Name and identity you use at (non Jewish) workplace

amother

Copper

Thu, Jul 14 2016, 9:22 pm

At work I go by my middle name, Lea, because it's much easier to pronounce. It would waste SO much time and be a royal pain to have the 'ah-hoo-vah, yes it's Hebrew, wow your cousin has an Indian name, that's great, your friend married someone from Brazil, also great, no one can pronounce her name either, I see' tutorial at the start of every conversation, so Lea just saves me time and energy.

zaq

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 3:06 pm

I think it's unprofessional to use on your work email anything other than your official name or the nickname by which you are known at work. In many large agencies you have no choice; your address is some version of Firstname.Lastname @Companyname.com, automatically generated by the system. It's boring but efficient. I really don't "get" making up a fake name. If you were good enough to get hired with your unpronounceable Jewish name, why do you suddenly think it's a problem now? If I were a client, I would think it extremely odd if not downright suspicious to email a "Julie" and then, when I call the firm, find out there is no such person and "You must mean Fruma-Sarah".

amother

Brown

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 3:24 pm

My name is Chana and I have no English name. I have never worked for a non Jewish company before but I keep wondering if I should pick a name to use. This thread is interesting

amother

Silver

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 3:34 pm

My Hebrew name is Rachel Chana. My English name is Rachel. I just go by Rachel (English version) for both professional & personal life.

When my son was born, my husband and I were very careful to give him a name that is common in both the secular and Jewish world and easy to pronounce.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 3:34 pm

My name is Chaya and I usually introduce myself as Kaya instead of trying to teach them the correct pronunciation. Apparently Chaya is also an Indian name and since I'm dark I've been asked where in India I'm from. I work with a lot of Indians.

When I was job hunting I wish I had a more neutral name but I guess ultimately it didn't hurt me.

imasinger

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 5:22 pm

I have the opposite issue -- I use my English name even though I work at Jewish schools. When I was first BT and started teaching here, I used it, and then it seemed silly to change it once everyone knew me one way.

amother

Mauve

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 5:41 pm

amother wrote:

[snipped]

My DH deals with a heimishe company that service both Jewish and non Jewish clients. He always thinks its a cute when a women with a Heimishe accent answers the phone and says "Hi this is Stephanie". He says the difference between voice and name is huge. (I hope I'm not making you feel bad, he knows why they do it)

Reminds me of the call center people who answer the phone sounding very distinctly Indian, and they say, "Hi this is Tom, can I help you?", and you're thinking, You're name is SO not Tom!

So, it's interesting. In some cultures, they continue to use their real names and make everyone else learn them, and in others, they try to sound American.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 5:59 pm

amother wrote:

My Chinese coworkers tend to use American nicknames because it's very difficult for English speakers to say their names remotely correctly. There are even harder sounds than chet and with tones… forget it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ZZ32nBVsI Smile

amother

Fuchsia

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 6:00 pm

amother wrote:

I deal with this all the time for work. I don't think the people who work in the call centers in India have a choice in the matter. I think the companies that they answer calls for want them to have American sounding names to make them seem more with it and easy to talk to. If only answering the phone as Tiffany or Philip made it easier to understand what they are saying! I'm always tempted to ask their real names.

amother

Amethyst

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 6:36 pm

amother wrote:

I use my real name as it is pretty accepted and standard in the rest of the world.
I hide my level of observance by uncovering my hair. I found that people related to me differently when I was openly frum.

Exactly why my husband doesn't wear a yarmulke at work - he doesn't want the first thing people notice about him to be that he it's frum.

amother

Orchid

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 8:28 pm

Quote:

my husband and I were very careful to give him a name that is common in both the secular and Jewish world and easy to pronounce.

A nice idea, but what if you have a close relative whose name you want to give?

I know someone working at a frum company where they are all asked to choose secular names. When I asked why, she said the owner feels it's not tzanua for the men and women (in the company, and I suppose clients and suppliers) to call each other by first names, but this way they're just using an alias.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 8:51 pm

[quote="amother"]

Quote:

I know someone working at a frum company where they are all asked to choose secular names. When I asked why, she said the owner feels it's not tzanua for the men and women (in the company, and I suppose clients and suppliers) to call each other by first names, but this way they're just using an alias.

Do you know why the owner feels that is that preferable to using Mr/Ms Lastname? I've never heard of this before.

(amother just because I already posted as amother in this thread)

amother

Magenta

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 9:25 pm

Interesting discussion.

I have a boy named pinchas. His English name is peter!!! What do you all think? It's different?

My DH insisted I should give this name on the birth certificate , because it will be much more practical for him later in life.

He's the only peter here where I live in a pretty large jewish community. My doctor could not believe it when he saw the name at the first visit. He said in 30 years that he's a pediatrician he didn't have a peter. He couldn't stop laughing. My boy is 3 years now and the doctor and nurses still goes crazy over him cuz he's PETER!!

Also at the wic office , they were like what peter from your community? Never ever had this before!!

What do you think? It's so interesting? Very Happy

BetsyTacy

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 9:46 pm

Peter is not often used as a secular name for a Jewish boy, because let's face it, the most famous Peter was an apostle of oso haish, previously called Shimon.
Many Jews have secular names, just not usually names so closely tied with another religion.

Edited to add: I think a great secular name for Pinchas would be Finn. Sounds cool and is really the first syllable of Phineas. I must admit, my kids only have Hebrew names, and none of them are name Pinchas.....

Last edited by BetsyTacy on Mon, Jul 18 2016, 10:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jul 18 2016, 9:54 pm

I use the name Malka at work. I've worked for several large corporations in the IT department. Many people I work with go by their native names. In fact, I worked with a woman named Malika. My name is not so difficult to pronounce.

Now I work for a frum company, and many use English names like Mark, Henry, etc.