Racial profiling be darned! Indians still prefer Indian names
Increasingly, Indians in the community might be choosing anglicised preferred first names on their CVs; but they still retain their own Indian names on official records.
The next generation is left to defend their names on the playground as Indian babies get given Indian names too. If Indians do change their names on official records at all, it is in fact to other Indian names.
This bucks a common trend – anglicising names to fit in with Kiwi society and get around racial profiling related to employment. As a practice, anglicising names is used widely across many countries with large immigrant populations.
“ARMS do not promote or encourage the use of anglicisation of foreign names. Though anglicizing names on CVs is a practice still advised by many agencies,” says Dr Mary Dawson, Chief Executive, at the Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS).
“Granted, anglicizing one’s name is not an illegal practice and its usual aim is to give simplicity and to make the names easier to pronounce. But Auckland is now a super-diverse city where a myriad of languages are now heard and seen, where a majority of children are being born into cross-cultural homes, and classroom rolls consist of a host of non-traditional names derived from all manner of sources. Why then do some NZ employers persist in discriminating against job applicants, because of the supposed foreignness of their names? This is short-sighted, prejudiced, and reflects a mono-cultural bias that does no favours to anyone.”
As per the “The Department of Internal Affairs” 8 out of the most common 10 names for Indian babies, is Indian.
So far in 2013 Mohammed has retained its spot as the most popular name for boys from last year and the second most popular is tied with Aarav and Ayaan. Shanaya is the most popular name for girls and the second most popular is Prisha.
Not so in the Chinese community where it is common to choose anglicised names for next generation babies. In the Chinese community, Ethan is the most common boys' name 2013 and Daniel the second most popular. Chloe is the most common girls' name and Emily and Emma tied for second in 2013.
“This is the best conclusion to draw from the data. Indians do not anglicise their names like the Chinese do,” says Jeff Montgomery Registrar-General and General Manager (Births, Deaths and Marriages) at the Department of Internal Affairs. Information on names and ethnicity is routinely collected at birth for statistical purposes by the department.
Historically many Maori Christian and surnames were anglicised and people from some cultures may consider it courteous or sensible to adapt their names to ‘fit in’ to the local culture, not cause difficulties, or to avoid being disadvantaged.
Mohammad is a Prophet's name in Islam
Aarav is a Sanskrit word that means the cry of birds that signals day-break
Ayaan means god's gift in Arabic
Shanaya or Shania means the first ray of the sun or god's gift
Prisha too means god's gift in Sanskrit
Increasingly, Indians in the community might be choosing anglicised preferred first names on their CVs; but they still retain their own Indian names on official records. The next generation is left to defend their names on the playground as Indian babies get given Indian names too. If Indians do...
Increasingly, Indians in the community might be choosing anglicised preferred first names on their CVs; but they still retain their own Indian names on official records.
The next generation is left to defend their names on the playground as Indian babies get given Indian names too. If Indians do change their names on official records at all, it is in fact to other Indian names.
This bucks a common trend – anglicising names to fit in with Kiwi society and get around racial profiling related to employment. As a practice, anglicising names is used widely across many countries with large immigrant populations.
“ARMS do not promote or encourage the use of anglicisation of foreign names. Though anglicizing names on CVs is a practice still advised by many agencies,” says Dr Mary Dawson, Chief Executive, at the Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS).
“Granted, anglicizing one’s name is not an illegal practice and its usual aim is to give simplicity and to make the names easier to pronounce. But Auckland is now a super-diverse city where a myriad of languages are now heard and seen, where a majority of children are being born into cross-cultural homes, and classroom rolls consist of a host of non-traditional names derived from all manner of sources. Why then do some NZ employers persist in discriminating against job applicants, because of the supposed foreignness of their names? This is short-sighted, prejudiced, and reflects a mono-cultural bias that does no favours to anyone.”
As per the “The Department of Internal Affairs” 8 out of the most common 10 names for Indian babies, is Indian.
So far in 2013 Mohammed has retained its spot as the most popular name for boys from last year and the second most popular is tied with Aarav and Ayaan. Shanaya is the most popular name for girls and the second most popular is Prisha.
Not so in the Chinese community where it is common to choose anglicised names for next generation babies. In the Chinese community, Ethan is the most common boys' name 2013 and Daniel the second most popular. Chloe is the most common girls' name and Emily and Emma tied for second in 2013.
“This is the best conclusion to draw from the data. Indians do not anglicise their names like the Chinese do,” says Jeff Montgomery Registrar-General and General Manager (Births, Deaths and Marriages) at the Department of Internal Affairs. Information on names and ethnicity is routinely collected at birth for statistical purposes by the department.
Historically many Maori Christian and surnames were anglicised and people from some cultures may consider it courteous or sensible to adapt their names to ‘fit in’ to the local culture, not cause difficulties, or to avoid being disadvantaged.
Mohammad is a Prophet's name in Islam
Aarav is a Sanskrit word that means the cry of birds that signals day-break
Ayaan means god's gift in Arabic
Shanaya or Shania means the first ray of the sun or god's gift
Prisha too means god's gift in Sanskrit
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