<p>Well I'm not sure how much this applies to everyone else but here's my story.</p>
<p>I'd like to, no I"m definitely, go out of state for college. Chances are no one would know who I was at the respective schools I'm looking at. The dilemma comes in the form of my name and the 5-6 different things people have called me all my life.</p>
<p>My full name is Natnael, which is a very common Ethiopian name and I love it. But I'll be damned if I can find 1 person who pronounces it correctly.</p>
<p>My parents have given me the nickname NaT(Which is the Na with the T pronounced as it was capital) and it is also a common Ethiopian nickname that I wish everyone would call me but leave it to elementary school kids to butcher it. =)</p>
<p>In school they pronounced Nat faster and faster until they rammed it together and everyone started calling me Naughty(not spelled that way but pronounced that way).</p>
<p>Certain places I'm called Natty, and in Robotics I'm called Gnat(again, pronunciation). I have no problem with these names but when it comes down to introducing myself to someone I have an existential crisis as I analyze where I am and what the other people in the area will call me. I've had troubles with correcting people as I wasn't a stand out guy when I met most of them so I usually just accepted whatever they called me.</p>
<p>So my final question becomes, has anyone changed their name (most likely nickname) and been happy with it. I love my name Natnael and would love people to call me Nat, or even Naughty, but I'm thinking Nathan would go over much better and it would make me sound semi normal.</p>
<p>my brother changed his name from duff to jeff, and i’m pretty sure he’s relatively happy with it. it’s not weird - if you really want to do it, go ahead. but if you like your name, why would you destroy something unique to yourself that you like just for the sake of normality?</p>
<p>Not intentionally. My name is Sierra, everyone–including professors–call me Si.
I never asked anyone to or introduce myself as that but, it’s stuck so far.</p>
<p>If you want to go by a nickname, go ahead. Most people will call you whatever you introduce yourself as.</p>
<p>Yes. I hate my legal first name. There’s a whole long story as to why, but I’ve hated it since I can remember.</p>
<p>So I decided on a shortened version of it the summer before my first year of college, and as soon as I arrived I began to introduce myself that way. Even though my mother took me to college and she thought it was hilarious to mock me loudly every time I used the nickname, people just accepted it – and once she was gone it was much easier.</p>
<p>I haven’t changed anything legally, and people still use my legal name in circumstances where my legal name or the name on my credit cards is important: doctors, professors in large classes where we don’t introduce ourselves individually, people from whom I am buying expensive items. But everyone I know socially calls me the name I prefer.</p>
<p>“Nat” is a perfectly normal-sounding name for English-speaking Americans, at least when it comes to people my age. Nat Hentoff, for instance, is a writer whose stuff I’ve been expected to read every so often since I was in junior high.</p>
<p>If you like your name so much, why don’t you just introduce yourself as “Natnael, but you can call me <em>__” where </em> is whatever you want to stick with (Nat, Gnat, whatever). It seems a little sad to get rid of a cultural linkage, and one that you’re proud of, just because people can’t pronounce it. Just my opinion though.</p>
<p>I have an Asian-American friend with a very ethnic Chinese name that lots of people couldn’t pronounce in high school (it starts with an X and has another x). For college she went to Vanderbilt (very “white” school in the South) and chose to legally change the first name to something more conventional. She kept her old first name as a middle name and her family still calls her that, as do some of her old friends. The reason she changed it is because no one would say it correctly and I imagine that got annoying, especially if you’re in a new place and just want to make friends.</p>
<p>Oh, and if I were you I would introduce myself as Nat but keep the name Natnael. It sounds like a lot more exotic than Nathan. Nathan sounds like hot dogs.</p>
<p>OMG. Lol…are we twins!!! You have a nice name.</p>
<p>hahaha I’m Somali (close enough :P) AND I H A T E my name so much…</p>
<p>I really want to change it before i start college(first name only, but i LOVE my last name though). Changing it now in the middle of H.S. would be too confusing/awkward…but my mom kinda seems offended by the idea…but i don’t care.</p>
<p>Btw, I like Ethiopian names (lLOL…like, Merone, Wintana)…even Somali names in general are very nice (usually derived from muslim/arabic names)…but mine is an exception. No one can pronounce it …unless if they’re Somali themselves and i hate the name…it sounds stupid and i feel like people take me less seriously because of it. I just hate it. It’s very ethnic traditional name that’s sooo old (named after great grandma).</p>
<p>But my siblings have normal names though…■■■…</p>
I like this plan, at the end of the day I do love my name. I’ve just considered changing it for ease of pronunciation.I’ll probably stick with Nat but I wanted to hear success/horror stories over the situation. I believe in the culture link I want to give just want to hear opinions on the matter.</p>
<p>eastafrobeauty although I don’t hate my name I can understand where you are coming from. It can be frustrating and it’s even come to the point people judge you based on you’re odd name, not often but it has happened 1 too many times. I’d love to hear your name if you’re willing to share. I also love Ethiopian names, for the most part. Merone, Rahel and Rediet are amongst my favorite. One problem I have with naming people in Amharic is that I find a lot of people name people based on common words. I know people who’s names translate into Orange(the color), Light, and Forever. It makes sense in Amharic but it’s weird in English.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t change your name. It makes you unique. It’s easier to get noticed when your name isn’t John Smith.</p>
<p>I have a very complicated last name (10+ letters) and a relatively unique first name. Everyone always seems to remember my (first) name, moreso than I remember their various Johns, Daves, Joes, etc.</p>
<p>^ I agree with you. Sometimes what i like about it is that apparently I get a lot of attention from people…and people almost never forget my name…kinda nice being unique?</p>
<p>I will never introduce myself as my first name in college. I have one of the most generic, preppy, girls’ names ever, and I’m tired of being in class with 3 other people with the same first name.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine how many there will be in college…</p>
<p>So I’ll be using a nickname derived from my middle name. Simple, and FAR less common.</p>
<p>I swear to God if I think someone’s talking to me when they say my name and they’re actually talking to one of the other ones in the class one more time…</p>
<p>interesting. i have a chinese first and last name, but they don’t sound too chinese. no x’s or z’s or stuff like that. but i’ve always been wondering whether i should get an english name.</p>
<p>What your name is and what people call you are two different things. I think you are right that a lot of people will have trouble pronouncing “Natnael.” As others have said, “Nat,” with a short a, is a perfectly normally nickname in the U.S. Another possibility would be “Nate,” with a long a, which is a common nickname for Nathan or even Nathaniel.</p>
<p>I’m also going to recommend keeping your current name and just introducing yourself by another name, and also adding this new name to your facebook. At my (southern) school, many people go by their middle name and have their facebooks reflect that.</p>
<p>While you are free to change your name and now would probably be the easiest time, it is perfectly acceptable to go by a nickname (Natty would be an interesting choice due to it sharing the name of a popular beverage at colleges).</p>
<p>Your school should be willing to add a nickname to your records if you prefer to be called by it while still retaining your legal name (some college applications also do this). I don’t use a nickname, but I have my college not use my middle name on it’s records out of my personal preference.</p>
Nat Hentoff, for instance, is a writer whose stuff I’ve been expected to read every so often since I was in junior high.</p>
Nathan sounds like hot dogs.</p>