How do you say your name?

How many times have you had to say your name if it is the slightest bit unusual?

There was a TV advertisement - can't remember what it was for - in which a very enthusiastic jobseeker gets an interview with the boss, whose nameplate reads Dumass (Doo-mahs or Doo-mah, depending on origin), but the jobseeker mispronounces it every time as Duhm-ass.

My butcher in Encino, California used to call me Mrs. Dardashkowitz - I gave up after a few correction attempts. And, when I spell it - multiple times - over the phone, I'm always glad they confirm the spelling.

I've gotten really good at saying D as in David, A as in Apple, R as in Robert, D as in David, A as in Apple, S as in Sam, H as in Harry, T as in Tommy and I as in ice cream and then break it into syllables DAR-DASH-TI. How hard is that?

When the voice on the other end says he or she could never figure it out, I know they've gotten it wrong and left out the second A and/or the S.

I know I'm not the only one with this problem because the techies are getting into the act now with websites specifically targeted to helping the world pronounce unusual names.

HowToSayThatName.com and PronounceNames.com were spotlighted in this Wall Street Journal story.

Elizabeth Bojang wants to say your name right for posterity.

She always leaves her McLean, Va., home with a tape recorder. She asks people on the street, her dry cleaner and her colleagues at the insurance company where she
works to record their first and last names for her Web site, howtosaythatname.com. So far in her quest, she has amassed more than 11,000
pronunciations ranging from "Aabha" to "Zwai."

Elizabeth Bojang, pronounced Bo-johng, created a Web site for unusual name pronunciations. The idea came about after Ms. Bojang stopped using her maiden name, Godfrey, when she married Bala Musa Bojang, her Gambian husband. "I used to dread hearing it," because it was so often mispronounced, says Ms. Bojang.(The correct pronunciation is Bo-johng.)

The Internet has been a blessing for amateur and professional genealogists. But even when surname roots can be traced online, how last names are pronounced still causes confusion, especially in the cross-cultural mix of globalization. In fact, researchers say it is likely that many of our ancestors would be appalled at how their last names are pronounced today.

Suzanne Russo Adams, a genealogist for Ancestry.com, studied the last names of Italian immigrants and found that most who came to the U.S. in the early 1900s changed the pronunciation of their names after learning English and living in the country for a while. Some genealogists find that even parents and children pronounce their shared last name differently.

The story goes on to quote University of Florida linguistics professor Ben Hebblethwaite (the "th" isn't silent) who noticed some of his students have dual pronunciations of their last names -- an anglicized pronunciation for school and a more traditional pronunciation at home.

I can understand that.

English speakers (New Yorkers in this example and even the children of the 1980s Persian immigrant generation) will usually say Dardashti as: Dar (as in car) Dash (as in ash), followed by tee. It's nothing like that in Farsi, believe me.

Even the very phonetic (and simple) Talalay is a tongue-twister. Are all the a's pronounced the same? Is the final syllable "lai" or "lie" ? I get introduced sometimes as Tah-LAI-lee, which rhymes with ukelele and sounds awfully Irish to me as in shillelegh.

The WSJ story recounts the experience of technology student Vathanyu Chaipattanawanich at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, whose 25-letter Thai surname has always been an ice-breaker - everyone calls him Tab. He's one of the more than 600 members of the Facebook group, "Nobody Can Pronounce My Last Name."

But I digress.

Prof. Hebblethwaite says in general, pronunciations get simpler over time: Consonants cluster, spellings are shortened, vowel pitches altered. Even with these historical signposts, there are few hard-and-fast rules about name pronunciation in English.

"It's a mess," Prof. Hebblethewaite says.

Through research, Prof. Hebblethwaite has traced his own surname to Norwegians who invaded what is now Northern Britain as Vikings. "Heaven only knows how they pronounced it," he says.

PronounceNames.com was started by Mumbai native and engineer Pinky Thakkar (silent "h") who started the site after she moved to San Jose, California and thought that Jose rhymed with hose, not knowing about the Spanish "hoe-zay." She and her friends found it almost impossible to pronounce the names of people and places.

Her site launched in 2006 and there are now more than 75,000 entries and 38,000 audio files. You can add your own name, phonetic pronounciation and audio file if your computer has a microphone.

Ms. Thakkar is now working on an algorithm that would allow site users to record a name as they heard it and then have the site churn out a proper spelling based on the audio submission. She also is looking to expand the site's ability to provide audio pronunciations based on a user's typed-in guess. For example, if a user heard the Indian surname "Sridharan," but had no idea how to pronounce it, he or she could enter a guess such as "shree the run" and the accurate spelling would appear.

