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September 29, 2003
Yo, What's Your Name?
I meant to post about this article last week; the fact that I didn't has been bugging the crap out of me all weekend.
According to the New York Times, name changes are on the rise. In fact, the rate of change has nearly doubled citywide, from 2,449 in 1999 to 4,233 last year. Apparently, the process has been simplified. It only costs $65 to change your name.
I thought this was pretty cool, especially since I'm about to renew my driver's license. I sat for a while and pondered what my new name could be. It was a fun exercise.
Fun until I read about this Sociology professor from NYU who changed his 4-year old kid's name to Yo Xing Heyno Augustus Eisner Alexander Weiser Knuckles Jeremijenko-Conley. According to to Conley:
As for Mr. Conley, the father of Yo Xing Heyno Augustus, etc., his son's names all have specific intentions, from honoring deceased ancestors to upsetting common expectations.
"I had wanted to do ethnic disassimilation," said Mr. Conley, who is a sociologist at New York University. "So getting this white kid and giving him a name, Yo Xing, that belongs to this ethnicity that's really not his, it evens the score for the Howard and Robert Chins."
Um, yeah. One of the kid's names (Knuckles) is also their dog's. Conley also named his daughter "E," so that she could complete the name when she got older. Sounds like a bad case of Tikki Tikki Tembo to me (a children's book where two brothers, the first of whom is named "Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo" and the second, "Chang." It involves falling down into wells. You can probably guess the rest).
Just wait until Yo gets to high school and has to start filling out college applications and SAT forms. Try squeezing that into a bubble sheet. He might just go and change his name to "Yo, I Hate My Dad Conley." I would.
Posted by callalillie at September 29, 2003 9:13 AM | WTF?
yeah, i remember thinking, that kid is going to get beat up a lot.
and what would his nickname be? it can't be "yo" because everyone says that.
Posted by: tien at September 29, 2003 10:33 AM
Either that or kids will taunt him...calling him Yo Yo Ma or something.
Posted by: callalillie at September 29, 2003 10:35 AM
well, i think "yo yo ma" would be an honor, but i think "yo dad's a jackass" would be best.
Posted by: tien at September 29, 2003 11:36 AM
I loved Tiki Tiki Tumbo! And as someone with a name that will never get spelled right on the first try (first name on occasion, last name never), I can sympathize with wanting to change your name, but don't do it to your kids to make a social statement. Do it to yourself instead.
Posted by: dahl at September 30, 2003 2:33 PM
