Why I use two (or three?) names

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really have two names, but I just responded to another Substacker (Is that the name for us here?) and saw my comment listed under my full name: Minh Ngoc Thi Dang and I thought - I wonder if people are wondering why my name shows up differently in different places.

Of course my full name is missing the accent marks, and in Vietnamese it would be written with surname first, so my full given name is: Đặng Thị Ngọc Minh. (side note: why do I feel like I'm putting myself at right for identity theft now?)

But when I started in US schools, it just became Minh Dang because those are my first and last names. And though I haven't legally changed my name, when I got married, my husband and I decided to hyphenate our last names to Watson-Dang, so I've started writing Minh Watson-Dang.

I hope that when future generations hear the story about the Watson-Dangs, that they are inspired and reminded about the possibilities for their own lives.

This is big for me because Dang comes from my father and I don't like that association, but I do love my name (wow, I've never said that!?) and what it means: to become a bright gem/jewel. I'm actually not sure if I added the “to become” part but Ngọc means gem or jewel and Minh means bright or intelligent. And sadly, because it means intelligent, and Vietnamese culture is very patriarchal, Minh is an uncommon name for women. Maybe that's changed….But I have fond memories of loved ones yelling “MINH DANG!!!” at my undergraduate graduation, I've lived and grown into my name, and I don't want to lose my Vietnamese heritage. Let's not even go into the patriarchal practice of straight women being given away to the man’s family and thus changing her name and identity.

In practical term, Minh Ngoc Thi Watson doesn't work. For me it doesn't. It’s like an elephant without it's trunk. But, it was important for me to claim and demonstrate my husband and I are a new family, and even more importantly, that we start a new lineage. In my vows, I talked about the Watson-Dang lineage. Here's what I said:

“My hope for our lineage is that we are known for our steadfast commitment to loving - loving ourselves, each other, our extended family and community, and our neighbors near and far. I hope that we are stewards of history, carrying the legacies of those before us and tilling the soil for those who come after. I hope that we continue to see ourselves as threads in the fabric of our planet and the human society that we live in. I hope that when future generations hear the story about the Watson-Dangs, that they are inspired and reminded about the possibilities for their own lives.”

So that is why I am Minh Watson-Dang.

And because earning a PhD was a big deal, I throw in Dr. for good measure :)

#assimilation #lineage #vietnamese #names