Names

Living and traveling in Asia, I have begun to notice how things are increasingly becoming more "American/Western."  I find this common here in South Korea as well as in touristy areas in Southeast Asia.

One particular thing I have noticed is the "Americanization" of names.

I met an Archie, who was really an Archibald.
Over the weekend, I met a Joe, who was really Joachim, from Austria.
There was a Nic once upon a time, who was really Nicolai.
And I've met a June, who was really Junyeong.

"Hi, my name is Joe" has a personal history entirely different from "Hi, my name is Joachim."

I know people shorten a name, make it more "English", so its easier to pronounce for people outside the language it was given in, but I feel it also loses so much of its meaning, it strips away a part of the person's identity, apart of the family history.

After all, it is the one thing your parents gave you before they knew you.  It meant something to them.  Besides your genes and physical appearance, and outside of the moral and value system they may have tried to instill in you afterwards as you grew up, it was your name that came first.

"We'll just have to remember it then...
Remember that you and I made the journey, and went together to a place where there was nowhere left to go." -The Namesake