Pearson, Camdyn honour family ties

He has no connection to the airport, or the former prime minister.

But 2-year-old Pearson Carbonell gets a kick every time he hears his name on the radio in airport parking ads.

“It’s so neat” for him, says mom Janet Carbonell, adding jokingly: “We are not related (to Lester B. Pearson) but we like to pretend.”

Her father, Robert Pearson, had two daughters, “so the name was going to die with him,” explains Janet. “When I got married, my husband said at the time ‘are you going to take my name?’ and I said ‘yes, I’m going to take your name, but if we have a son I want to name him Pearson.’ ” Her husband, Conrad, agreed.

Janet, an elementary schoolteacher, said it’s not easy to choose “when every name has an association. I needed to find something unique.”

She’s never taught a Pearson; it’s easy to say and spell, which both she and Conrad wanted.

While having ties to Canada’s history, the surname also has local significance: Janet’s grandfather once owned a large farm at Finch Ave. E. and Markham Rd. in Scarborough.

“His name was well known in Scarborough many years ago,” she said, adding he sold the land in the 1970s.

Pearson Michael Carbonell was born in hospital in Newmarket in the summer of 2011. His middle name is a nod to St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, where Conrad’s parents were married after moving to Canada from the Philippines.

Pearson now has a little sister, Camdyn Anarosa Orina Carbonell, born last October.

She’s named after Camden Yards in Baltimore — “we both love baseball” — and the family is hoping to visit the famous field his summer.

Anarosa is a combination of Conrad’s grandmothers — Ana and Rosa — and Orina is Conrad’s mother’s maiden name.

“It’s kind of cool that we did that with Pearson as well, using a maiden name as a . . . name,” says Janet. “My mom’s name is Reina (pronounced ree-na) … so we pleased all the grandmas.”

Did you give your child an interesting or unusual name? Email krushowy@thestar.ca