with; what are ya gonna do?
Spanish, so I generally go by Lucinda because the change from [loo-SIN-duh] to [loo-SEEN-dah] actually sounds like an improvement to me. I worked for years with an Argentinian of your name, Marta, who went by Martha, because like it or no, that’s what she got. My brother-in-law Hebert likewise surrendered to Herbert. Then there are the bigger changes, like in last names. My grandparents’ generation coming in at Ellis Island with documents in Russian or Hebrew that the immigration officials couldn’t read, often took or were given new names, and so my grandfather’s family went from Portnoy (Russian) to Feder German) (?!?). Some change their names to hide what they perceive as an ethnic stigma. So my Polish neighbors changed their name from Slawinski to Winter. Untold numbers of Jews smoothed out their names, e.g. from Blumberg to Bloom, etc. For most of us, taking on a new name brings with it a bit of new identity, like an actor learning a new role. The first reaction may be that it’s fa
