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What's in a name?
In some parts of India, the surname (family name) is written in the beginning of the name as in
Muddana Narayana Rao. In the United States (and elsewhere, too) the surname is called "last name". For example, in William Kent Petersen, William is the first name or given name), Kent is the middle name, Petersen is the last name. His children's names could be Donald Clint Petersen (son), Karen Ann Petersen (daughter). Typically, Petersen will be the last part of the name (last name) for all the children. The middle name may or may not be written.
Sometimes the middle name may not exist, depending on religious and ethnic customs. When it exists, it is usually written as an initial. So, William Kent Petersen is usually written William K. Petersen.
Typically, friends call William
Kent Petersen "William" or "Bill". In formal occassions, he is called Mr. Petersen or Dr. Petersen or Prof. Petersen, but never Dr. William or Dr. Bill. He will not call himself Dr. Petersen or Dr. William while introducing himself to friends or acquaintances. Very rarely, a person may go by his or her middle name for informal purposes.
His wife's name could be 1. Diana Flossy Petersen,
2. Diana Flossy Johnson or 3. Diana Flossy Johnson-Petersen. Diana's family name before she married Bill was Johnson. In the first instance, she changed her last name after her marriage to Petersen. Johnson is then her "maiden" name. In the second instance, she retained her maiden name as her last name. In the third instance, she retained her maiden name but also added Johnson to her last name. The first instance is the most usual.
When applying to schools or jobs in the West, persons with names like Muddana Narayana Rao often get confused as to which convention they should use. In this case, Muddana is the last name (family name)
eventhough it is usually and officially written in the beginning of the name. There is great deal of freedom in using first and middle names here: there is no justifiable middle name in this case. This person
can choose to use Narayana or Rao as the first name and any other as the middle name. In such circumstances, individual preference or concern for the ease of pronunciation of the name by the westerners may play a
deciding role. Rao may be easier for Americans (eg) to pronounce than other parts of the name but it is an Italian last name. People may feel awkward to call you by what they think is the last name. Narayana is
difficult to pronounce. So, you can choose to call yourself Ray or Ryan.
Suppose this person's name is written M. Narayana Rao in some official certificates (such as the degree certificate) and Narayana Rao
M. in some. If this person applies to the American universities using the last name Muddana, it should still be fine. In such cases, a note may be attached to the application packet explaining the various names that
may appear on the certificates. It is also possible to change the name immediately after arriving to the United States.
What some Indians call a pet name is a nick name. In US, petnames are names of
pet animals. Usually, nicknames are short forms of the actual names i.e. Bill for William. These short forms are standard for specific names. If you have a nickname that is used by your parents and relatives, you
are better off not mentioning it to your colleagues. Some examples of common American nicknames and the actual names they map to:
Bill, Will -->William
Dick --> Richard
Bob, Rob --> Robert
Chuck --> Charles
Some Indian-to-English transformations:
Common formulas of conversion:
All names ending in "nathan" can choose Nathan
All names ending in "jay" can choose Jay.
All names ending in "pal" can choose Paul.
All names ending in 'kant" or "kanth" can choose Kent.
Aliveni = Olivia
Amala = Amy
Ambar = Amber
Amita = Amy
Anand = Andy (Unfortunately, some Anands get a nickname Annie which is feminine)
Ananda = Andy (will be mistaken for fe. Amanda)
Anil = Neil
Anirudh= Rudy
Anita = Anita
Anjana = Angie
Anjala = Angela
Anupama = Pam
Archana = Hana (Archie is short for Archibald; a male)
Ashwini = Winnie (Schwin is actually a last name)
Avinash = Nash
Babu = Bob
Brinda = Brenda
Chakravarti = Chuck
Chandan = Dan
Chandrasekhar = Andy, Rasek, Chands
Devanand, Devan = Dave
Devi = Debbie
Hari, Harish = Harry
Janaki = Jan, Jenni, Joan,Ana
Janakiram = Jan
Joginatham = Joe
Kalyan = Calvin
Karthik = Kirk, Corky
Kavinder = Kevin
Kodanda- = Cody (Cody is a last name)
Krishna = Chris
Lalita = Lali (Unfortunately people may pronounce this as Lolita)
Lavanya = Lavinia
Manohar = Harry
Meghana = Megan
Narayan = Ryan, Ray
Navin = Nevin
Nikhil = Nicky
Padma = Paddy
Pattabhi = Toby, Pat (Pat is also a woman's name)
Pravin = Perry
Preetam = Rita
Rabindra, Ravindra = Rob, Bob
Raghuram = Ragu
Ramana = Raymond
Saketh = Saks
Samba- = Sam
Sampath = Sam
Sandeep = Go with fullname (Sandy is short form of fem Sandra)
Sandhya = Sandy
Saraswati, Sarala, Sarada = Sarah
Sashidhar = Sash
Saxena = Saks
Shalini=Sally
Shankar = Schenker
Sharaf = Shroff
Shounak = Sean
Siddarth = Sid
Sitara = Tara
Sujana = Susan
Sundari = Sandra
Sunil = Neil
Susheela = Sheila
Sushmita, Sumitra = Sue
Swamy, Shyam = Sam, Schaum
Venu = Wayne
Vani = Venessa
Vandana = Vanda
Vigneswar(i) = Vicky
Vikram = Vicky
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