How To List Names, Family Names, Nicknames, Contacts, Friends

How should I list names in my contact list? My instinct is to list John Smith as John SMITH ('Johnny'). I shall look at names from different languages and countries, listed alphabetically for my conveneince and yours: American names, British names, Chinese Names, Indian Names, Jewish Names, Korean Names.


American Family Names
Americans often use the same name. John Smith 1, John Smith 2, John Smith 3.

American First Names
Americans often use first names, and shorten the first names, so Alexander becomes Alex or Al.

Arabic Names
The first name if they are male muslims is frequently Mohammed. Also spelled Mahammad. The names are similar to English names derived from Greek derived from Hebrew.

For example, the English Abraham in Arabic could be Ibrahim, David could be Dawood, Joshua could be Jeshua,

Son of could be Bin. As in the well known surname Bin Laden. There must be plenty more. You can look them up.

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Britain
At British Schools, in a class register, or boarding school, the names would be listed as

SMITH, John
SMITH, Peter

The same would apply in a committee agenda, listing those present, or the index of a book.

British Family Names
SMITH in capitals is the Family or clan name.

Forenames and First Names
The small letters are the personal name. In traditional British English we would say Christian name.

Chinese Names
In Chinese I would write LEE Kwan Yew (Lee-Kwan-Yew not Mr Lee) because Lee Kwan Yew was cross when people called him Mr Lee and wanted to be known Chinese style by all three names. At clubs in Singapore I often get confused because I am given only the personal names.

Chinese names are hard for the English speakers to remember. So the Chinese often say, 'Call me Peter,' giving you an English nickname.

I have lots of Peters.

Should you list 'Peter/ first or last?

When you get an email, the name used in the email is often a clue.

Jewish and Hebrew Names
Jews would say, Hebrew name. The Hebrew name, written in Hebrew, might be used in the marriage certificate, at the wedding cermoney, in a bar or batmitzvah ceremony, and on the gravestone.

For biblical names, that is easy. Abraham or Joshua become the same, with Hebrew pronounciation, written in Hebrew. If the name has no equivalent, a nearby similar sounding name starting wiht the same letter might be chosen. For example, a girl with the English name Hazel on her British birth certificate, might have the Hebrew name Hannah.

Son of would be Ben, as in the first name, Benjamin (son of my right hand). As a surname, think of Ben Gurion (Israeli Parliament) or Ben Hur (movie).

Intrusive Or Practical Questions?
A Jewish man asked me if I was married, divorced or widowed. I thought that was an intrusive question. If you are asked a personal question, simply ask, 'Why do you want to know?'  He was a Cohen, not just adopting the name Cohen but a religious Jew, and Cohen means priest. Jewish priests are not allowed to marry a divorced woman, as used to be the case in the UK with Roman Catholics and the church of England and royalty.

Chinese Names
In Chinese I would write LEE Kwan Yew (Lee-Kwan-Yew not Mr Lee) because Lee Kwan Yew was cross when people called him Mr Lee and wanted to be known Chinese style by all three names. At clubs in Singapore I often get confused because I am given only the personal names.

Chinese names are hard for the English speakers to remember. So the Chinese often say, 'Call me Peter,' giving you an English nickname.

I have lots of Peters.

Should you list 'Peter/ first or last?

When you get an email, the name used in the email is often a clue.

Forename/first name and Surname - occasionally family name.

Indian Names
I have lots of Sivas. What do you do? I have lots of Johns, nicknames 'John'.

In Singapore, especially by Indians, which I list in my contacts list, but then get sent emails or agendas listing the family name or the whole name and don't know who is who.

Spanish Names
In Spanish the middle name is often the mother's family name. The rules may differ in Spain and Portugal and Brazil and other South American countries and have changed over time so if filling in official documents, check the latest requirments.

When looking at the names of famous personalities, politicans and authors, check the conventions and laws of their era.

Also enquire about name meanings and orders when dealing with friends and business associates and family. I spent an entire evening chatting to a dinner party guest who was my husband's colleague about her married name, her husband's name, her parents' names, her chosen name when divorced, the names for her children from different marriages or her first marriage and her planned second marriage. I wss fascinated. At the time it was all clear, at the end of three hours.

