Kielamel Sibal: Hey, my name is Kielamel Sibal. That's Kiela, mel and Sibal, which is like Sigal but with a B.

My first name is a blend of names. The first part, Kiela, comes from Kiel, which was a nickname my dad used in a social political class he attended as a young man. My parents plans to include that Kiela name in a more masculine name because they thought I was going to be a boy. When they found out I was a girl, my mom added that A in the end.

The second part, mel, comes from my Lala Nene, whose first name is Melinda. She's my maternal grandmother, which makes her my mom's mom.

As for my surname, I'm not sure how my dad's family got it or what it even means. My dad tells me, though, that a lot of the Sibals come from Santa Rita, Pampanga in the Philippines, that we're related to this guy who founded some pretty big bookstores back in the day.

People usually just call me Kiela, but I do use my full first name for publishing credits because I think it's beautiful and it also honors my grandma.