What’s In a Name? Power
I have always been fascinated by names, especially how people can go by different names when in the company of different groups of people.
I had a childhood friend who went by a Western name among her family and childhood friends, and a Japanese name with her school friends. When I was a child and she was the only person I knew who went by two names, I was intrigued by her choice and baffled at how she could respond to two different names!
As I grew older, it became more common around me. In high school, I made a friend whose legal first name was Taiwanese, but he went by his Western middle name. In college, a lot of my international friends from China and South Korea had an “American name” they went by.
I also believe I am interested in names for cultural and historical reasons.
Nicknames are important in contemporary Japanese culture. Calling someone by their first name implies a degree of closeness. Calling someone by their nickname (adana) implies an even stronger degree of closeness. This is a common scenario where one person responds to different names: their last name (distant), their first name (close), and their nickname (closest). There could even be different variations on their nicknames; Japanese is quite a flexible language in that it is easy to combine sounds in many different ways.
Today, most people from Asia who I know have an “American name” chose to go by their “American name.” However, I always wondered if my international friends would have preferred to go by their legal/given names except for the fact that having an “American name” provides practical (and, likely, professional) benefits. In the contemporary context, it is voluntary but this common practice shows how power dynamics are at play in what name you choose to go by. The choice itself is an exercise of power, and a response to the prevailing linguistic power structure.
Japanese colonizers certainly understood this. In Japan’s colonial history, they forced Koreans to change their names to sound more Japanese. Perhaps knowing that history is also what made me think about the power in claiming the name you want to go by – free of coercion.
Lastly, commoners in Japan only started using last names in the Meiji Restoration. I have a vivid memory of a square from my history manga textbook of Japanese farmers excitedly choosing their last names (i.e., it sounds apocryphal, but Tanaka is supposedly a common Japanese last name because it means “middle (naka) of the field (ta)” and a lot of farmers chose this as their last name because they lived in the middle of a field). Again, there is power in choosing your name.
So, as you read my novels, please pay attention to names. Just to list some non-spoiler examples:
Kara has already made many choices about her name by the time The Acolyte’s Heresy starts: she was born Karralah Siwalan, became Kara Bethel, and goes by Karillna Bettanyeh when in Zhuresh. What does it mean to her to be called “Kara”?
In Forbidden Ember, Therise not only accepts her new name as “Therizza” when she is taken to Zhuresh, but claims the title “Warbringer” as her last name. Will returning to Aeona be enough to relinquish the name?
Rhenise used to call Rissa “Riri,” and Rissa used to call Rhenise “Rhey.” When Rissa Must Die starts, they no longer call each other by their friend names. Why? When do they revert to using their friend names for each other?
There are more name-related moments and turning points in my novels, but I’ll leave it at that for now so you can enjoy the surprises!
Do you go by more than one name? If so, then please leave a comment; I’d love to know how and why.
