Hello people!
I am a Japanese girl who works and lives in Singapore - one of my concerns living here is that some people make a fun of me because my name sounds like a mother in their native languages ( My name is Mami and let's say for example, for Spanish speakers it sounds like "mother" in their language), but it is a common name in Japan.
Some really mean people even go on to state that my name is like "mummies at the British Museum" :( I work as a customer rep handling non-Japanese customers too so I don't want this to happen to my prospects. I think the good solution would be having an English name.
Can anyone please help me choose the good English name? I would like something that has similar sounds to my Jap name, Mami.
Hi Mami,
Sorry that you have met such rude people. Have you tried another approach when meeting people such as
"Hello my name is Mami, in Japanese it means "true"" ?
This helps people associate another idea with you & your name from the beginning and asks the English speaker to say something in response like:"Really? that's interesting ..."
Of course, I don't know the precise meaning of your name according to its Kanji, but neither do they!
Good Luck!
Why should you change your name anyway?
I knew once a guy called Rama (meaning branch in Spanish), I don't see where the problem is.
@Mami I wouldn’t change your name if I was you. It is easy to remember and to say in any language. Those comments you heard are just stupid and rude. Yes people outside your country are less polite than Japanese people.
You know John and Mary are not just simple names. They are Christian names with a religious meaning.
We are living in a world that is getting more global, so it is nice to keep up some particularities. Names are what makes us distinctive. Do not give up your Japanese name for a western name. Maybe I am snobbish but I think it sounds a little bit lower class to take up a western Christian name. Be proud of your culture!
Mami さん, こんにちは。
Does your name have some meaning with kanji, Japanese character? If it's so, you should be proud of it. And you could make English name with the meaning. It might be difficult but worth trying!
For example, if your name was 真美, it would mean real beauty, so you could name you Retty. It sounds like Pretty. I hope you will keep Japanese dignity.
