 1741 novel. Henry Fielding wrote "Shamela" in response.