Why & how people change their names

Air Date: January 10, 2012

This Florida man legally changed his name from Jeffrey Drew Wilschke to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop. (AP)

Ron Artest of the L.A. Lakers legally changed his name to Metta World Peace this year. (AP)

Hour 2

Our names tell people a lot about us—perhaps our gender, our marital status, our race or religion or country of origin and sometimes the name we are given no longer fits or we just don’t like it anymore. Does your name make you feel uncomfortable and if so, have you ever been tempted to change it? Or, if you did you change your name, was that a difficult process? In this hour of Radio Times, we’re asking why people change their names and what happens when they do. Singer/writer ALINA SIMONE changed her name and wrote about it in an essay in The New York Times. We’ve invited her to join us, along with two people who think about names a lot: CLEVELAND EVANS, past president of the American Name Society, and KELLY UTT-GRUBB, a consultant who helps people through the process of deciding on a new name.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 011012_110630.mp3]

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