But her name on her birth certificate would be listed differently to her name on her marriage certificate. As for her children, and grandchildren ... And if and when new legislation was passed ... Oh, deary me!

If in doubt, ask. When you get the answer, you might still be in doubt.

LISTING DECISIONS In your contacts list, decide on a system and stick to it. For a club, you might have a column for family name, a column for first name, a column for full name (as on passport) and nickname or pronunciation of first name. For business contacts, you might have aka (abbreviation for also known as). I put in quotation marks a name which does not appear in the official name, or a nickname, such as Shorty.

When you get an email, the name used in the email is often a clue.

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, organizer and speaker.
Toastmasters International Find a Club
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=upSEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=quick+quotations
lulu.com/shop/angela-lansbury/who-said-what-when/paperback/product-21713991
learncool.sg
Braddell Heights Advanced speakers club meets every Wednesday, currently on line.
Future Meetings include
Wednesday may 13th, lucky for us, as we have Thomas Chen running a workshop on Networking.
Contact President Angela Lansbury or VPE Faith. Then login to learncool.sg and wait to be admitted by the host.
Please share links to your favourite posts

Names You Might Meet When Travelling

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English Surnames
It has long been known that John and Mary are two of the commonest names in Christian England. The most popular surname or family name is Smith, comes from the work of the person, or rather their ancestor.

Smith is also the commonest surname in the USA, Canada and Australia and New Zealand.

As for first names, eventually you work out that Muslims are named Mohammed.

Catholics in France are called Marie, often hyphenated. Catholics in Italy are called Maria.

Irish Names
In Ireland Catholic girls are called Mary.

But Protestant girls are called Elizabeth, after Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII. He broke away from the Pope and founded the Church of England in order to get divorced from his wife who had reached menopause and could no longer give him a male heir.

The most common surname in Ireland is Murphy.

Indian Surnames
I knew that Indians were often called Patel. But these were just observations and random facts. Now you can see maps of each content showing you the commonest names in different areas of the world.

Asia
In China the commonest surname is Wang meaning king.
Another popular name is Li, meaning plum or plum tree in some dialects. A different spelling, Lee, is more likely in Korea, according to the list below.

USA


Useful Websites
https://www.traveller24.com/MyTravels/mapped-most-common-last-names-for-each-country-sas-inclusion-may-not-surprise-you-20191206-2
Most common surnames and England and Ireland
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-38003201#
Popular First Names in the USA
https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US
https://forebears.io/

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How Safe Is Your Hotel's Wifi? Is it your hotel's Wifi?

Problem
You log onto a hotel's system. How safe is it?

What can you do to protect yourself? Some people say:
Don't use your credit card on any wifi system. Go to the hotel's front desk, ask the concierge or receptionist to book your hotels and evening shows and day trips, pay them cash, get a receipt, ask them to print your tickets, and let them book on your behalf using their own wifi and their own credit card.

Make sure you know in whose name the ticket is booked if you are picking up tickets at a theatre or another venue. Your booking may be under your surname, your first name (in Asia suranames are first), the hotel name, the hotel manager's name, or the name of the holidng company for the hotel group.

A hotel with no wifi can be a nuisance if you need to check in fro your flight online. You could find a travel agent. If they book you tours around the city (as one did for us in Cambodia), they might also be happy to check you in for your flight. Anybody who has signs asking you to recommend them on TripAdvisor is likely to be keen on keeping customers happy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5474577/Report-shows-ease-hackers-steal-cellphone-info-WiFi.html

https://www.today.com/video/tips-to-prevent-your-personal-data-from-hackers-while-on-spring-break-1175032387841

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Learning Chinese Sounds and Shapes with Duolingo

Problems
I am finding learning Chinese very hard with Duolingo. No clues are given as to how to remember the written signs.

The sounds are also hard to recognize. Zh sounds like J-sh or Gsh. You hear GSh, then have to remember to write ZH.

The beta version translates into English with the Surnames second. This is nonsense. You say Lee Kuan Yew (former, now deceased, grand-daddy founder and minister of modern Singapore). His family name is Lee. You might call him Mister Lee. But using all the names you would keep the surname first, Chinese style.

Answers
Hover over the letters with the mouse and you see the answers to type in. They don't tell you or remind you.

