Hi,
So I have lived in Spain now for almost 10 years and I will be applying for citizenship soon. As part of this process I can pretty much chose my Spanish name. Or I can keep my polish name.
The problem is that my name is very polish, like Grzegorz Filipowski. Every time someone has to write it down and look me up in a database I have to show them my ID. When it happens over the phone I have to spell it. Every time I meet someone they ask me what’s my name is and then repeatedly try to pronounce it while I say ‘yeah… close enough’. It’s pretty annoying and it would be solved by simply changing my name to something Spanish like Gregorio González or something.
What do you think? Would you see it as a practical thing to do or as a stupid intent at impersonating a real Spaniard?
How about using your Polish nickname (surely you have one?)? This would likely be easier to spell for the average Spaniard, while staying closer to your identity than going full “Gregorio González”.
I can use nicknames with friends but when someone has to write it down it’s usually a legal matter (like talking to some official or bank) and they need my real name. And they need first and last name.
Yes, I could kind of do it for first name but I would still have to change my last name. When for example I call customer support and they ask me how to refer to me I just tell them something like ‘Greg’, something they can pronounce. But more often the need my actual name.
Yes if it feels comfortable to you and will make your life easier, change it.
I had my name legally changed in 2018 to something I feel more comfortable with. Love it. No regrets.
How was the transition? Did you correct everyone when they used the old name or do you just let old friends keep using it? I would just let my polish friends/family use my polish name obviously.
Is it possible to do a Spanish spelling of your current name?
Just the spelling? No, polish is to weird. As in my example, you can’t spell Grzegorz in Spanish, you can only translate it to Gregorio or something.
Seems reasonable to change your first name to make your life more convenient, but unless people encounter these names, they’ll never used to saying them.
In the UK it takes knowledge to know how to pronounce Irish names but one you’ve met a few Siobhans and Eoins you get used to it.
There is an element of historical oppression here though. Some people choose to use an Irish spelling because, well, the English keep trying to erase other cultures. That example didn’t work out as well as I thought it would.
Oh, they will never get used to saying those names because they are just not able to make polish sounds. In polish there’s a lot of weird sounds like ‘szcz’ (shsh) or thinks like ‘prz’, ‘zsz’, ‘dżdż’ that foreigners just can’t reproduce. My name is like that. And even if they learn to kind of almost say it they are never able to write it. People at work always make mistakes when writing my name.
I asked myself the same question when getting US citizenship (also born Polish). Ended up not changing my name (although in English few letters aren’t exact, like using L instead of Ł). I don’t mind showing my ID, but just like you, people still manage to mess it up. It often ends up being a starter to interesting conversations, which personally I’ve enjoyed. Having a real unique name can have an advantage - I’ve never received a bill that wasn’t actually for me, unlike my American friends with common first name/last name combinations.