Here's some more on the sites listd above.

HowToSayThatName.com can help those who need to know how to say a name (such as a nurse or customer service representative and even the media. Search its database by entering a specific name or browse ethnic categories by given name, surname or letter. Categories today include Armenian, Chinese, English, Filipino and Taglog, Finnish, French, Fula, German, Greek, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mandinka, Polish, Romanian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Pronouncenames.com wants to make your name easy to pronounce and unlike the one above, you don't have to depend on the name being in the database. For this site, you can participate by sharing the pronounciation of your first name, family name, city and country where you live.

Try them both, and add your names to PronounceNames.com's database.

Decoding Russian names

Melissa Hahn's blog BraveTheWorld is not a genealogy blog, but she has posted a nice piece on understanding Russian names. She's planning to write about various aspects of Russian culture and history, but this post was on Russian names.

So if you're just starting out, put this on your list. Jewish names are mentioned in the complete article.

The first key is to understand the structure. Most Russian full names consist of three parts, just like American ones. The difference is the middle name: whereas Americans tend to select a middle name for the way it rolls off the tongue between the first and last name, or as an opportunity to squeeze in an additional family or saint name, in Russia the middle name nearly always consists of the father's first name.

This is called the patronymic (patro meaning father), and has two components: the father's name, plus an ending that means "of" (as in son or daughter of). These endings usually look like "-ov/ova/ovna", "-ev/eva/evna", or "-ich/ovich/evich". (The versions with an -a at the end would be for the daughter, and the other versions would be for the son).

We can use Vladimir Putin as an example. His full name is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Looking only at the middle name, we see a compound name: Vladimir + "ovich". Thus, his full name is Vladimir -"Son-of-Vladimir"- Putin. Another example is Leo Tolstoy, whose full name is "Lev Nicholaevich Tolstoy". His middle name, Nicholaevich, is the compound of "Nicholai" + "evich", and means "the son of Nicholas."

Melissa includes lists of common formal names (diminutives and nicknames as well) for men and women. Many given names are Biblical, Latin and Greek, as well as Old Slavic.

She discusses the polite way of addressing people, using the given name and patrynomic; addressing close friends or family members with pet names that get longer as the relationship is more intimate.

Example: Andrei Andreyevich (formal), Andrei (casual), Andrushka (very close), Andrushochka or Andrushenka (extremely close).

Sometimes, however, the nickname does not resemble the original name at all. For example, Sasha is the short form for Alexander, Vova for Vladimir.

To satisfy your curiousity, the following are popular nicknames (in parentheses). Anastasia (Nastya), Anatolyi (Tolia, Tolik), Anna (Hanna, Ania), Boris (Borya), Dmitri (Dima, Dimochka), Elizaveta (Liza), Ivan (Vanya, Vanechka), Larisa (Lalya, Lara), Natalia (Natasha), Oleg (Olezhka), Olga (Olya, Lyolya), Pavel (Pasha), Pyotor (Petya), Sergei (Seryozha), Stepan (Styopa), Vadim (Vadik), Vasily (Vasya), and Viktor (Vitya).

Surnames and endings, which tend to be adjectives or like patronymics, are also addressed.

In the adjective category: "Joseph Stalin (born in Georgia with the last name Dzhugashvili), chose his future last name to match the adjective meaning Steel- a choice whose significance was not lost on Soviet citizens."

Professions fall in this category: "The name Boyarsky is derived from the title "Boyarin", meaning landed gentry or nobility."

In the patrynomic category (endings of ov/ev), names are generally male first names, animals, colors or cities of origin: "Chernov contains the root word "Chyor", which means black; Medvedev contains the root word "Medved" which means bear...".

Don't be intimidated, says Melissa, the next time you see a Russian name:

Simply look for the markers- the endings of -y, -sky, -in, -ov/ev, -ovna/evna, and -ich. Sound it out and see if it sounds anything like the names that are already familiar to you. And, if you are especially ambitious, look up the root word to get a sense for the way that the name comes across to Russians. (You don't even need to know the Cyrillic alphabet; you can go to an etymology site in English). At the very least, when you come across a Russian name, you will be a little less lost than before.

Read the complete post at the link above.

Invasion of the Googlegängers

Do you know the term Googlegängers?

