MIGRANTS who come to the UK are abandoning more than just their homeland. Thousands of new arrivals are adopting common British names to avoid discrimination or just poor pronunciation.
Arabic names such as Karim and Muhammad are being changed to Kevin and Michael, while Indians bearing the surname Shital prefer to be known as Sheet.
The trend is part of a boom in name changing, fuelled by websites that allow people legally to rename themselves by deed poll within a few hours, usually for about £30.
Chinese people have anglicised their names by adding prefixes such as John, Jason and Sue.
In one instance, a refugee from Uzbekistan called Avlar Jon Akherov became Adrian Barry Roberts. In another case, a young Polish woman with an 18-letter surname opted for the brevity of one of Britain’s most common names - Hall.
“We saw a lot of Muslims change their names after the 9/11 attacks, but in the past few years it’s become much more widespread,” said Mike Barratt, chief executive of the UK Deed Poll Service.
“Often people are just sick and tired of having their names mispronounced. We’re seeing a 20% increase, year-on-year.”
About 70,000 people will change their name using either the UK Deed Poll Service or the Name Change Company this year, two of the most popular services in Britain. In 2001, it was fewer than 20,000.
i want to change my name back to my maiden name..every time some one says mrs. denney?..I cring..think 'oh shit the bitch has found me..' then realize their talking to me..
ReplyDeleteI don't see why you'd have to pay to change it ... just tell people you know to call you Reginald in future?
ReplyDelete