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?
Yeah that name makes sense. Is that surname to combine with the name? because it doesn’t resemble your Polish surname. I think “Gregory Filipo” would be closest to your Polish one
I can’t come up with another example in polish but my surname could be translated to Spanish equivalent, same as first name. It’s like if you’re George White and change it to Gregorio Blanco.
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.
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.
I asked myself the same question when getting US citizenship (also born Polish). Ended up not changing my name (although in English few letters aren’t exact, like using L instead of Ł). I don’t mind showing my ID, but just like you, people still manage to mess it up. It often ends up being a starter to interesting conversations, which personally I’ve enjoyed. Having a real unique name can have an advantage - I’ve never received a bill that wasn’t actually for me, unlike my American friends with common first name/last name combinations.
Good points, thanks.