Individuals who have the same names are known as Google twins or Googlegängers. The American Dialect Society named it the most creative word last year, according to a story in the New York Times.

To learn more about multiple digital same-namers, why people look for them and the reasons they feel a connection to them, read the story.

Have you ever Googled your own name and if so, what have you discovered?

From time to time Sam Blackman, a pediatric oncologist in Philadelphia, checks up on people other than patients. Namely, other Sam Blackmans.

No stethoscope is needed to take the pulse of his namesakes, though — just a Google search. And while he has never met the men he refers to as Sam 2.0 and Sam 3.0, when one of those other Sam Blackmans posted a photograph of his wife on the Internet, Dr. Blackman, 39, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pleasure.

“I’m like ‘Oh! Sam Blackman got married,’ ” he said. “I felt like I should send a card or check his registry on Amazon.”

The story mentions how a writer named Angela Shelton met 40 others of the same name. There are a few websites for name-tallys. One group is for people named Ritz and their logo is a cracker box

(NOTE: a Ritz cracker, for those who don't get the reference, is a small round orange-yellow cracker that tastes really good with a dab of peanut butter or even used to scoop up tuna salad. It is a US product, but may be found occasionally in international supermarkets)

The writer also asks why so many people feel a connection with strangers because they share a name?

Social science, it turns out, has an answer. It is because human beings are unconsciously drawn to people and things that remind us of ourselves.

A psychological theory called the name-letter effect maintains that people like the letters in their own names (particularly their initials) better than other letters of the alphabet.

And in a strange six-year study with online phone directors, SSDI records and experiments, a social psychologist and his team discovered that "Johnsons are more likely to wed Johnsons, women named Virginia are more likely to live in (and move to) Virginia, and people whose surname is Lane tend to have addresses that include the word 'lane,' not 'street.'"

The psychologist says this is called "implicit egotism;" people feel an affinity to people, places and things that resemble their own names. And, says another researcher, “When someone is similar to you, you give them special privileges.”

Read the complete story here.

Read the story comments also. Some writers tell parents to get their children yourname.com or firstname@lastname.com domains when their kids are born, and advise them to choose another name for the child if the domain isn't available Another mentions Alan Berliner's film "The Sweetest Sound;" he tracked down all the Alan Berliners he could find and invited them over. Some readers reported that they already own their name's domain name, gmail account, AOL IM screen name, myspace and Facebook URLs, and more.

I am the only one with my name. What about you?

California: Virtual Surname Wall database

There are myriad ways to get your family quest out there so people searching your names can find you.

In addition to those we know about and use frequently, such as the very popular JewishGen Family Finder, the Southern California Genealogical Society has announced the roll-out of its searchable Virtual Surname Wall database.

According to the SCGS's Paula Hinkel, entries from more than 1,000 genealogists around the world are now searchable by family name, by geographic region and by each participant's Submitter ID. Participation is voluntary.

Privacy is a major concern among some researchers and I was happy to see that those submitting data can choose from three privacy options. Additionally, only your unique Submitter ID will be shown online.

If an inquiry is received about a possible family connection, you can authorize SCGS to release all contact details, only an email address, or ask SCGS to be the contact intermediary.

Members of the Tribe are located around the globe, so it isn't a bad idea to let people know what names you are searching. In the case of Jewish genealogy, you might find those people who haven't heard of JewishGen (it is possible!), but listed their names elsewhere.

If you'd like to search your surnames, click here. Under "Breaking News," scroll down to Virtual Surname Wall and click to either search the database or add new names.

The database can be searched by surname, location, or Submitter ID or any combination of the three. It is a "begins with" search, which means a search for Tal will currently bring up only Talbott/Talbot, Taliaferro and Talley/Tally. I just added some Talalay variations, so the hits will increase as the database is updated and more people list their names of interest.

You can also search within a field by adding % to the term. Writing &penn will bring back references with Pennsylvania.

It's easy to add names. Enter surname information (including variations), the geographic area in which the family lived, the migration path and time frame. See the page for more detailed information.

Each entry screen has room for up to 10 names, but you can enter multiple screens. Note that entries are not limited to California.

As entries are added, the Virtual Surname Wall will become more valuable.

France: Name trends and more

The New York Times has a great story on names in France, covering first name popularity, demographics, socio-economic class and profiling.

The issue appears so urgent that President Nicolas Sarkozy felt the need to create a Ministry of Immigration and National Identity, and the government has passed a law authorizing DNA testing to establish family links among would-be immigrants.

