Names in India
I was speaking to a colleague in India about interviewing folks there and she wrote back regarding use of a last name — you will agree it is even more priceless when you hear this — in many regions, there is no ‘last’ name. Where last names do exist, they may denote the caste of the person, or the village /town where they come from, or it is the father’s name that is used as the last name. So some people drop it, especially when it denotes caste. In cases where they are forced to use the father’s name as the last name, they end up being called by their father’s name!
February 18th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
You’re absolutely right! That’s how our last name is his name and his surname Hubby’s father’s name. He was forced to assume it when he applied for his first driver’s license in Florida. When he became a citizen in the 70s we had the option of acquiring a different last name. We tossed around Iyer (caste) and Kuppa Bhat (can’t explain that one easily, and imagine what the kids might have endured in school with that moniker) and decided to stay as we were. It does get tiresome trying to explain why he uses his name as a surname and his father’s as a given name.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
It was very funny because we were going through our database and then the Chinese reporters said that people there prefer not to use their first names, rather be Ms. Wong, than Lee.
February 19th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Por todo eso yo seguiré siendo Ivette Pérez Toro (con mi padre y mi madre)
February 19th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Y yo con el apellido de mi ex (!)