A fork for the time-zone database?

Posted Oct 11, 2021 7:42 UTC (Mon) by Wol (subscriber, #4433)
In reply to: A fork for the time-zone database? by zdzichu
Parent article: A fork for the time-zone database?

Exactly.

EVEN IN THE WEST we have two very different naming systems.

We have Christian name(s), patronymic, (surname)
and we have
Christian name(s), (patronymical) surname.

So you can see the drift ... Patronymical cultures don't normally use surname. MANY people don't use First name (the Germans certainly used to use a way of handling this - I've seen Ausweis/Reisepass with the second name underlined, to indicate this is the "name that is used".

I'm guessing that Anglo-Saxon names like Smith and Miller are surnames - typically a *professional* name handed down the generations, while Johnson, Smithson, MacGregor, McIntyre, are patronymics, eg James son of John, Gregor son of Gregor.

When the surname habit froze in I don't know, but I'm guessing it was fairly recent ...

Cheers,
Wol

A fork for the time-zone database?

Posted Oct 11, 2021 9:15 UTC (Mon) by farnz (subscriber, #17727) [Link] (2 responses)

Even in England, we have two systems in parallel; there's the "Christian name, surname" one that most people think of, but there's a significant minority (who have money) that have "inherited name, personal name, surname", where they are only "inherited name, surname" in very formal situations, but they're "personal name" or "personal name, surname" otherwise.

So I have an acquaintance (let's call him "John"), whose name on his passport is something like "James John Smith", but whose bank cards etc are in the name of "Mr John Smith". The only time he uses "James" (which is the name the eldest son was given in each generation, and has the family lands attached to it) is when he's dealing with courts, police, or equivalents.

And this ignores such fun as stage names - e.g. without looking it up, I'd not recognise "Newton Edward" as the first names of someone whose ID normally calls him "Paul Daniels", and yet I know exactly who Paul Daniels is because he was a common fixture on BBC TV 30 to 40 years ago.

A fork for the time-zone database?

Posted Oct 11, 2021 10:15 UTC (Mon) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

> And this ignores such fun as stage names - e.g. without looking it up, I'd not recognise "Newton Edward" as the first names of someone whose ID normally calls him "Paul Daniels", and yet I know exactly who Paul Daniels is because he was a common fixture on BBC TV 30 to 40 years ago.

And the reason a lot of people do not use the real name on stage is because acting is a closed shop, you MUST have an Equity card, and no two people can have the same name on active Equity cards.

The reason we know him as David W*A*lliams is because somebody else already had a card in the name of David W*I*lliams.

So yes. It's a very safe bet that most people on stage don't go by their real name because they couldn't get a card with that name on it ...

Cheers,
Wol

A fork for the time-zone database?

Posted Oct 11, 2021 11:36 UTC (Mon) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

> The only time he uses "James" (which is the name the eldest son was given in each generation, and has the family lands attached to it) is when he's dealing with courts, police, or equivalents.

:-) To give a real life example, I believe a certain personage uses the name "Charlie Chester" (ONE of his real names!) when he wants to fly under the radar a bit ...

His son was known for a while as Cornet Wales ...

Cheers,
Wol