Dove Cameron shared the sad, sweet reason why she changed her name

Sharareh Drury
Updated
Dove Cameron shared the sad, sweet reason why she changed her name
Dove Cameron shared the sad, sweet reason why she changed her name

Dove Cameron revealed on Thursday why she goes by the name Dove, and not her birth name Chloe. A fan on Twitter asked her, “How did you come up with the name Dove?” and her answer may require a few tissues. Actually, a whole tissue box.

Dove Cameron, who rose to fame playing twins on the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie, as well as the Descendants, lost her father five years ago. Just last year, Dove Cameron shared a tribute to her father, Philip Alan Hosterman, on the anniversary of his death. In the Instagram post, she called him “the most beautiful man I have ever known, and my best friend.”

With that close a connection to her late father, it’s no surprise Dove would do what she could to keep his memory alive.

Cameron explained to her fans, and all of us, that the reason she changed her name to Dove is because it was her father’s nickname for her. (Time to get those tissues!)

People were both saddened and touched by the way Dove has let her father live on through her name.

The tweet above touches on something pretty powerful, that as Cameron has taken on her father’s nickname, his memory and love live on.

Cameron mentioned this sentiment in her tribute from last year, saying that through the years, she and her sister Claire feel that their father has stayed close.

to the most beautiful man I have ever known, and my best friend: yesterday marks 5 years since you've left us, and I still feel you all around me every day, all the time. I feel as though I understand you more and more as I begin to understand myself in these formative years, and although it can't ever replace the years I've lost with you, I know I am never without you because you are in me I am so happy every day, dad, and so is Claire. Both of your girls are following their bliss and living their great adventure. Taking no prisoners, loving all they can and eating ice cream bars and overly salted popcorn in bed. I wish you could meet all of the amazing people I've brought into my life and know how safe and loved I am. I know that wherever you are you know all of this, and you laugh at me when I speak as though you're gone. You taught me how to love, and you are love to me. The gift that you have given to me and Claire, the intense pain and loss, has brought a clarity, a deep human connection, an empathy and a color to our lives in a way that nothing else could. I can never go back to who I was before, and I would never want to. You still teach me lessons every day, and make me laugh as the lessons you instilled at a young age begin to settle into my bones and make more sense. You set me up for the best life imaginable, and I plan to make your proud every single day and never waste it. I love you eternally, and can't wait to see you again, maybe in our next life as we find each other over and over. Forever your best friend, and your little girl.

A post shared by ♡DOVE♡ (@dovecameron) on Oct 19, 2016 at 9:52am PDT

… Although it can’t ever replace the years I’ve lost with you, I know I am never without you because you are in me

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I am so happy every day, dad, and so is Claire. Both of your girls are following their bliss and living their great adventure.

It truly is beautiful and bittersweet how Dove Cameron has taken the loss of her father and found a way to make his loving memory, and name for her, live on.