A cpl. of days back i had an interesting exchange with the wrap-around/duttee guy. So, he was looking at a signup list for some instrument and came across my labmate's initials, and he thought its me (our first names begin with the same letter). I told him it was my labmate. He then asked me what was my last name (he knows and pronounces my first name correctly)-when i told him my last name, he was like, "wow! thats a cool surname".
Hmm, surprised, i asked him what excatly was he implying. He said that i had a very traditional first and last name, surprising me even more. So, now i was a bit irritated and amused at the same time, wondering why he was going on about my name. He then said, "Like, you know, lot of people change their name soon as they come here-its nice that you didn't". This puzzled me even more-because what he said first that he found my surname cool, without knowing what it meant didn't really suggest me that he was pointing to an issue like changing your name in a foreign country. What he said also indicated to me that some people actually change their last name also!
Anyway, i asked him to elaborate more. He then said that he had an Indian friend who changed his name-so no one ever knew what his real name was. All he would say is that people are going to find it difficult to say his name. I told him that i didn't know anyone like that in person, but have read/heard about it from others. And you know, it really surprised him! He went on to tell me that he found this to be a common practice in people from Asia. He then said, "I have a long Spanish name too, and i have chosen to keep it that way" with a wink. He finally left me with this, "I wonder what will i do, if i ever visit Asia-i'll have to find myself a cool name" ;).
Now, in my opinion, if someone prefers to change their name, its fine. May be they don't have the patience to teach everyone the correct pronunciation of their name everyday and also they might not like their name being mispronounced. In same cases, it can truly change the meaning of a name. However, changing the surname! does that really happen! No clue.....
Anyway, as i said it was an interesting exchange-thought i would just share it. and am glad that people think my name is cool :)).
Hmm, surprised, i asked him what excatly was he implying. He said that i had a very traditional first and last name, surprising me even more. So, now i was a bit irritated and amused at the same time, wondering why he was going on about my name. He then said, "Like, you know, lot of people change their name soon as they come here-its nice that you didn't". This puzzled me even more-because what he said first that he found my surname cool, without knowing what it meant didn't really suggest me that he was pointing to an issue like changing your name in a foreign country. What he said also indicated to me that some people actually change their last name also!
Anyway, i asked him to elaborate more. He then said that he had an Indian friend who changed his name-so no one ever knew what his real name was. All he would say is that people are going to find it difficult to say his name. I told him that i didn't know anyone like that in person, but have read/heard about it from others. And you know, it really surprised him! He went on to tell me that he found this to be a common practice in people from Asia. He then said, "I have a long Spanish name too, and i have chosen to keep it that way" with a wink. He finally left me with this, "I wonder what will i do, if i ever visit Asia-i'll have to find myself a cool name" ;).
Now, in my opinion, if someone prefers to change their name, its fine. May be they don't have the patience to teach everyone the correct pronunciation of their name everyday and also they might not like their name being mispronounced. In same cases, it can truly change the meaning of a name. However, changing the surname! does that really happen! No clue.....
Anyway, as i said it was an interesting exchange-thought i would just share it. and am glad that people think my name is cool :)).
5 comments:
yeah musical i agree. i've heard of indian people altering their first names (shyam to sam or viswanathan to vis) but never changing their last names. how random.
:)
Welcome back, Naina. Where have you been all this while.
It is random indeed that someone would change their last name!
hey musical, it sounds like he was trying to flirt with you :)
He he, if he didn't have a GF then i would think so too :).
Hi there,
This was an interesting read. My last name is Visaisouk (pronounced vee-sai-sook) and it has been mispronounced since I was born. I have actually thought of changing it, but never could go through with it. A high school friend of mine was named Insung and ended up changing his first name to Jay to stop all the issues that come along with an ethnic name.
However, I have been working with a new tool that is made specifically for people with hard to pronounce names. It is called an ANT, or audible name tag, and teaches others how to pronounce your name without you actually having to tell them. I think you may be interested in it! Check us out at www.antvibes.com, and you might also like our blog called The Mispronounced Name at www.antvibes.com/blog.
Thanks for sharing!
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