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Should I change my name? (linux.community)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi,

So I have lived in Spain now for almost 10 years and I will be applying for citizenship soon. As part of this process I can pretty much chose my Spanish name. Or I can keep my polish name.

The problem is that my name is very polish, like Grzegorz Filipowski. Every time someone has to write it down and look me up in a database I have to show them my ID. When it happens over the phone I have to spell it. Every time I meet someone they ask me what's my name is and then repeatedly try to pronounce it while I say 'yeah... close enough'. It's pretty annoying and it would be solved by simply changing my name to something Spanish like Gregorio González or something.

What do you think? Would you see it as a practical thing to do or as a stupid intent at impersonating a real Spaniard?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Seems reasonable to change your first name to make your life more convenient, but unless people encounter these names, they'll never used to saying them.

In the UK it takes knowledge to know how to pronounce Irish names but one you've met a few Siobhans and Eoins you get used to it.

There is an element of historical oppression here though. Some people choose to use an Irish spelling because, well, the English keep trying to erase other cultures. That example didn't work out as well as I thought it would.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Oh, they will never get used to saying those names because they are just not able to make polish sounds. In polish there's a lot of weird sounds like 'szcz' (shsh) or thinks like 'prz', 'zsz', 'dżdż' that foreigners just can't reproduce. My name is like that. And even if they learn to kind of almost say it they are never able to write it. People at work always make mistakes when writing my name.