Named

‘Gutsy, entertaining and thought-provoking…A marvellous book.’ Diana Evans

What’s in a name? Everything we carry, and everything we are.

Our names are a shadow we carry around with us. They are part of who we are. Our names are a marker of our self-identity and our sense of self. Our names have the power to shock. They have the power to heal, and they have the power to trigger conversations around race, class, social mobility and belonging. But what is a name? What do our names tell us about ourselves? And why do they matter?

Named is a fascinating exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics woven into a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. At the intersection of memoir and social and cultural history it is a truly fascinating book about the seemingly ordinary and every day.

The author’s own narrative about her estrangement from her Nigerian father, the grapples with her Jamaican mother and her journey towards identity is woven through the chapters making it an engaging and intimate investigation of what makes us who we are.

• For fans of Kit De Waal, Nikesh Shukla and Lemm Sissay. In January 2022, Camilla wrote an article in The Observer about reclaiming her birth name, the symbolism of names and the family politics around naming conventions. The article elicited a huge response from readers and academics globally and prompted her to examine the themes and ideas in a full-length work.

• Camilla has written for the national press and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham’s Institute for Name Studies. She will speak at annual conferences on name studies in the UK and abroad. Publicity driven campaign.