How do foreigners get legal American names?

23 comments

1. Names aren’t biological… it is fairly common to have a name you use socially (a nickname or an Anglicized name) that is not the same as your legal name. There are also processes to legally change your name if you want.

2. It’s not uncommon for people to go by nicknames or sometimes their middle name. You can call yourself whatever you want outside of official paperwork.

3. A person doesn’t have to be referred to by their legal name in all contexts. There’s no official registry of informal name preferences.

4. An alias doesn’t require any legal work you can call yourself whatever you want. I’ve been putting a white name on my job applications to get more interviews myself. That’s one good reason to use an alias.

5. I have had a few Asian friends and acquaintances who picked a “western” name to use with people here like Tony or Andy or whatever. Don’t know exactly why they did it, I suppose just to feel like they fit in better, but no one was bothered by it. Their mail and documents and stuff still had their legal name, generally.

6. You can legally change your name, there is a process to do this, but otherwise there is nothing preventing anyone from introducing themselves and going by totally different names. If I moved cities and decided that I wanted people to call me, I don’t know, Jameis, then I would just be called Jameis (except on legal documents).

7. Uh you…um….wait what? A lot of people from non-English speaking countries go by different names in the US bc people here tend to only speak one language and so names outside of the Germanic/Latin language families tend to be hard for us to pronounce and it’s just easier for people to go by “John” then try to teach every new person they meet the basic phonetics of a completely unfamiliar language. It’s not a great system but it’s common. However you don’t need a “legal American name” for this. You legal name is whatever is on your birth certificate or citizenship application. You can change your legal name if you want tho. You CERTAINLY don’t have to register a legal “American” name in addition to whatever your actual name is.

   Edit: for context I am fully white but often go by “Ryan” bc my actual name is kinda unusual and people struggle with it a lil. However I’m not registering “Ryan” anywhere.

8. Usually they’re just nicknames – legally they’ll have one name, but personally they’ll go by whatever name they want to.

9. legal name is just a word on a piece of paper. regardless of what your legal name is, you can go by whatever name you want outside of official contexts, and you can officially change your legal name if you’re so inclined.

   – greg: do you even know for sure that his legal name is greg? it might still be alex just like on his passport. one of my coworkers goes by his middle name for everything, including his work email address, email signature, name listed on all documents. it’s not his legal first name but it doesn’t really matter
   – adam: same thing, really. do you know for sure whether adam or his filipino name is his legal name? does it matter? it’s not like fb asks for your birth certificate or whatever when you make an account. I’m pretty sure I could make a fb account tomorrow under the name dinglehopper mcgee

10. I know a lot of people who move here and pick a new name to go by. Sometimes it has to do with their name being challenging to pronounce, so they pick something easier. Other times it has to do with choosing your own identity somewhere new. Sometimes both.

11. Usually it’s because they either want to be seen as American or it’s because they don’t want to have to keep explaining how to pronounce and spell their foreign name. Like I see it most often with Chinese folks.

12. My wife uses the English version of her name, she is Russian and born in Russia. At home and around close friends she goes by her Russian name but it’s just a pain to explain and answer a million questions by strangers so she uses the English version with people she does not know well.

13. A legal name and what you just kinda go by on a day to day basis don’t have to be the same.

14. My wife goes by her middle name in day to day life as that was common practice where he family is from in Argentina (her, her sister, and mother all have the same ‘first’ name) she didn’t even know that it wasn’t her actual first name until she applied for college… She pretty much used that exclusively until post 9/11 when they got much more strict on names so now she uses her first and middle name always on legal documents. It’s a real bitch when we do anything major (like buying he house) when she has to sign as all of her past aliases.

    My sister in law gave herself an “American” name when she was a kid that she goes by day to day, but uses her legal Filipina name at work, on legal documents etc. In reality it’s just a nick name like any other, like most named “Mike” one meets are really named Michael. etc.

15. Pick a name to write on legal documents. American names can be any name you chose.

16. I use my spouse’s last name on social media and socially, and my maiden name on legal and work documents. Aside from a few minutes of explanation it’s never been a problem for anyone.

17. Their legal name is the one on their passport. But socially we allow people to casually choose their own names — for social purposes.

    Your Filipino coworker probably has his paycheck and employer provided health insurance under his legal name.

18. >Filipino name

    Filipino names are usually just Spanish names and most Anglo speakers won’t struggle with them like a Jiajing or a Ngyuen.

    I wonder if by “Filipino name” that’s actually his family nickname (Filipino nicknames can be things like “Ping” , “Bong Bong”, “Jah Jah” etc)

19. Your legal name is really only necessary for you to use on legal documents. Everything else you can use whatever nickname or variant of your name that you wish to use.

20. Anyone can go to the courthouse and pay a couple hundred bucks to change their name if they want is almost if not all counties in the US.

21. I’ve always used my middle name because I don’t like my 1st name. I was born in the US so I don’t fit your example exactly but it happens a lot.

22. You can have a nickname, an alias (more official than a nickname, shows up on some documents, but not a legal name), and you can change your legal name. It’s not unheard-of for new citizens to sign up for citizenship with a name change.

23. Its pretty common for folks to choose a nickname when their name is being slaughtered. I have a good friend named Robby who did a year as a exchange student in Japan. As you might guess, Robby was really difficult for people to say properly, so he adopted a more common nickname while there.

    I have had the oppurtunity to meet several immigrants, exchange students, and international visitors to the US, and find that the decision to take a nickname comes down to your tolerance for the mispronouncination of your name. Most stick to their names, in my experience, but some would rather be called Lily, or (true story) Fish Boy. While legal aliases are a thing here, most people don’t bother registering these names.