The discussion of names is much lighter in tone. It turns out that names featuring “a” are hot for girls (Clara, Sarah, Léa), as are “o” ones for boys (Mathéo, Enzo, Hugo). Scratch a bit deeper, and race and class quickly rear their heads. After all, names can provide an immediate indication of someone’s background in a country that does not include ethnicity in its national statistics, and where salaries are rarely discussed in public.

Demographer Guy Desplanques says that second-generation French immigrants are opting toward integration and combining ethnic and French names.

As in the US, trends in popular culture (TV and music) have influenced naming patterns other than the traditional French line-up.

An educator quoted in the story says she can guess at the family profiles of children named Maxime, Louise, Kevin or Lolita, with the first two of higher economic status families and the others of working or lower-middle-class status.

Profiling can hurt job-seekers, the story says. Some studies indicate that foreign-sounding names are less likely to be hired. But in France, some postings request jobseekers to provide personal information, such as marital status, and to provide photographs with resumes.

Read the story here.

Spelling 101: Flexibility is key

Searching for your name? Try asking a first-grader to spell it phonetically. You might come up with a few more variations.

This article by James Beidler, focuses on spelling, and explains some universal problems faced by family history researchers.

He speaks about the name DAUB and how, in German, D, T, B and P are pronounced similarly, producing such variants in a simple four-letter name as Doub, Toub, Taub, Thaub, Doup, Toup, Taup, Thaup, Taube and Daup.

Beidler mentions how, in Pennsylvania, 18th century German names with umlauts, the two dots over vowels, were hard to anglicize, so that the name KRUECK is seen as 18th century Grig and Creek and contemporary Krick, Crick and Creek.

He also talks about his own name and how it is pronounced ... or isn't.

Happy reading!

Northwest tour for Jewishgen's Blatt - UPDATE

UPDATE: Warren Blatt's topic will be Polish resources in Vancouver, B.C. on May 10.

Jewish genealogical societies in the Northwest have been doing a great job sharing sometimes substantial expenses to bring in excellent speakers who make the rounds in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

I believe that this is a model more geographically- related societies should be considering.

This time, the speaker is Warren Blatt, editor-in-chief of JewishGen, the primary Internet site for Jewish genealogy, a division of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.

Blatt has authored Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the Boston Area (Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston, 1996); co-authored (with Gary Mokotoff), Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy (Avotaynu, 1999); and is editor of the Kielce-Radom Special Interest Group Journal. In 2004, he received the IAJGS’ Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Jerusalem conference.

He has more than 25 years of research experience with Russian and Polish Jewish records, and authors the "JewishGen FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Jewish Genealogy" and many JewishGen InfoFiles.

Portland, OR: Brunch with Blatt on Sunday, May 6

The JGS of Oregon's 2007 annual brunch will take place from 10.30 a.m.-1 p.m., and Blatt will discuss new JewishGen developments and preview new features coming soon to your computer. For all details about reservations, event, location, directions, click here.

Seattle, WA: Two talks on Monday, May 7

The JGS of Washington State has announced that Blatt will give two presentations. Doors at the Mercer Island JCC auditorium will open at 6.30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Photo ID is required to enter the building.

He will present "Jewish Given Names" and "JewishGen Highlights."

Learn why Mordechai Yehuda is also Mortka Leib is also Max, in Blatt's overview of Jewish first names, focusing on practical issues for genealogical research. Our ancestors each had many different given names and nicknames, in various languages and alphabets - this can make Jewish genealogical research difficult. This presentation will demonstrate the history and patterns of Jewish first names, and how to recognize your ancestors' names in genealogical sources.

He will also highlight recent updates to JewishGen including its most popular databases: the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF), JewishGen ShtetlSeeker; the Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP), and JewishGen Discussion Group message archives. Learn how JewishGen's internet databases can help add to your own genealogical data.

JGSWS library materials will be available for research before and after the presentations. Programs are free for JGSWS members, $5 for non-members. For more information, click here.

Vancouver, B.C. on Thursday, May 10

On May 10, Blatt's subject will be Polish resources at the Jewish Genealogical Institute of British Columbia event. For more information, email jgibc@yahoo.com.

The JGIBC was founded in 1992 and has an extensive collection of genealogical research books, journals, maps, microfiche and reader housed in the Jewish Community Centre. On March 26, The Jewish Historical Society of BC celebrated the grand opening of the Jewish Museum and Archives in the same location.