Man named Chelan falls in love with the town

I have always felt cursed to have such an unusual name. My name is Chelan David. Yes, my last name is David. And no, I was not named after Lake Chelan.

No matter how many times I say it, people refuse to believe me. "No, what's your last name?" is the response I get from every doctor's office, restaurant host and airline-ticket agent I encounter.

"Are you sure David is your last name?" they will pester after I confirm my surname.

When I fill out an application without the benefit of talking to someone in person, it is just assumed I don't know the difference between my first and last name. Everything from credit cards to insurance cards come back to me under the wrong name.

Interestingly, David is not that uncommon a last name. Larry David was the co-creator and director of the "Seinfeld" show. Craig David is a R&B sensation in Britain and is making his mark in the United States. I looked up David in the Seattle white pages and there are 89 listed. I looked up Chelan in the phone book and not one single person in Seattle is listed.

Prior to moving here from Kansas City, having my name switched around was my biggest problem. Now I have the additional burden of sharing a name with a resort town, that apparently, is on fire a lot. My mom was not aware of Lake Chelan when she named me. She had seen the name Chelan in a book and fell in love with it. Since she had never heard the name pronounced she came up with her own version: Sha-lawn.

Once I arrived in Seattle, I quickly learned that people in the Great Northwest would be calling me Sha-lann. Every time someone mispronounces my name, it's like fingernails scratching a chalkboard. (I am convinced that Chelan sounds much better with the soft a. But pronunciations are funny out here; I'm still not sure how it is possible that Spokane and Chelan rhyme.)

I have to repeatedly explain how I was christened Chelan. I've had people ask me if I am related to the founders of Chelan, if I was born there, or if I was conceived there. I'm thinking about changing my story because when I tell them my mom read the name somewhere, they always seem let down.

Recently, my wife and I decided to visit Lake Chelan. After going my entire life without ever encountering another Chelan, it was odd to see my name plastered everywhere. A post office, supermarket, courthouse and avenue all bearing my name.

We had a wonderful weekend in Chelan. The lake is beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly, and the pace of life is very relaxed. It's strange how things work out. A year ago, I was barely familiar with Lake Chelan, and now I'm contemplating moving there someday when we retire. There could definitely be worse places to share a name with.

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