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Ask HN: What should I change my name to?
I would like to change my name both officially and casually to something more easily pronounceable in the US. Ideally a single syllable first name and pretty open to any last name. I work in tech but this should not necessarily be a factor although I realize posting this question on HN will most likely generate biased answers in that direction if there is such a thing as a tech inspired name. I digress. Regardless of the reason for why I am doing this I really appreciate any suggestions and you voting on your favorites.
Thank you,
Soon-to-be-determined
- rossdavidh 7y agoJust a thought: type in your year of birth to this Social Security Administration website (goes back to 1800's), and find out what the most common names were (in the U.S.) back then. Pick one of those, so that other people of about your age not uncommonly have your name, and everyone will know how to pronounce it. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/ https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
- soheil 7y agoWould that not just be something like John Doe?
- gaspoweredcat 7y agoid actually go the other way and choose a name which wasnt used at all in the year of my birth. the only one i know off hand is that here in the UK in 2016 there were no babies registered with the name Nigel but im sure theres at least one every year why the hell do i know that utterly useless fact? because i read an article a few days ago where some guy arranged a yearly convention for people called Nigel on the back of the fact
- PhilWright 7y agoBobby McCool
- greenyoda 7y agoA single syllable first name could be a common nickname for a multi-syllable name. For example, Mike for Michael, Dave for David, Bill for William, etc. Or if you never want to be called by a nickname, you could choose a short name that doesn't have a nickname, such as Mark. Some last names you probably should not pick: Doe, which is commonly used a a placeholder for unidentified people (e.g., John Doe); Smith and Jones, which are so common that people might assume you're giving them a fake name. If you want to be anonymous on the web, picking both a common first and last name would make you very hard to find.
- snagglegaggle 7y ago>If you want to be anonymous on the web, picking both a common first and last name would make you very hard to find. I vote for "Bob Bob."
- mindcrime 7y agoCase or Bobby Quine
- hindsightbias 7y agoClinton Gates
- gaspoweredcat 7y agowhile this may be considered a "wrong" thing to ask in this era but you dont mention if youre male or female which may lilt the answers a little, in any case heres a few options from my own preferences Male: Lee, Tony, Neil, Sam, Miles Female: Ella, Lucy, Lisa, Emily, Sarah last name could be anything really. Grey, Simmons, Wallace im not terribly creative i know but its what id go with i think
- oldandtired 7y agoWhat does you name mean in your native language? Translate that to English and use that to pick an appropriate name. There are plenty of books that give the meaning behind English names and this would allow you to keep a correspondence with your original name.
- DoreenMichele 7y agoA professor of mine with a long, difficult foreign last name starting with K had legally changed his name to Dr. K by the time I took a class with him. I'm guessing everyone called him that anyway, so he made it legal. An Asian friend of mine with a difficult foreign name went by her initials -- I mean the initials of her first and middle name, plus her last name. Sort of like if JK Rowling were called JK by her friends.