Lost Names Reading

My father changed his family name right before the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. His family migrated to Cambodia from China and during the KR take-over, Chinese immigrants were rounded up and executed. As the older male in the family it fell to my father to protect the family, and he did by deciding to change the family name to a Cambodian name. There is a change of one letter only, but that one letter save him and all his siblings. The new family name stuck and I have that name today. I tell my students about the origin of my last name yearly and they're generally very interested in the history of their own names afterward. My name is also pronounced differently in Cambodian and in English. Most English speakers have a difficult time correctly pronouncing my last name, but I tell my students that it's all right. Both pronunciation of my last name are real words in the Cambodian language.
edited by dkeo on 5/10/2011

I was told that our family name was changed when my Great-great grandparents came from Germany. The story I heard was that the name was changed from Korp to Korb. I am not sure of the veracity of the claim, but perhaps the change was to make it sound less German.

I, too, was saddened by the young boy and his family who had to change their surname to a Japanese one. This story can certainly be used in any history class discussing the changes and methods of assimilation methods used by immigrants when they come to this country (or any other country). I agree with Sally in questioning the ramifications of such changes and whether or not they are viewed as truly necessary or a major betrayal to your heritage. I know that the Koreans being controlled by the Japanese didn't really have a choice, but a more general discussion about name changes and retaining identities can certainly be an engaging topic of discussion in the classroom

While I would love to claim the awesomeness that is my last name (BACON), I must admit that the real pronunciation of it is Bahhh-con. When I moved here from the Philippines, it was the combination of my mom (who had already been living here for several years) having been use to taking "Bacon" and teachers and other individuals pronouncing it "Bacon" that led me to keep it that way. I use to joke that I just became too lazy to correct teachers, and while that was partly true, it wasn't until college that I really began to second-guess that decision and contemplate the effects of it on my identity and self perception.

I've had lots of friends who go by different names depending on the group they are with. For example, one of my roommates in college was Yuya to me and her friends, but her parents never call her Yuya. Yuya was her public name.

Right now, I have students who have "English" names and "Chinese" names. At school, they prefer their "English" names, but when they are with families they use their "Chinese" name. Although in these cases, the names are freely chosen and used, I can't help but think about the significance our name has for each of us. My name is part of my identity, and being forced to use a different name would be like taking a part of my identity away from me.

About 30 years ago, when I was in graduate school where there were only few Koreans, I met a student in his mid 40s whose surname was King. When he first came to America, he was interviewed by an immigration officer, and he was mistakenly registered as “King” due to his foreign accent. Involuntarily, Mr. Kim became Mr. King. I did not know if he liked his new name or not, but I suppose he had no other options. I felt pity on him, but it is more heartrending that Korean people during Japanese colonization were forced to change their names in Japanese.

For their final project, I had my students research their family history. Some of my students discovered some things in their family history they had no idea existed. Anyhow, one of the most common themes was family names. Many of my students discovered the origins of their family names. One particular student found out that her name is Greek, but everyone thought it was Spanish. She discovered that her great grandfather had to change the spelling after he came to the United States because he couldn't get a job because his name was so foreign sounding. Another student discovered branches of her family she didn't know existed. Most of the students had a distant relative who had to change their last name completely or the spelling to more English looking names.