It's easy to spot that ni haou, how are you, is longer with four signs, in the multiple choice. But later, reading in a page of signs, you would not recognize it.

Which words are I and you? I am and you are. I am Ming and you are Ming.

At first glance and listen I thought Mi or Ni must be me or I. No. Ni is you.

Now I have a memory aid.

'Ni how?' means 'how are you?' So Ni is you.

Wo is I. Although o is in the word you.

I asked my husband how to remember that wo is me or I. He quoted Shakespeare, "Woe is me!"

Author
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and other languages. Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Names In Other Countries

Names and nicknames. Every country has its own system. I've lived in the UK, the USA and Singapore.
 In Singapore in the Hash House Harriers people are given nicknames, some of which are insulting, whilst others are rude. This is traditional and dates back several years to the army.  Then the runners enjoying a paper-chase  were a leisure group to amuse the soldiers evening and weekends. It kept them fit, encouraged team-work, and kept them off the streets and out of trouble.
    I think it's time to move on. From the Americans we have learned a lot about physiology, morale and motivation. The Americans say what goes around comes around. The Indians and Asians say karma.
   The American army pioneered employee selection and job allocation, using psychological testing (Myers Briggs). These classifications are still used widely in the army and companies worldwide.  
  Given what we now know about psychology, we can use words to motivate. We need to encourage self-respect and respect for others. This prevents fights, arguments, insults, homicide and suicide.
    I am opposed to negative names. They belong to the bad old days. I like positive names.
    Naming for characteristics has been going on since biblical times. Originally people had one name.  Then sons were named after their parent, usually the father. John was called John like his father. When he was little he was simply called John's son. Later in his life, and in a later era, he would be called Johnson. In English we also have Williamson, Richardson, Timson, Wilson.
    I have been researching for my novel trilogy which starts in London's East End in the 1880s. That was at the time of when Queen Victoria ruled much of what became known as the Commonwealth or former Commonweal. Queen Victoria's favourite was The PM of England Disraeli, a man whose family converted to Christianity - necessary to be in government, but was of Jewish ancestry, of Italian-Mediterranean origin.  I started researching names, discovering that Jewish names followed two distinct groups. Disraeli was from the Sephardi or Spanish and Portuguese origin. His friends the Rothschild bankers were Ahskenazis, or North Europeans, whose names reflected their language, German mixed with Hebrew (Yiddish) and Russian names.
   From the time of Cromwell and the Quakers, and the Baptists, the Christians had taken 'Christian' names for Baptism and Confirmation, from the bible. They chose Old Testament names, New Testament names (Mathew, Mark Luke and John). Virtuous sounding names were popular, such as Faith, Hope and Charity.
   Governments needed names for a census to count the home population and those in countries they conquered. The armies needed family names to identify recruits and call up.

   In the UK public schools called boys by surnames, or Master (surname). Adults were Mister (surname).
   In the UK we have public schools which are fee-paying. Originally church schools were private and the first fee paying schools were known as public school. In the USA a school where pupils pay is called a public school. A free school paid for out of taxes is called a state school.
  If you name too many people, even two is too many, with the same name you need to add another name.
   The 'calculating' Chinese, always good with money, named their children by order of birth, number one son, and so on.
   Nowadays when texting we need to shorten time spent typing so we go back to one name. Another benefit of a nickname is that it gives anonymity where we are hiding our identity from hackers and ID theft on the internet.  
   A culture with a positive attitude names everybody with good qualities or qualities you wish them to have, such Hope, Charity, Good, Great, Honest. A nickname which is alliterative is easy to remember. One with a positive meaning attracts a smile and a happy outlook.
   That is why I call myself Angella, the Angel. I introduce myself to foreigners and strangers as Angela - like an angel. I like to think I am both angelic, cute and full of goodwill.
   The old meaning of angel was messenger. I am journalist and teacher, bringing knowledge, skills, and useful information and positive thinking and encouragement.
Angela Lansbury
Author of Quick Quotations. Speech writer. Speech Trainer. Immediate Past President Harrovian Speakers' Club, London, England. English tutor. Adult EFL worldwide on Skype. O and A level tutoring. (See books on Lulu.com. Also YouTube videos on speeches and English grammar. LinkedIn. Facebook.)