Why I Changed My Name: Stories From 3 Women

When you are an immigrant, it influences every part of your identity, whether you like it or not.

Sometimes, you just want to be like everyone else.

Take your name, for example. It's foreign. It's hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and people aren't willing to even try.

So you change it. Whether it's shortening it, westernizing it, or being given a nickname, it's comfortingly similar to everyone else.

3 Asian women have shared stories about coming to terms with their given names. Some changed it. Some were ashamed of it. But they have all learned to embrace it, and embrace their culture. And so can you.

Read Dorothy Wang's story about her embracing her name here

Read Shaheda Begum's story about reclaiming her culture and name here

Read Sai Gayathri Kurup's story about how a nickname went too far here