Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano: Hello. My name is Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, and depending on how fast I speak, the DeCristofano can be sort of DUH-cris-toh-fah-noh or DE-cris-toh-fah-noh. DeCristofano is my husband's family name. It's an Italian last name, and most people hesitate before they try to pronounce it when they see it written out, but it really is pronounced just like it's spelled: de-cris-toh-FAH-noh.

Cinami is my original family name. It caused me some excitement when I was a kid. My siblings and I used to watch a cartoon about emergency workers called "Emergency Four," and during one episode, there was a sudden big wave on its way to the coast. Someone in the cartoon cried out, "It's a tsunami!" But it sounded to me and my siblings like the cartoon has just called out our name. We were so excited, we ran downstairs to tell my mother. She set us straight.

As for my first name, Carolyn, I always thought that when I became an adult, I would want people to call me Carol, but that never happened. I guess I really like having all those syllables, Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano.