Should Names Be Anglicized?


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
pk: anglicised would mean using an english name rather than the native one. non-english character sets are transliterated into english on a regular basis. THAT is not an issue here. what is, is whether one should substitute an english equivalent for a non-english name.

also, this seems to be more a problem with european names

It admittedly can be a problem to change the spelling into latin letters. In that case why don't we simply use the officially accepted way of writing a name in latin letters by that country?

I have no problems with names being spelled in a way, that would make it difficult for me to pronounce them. I don't have to read out loud and if I did I would just have to learn to pronounce the name.

It is to me blatant disrespect not to call people by their real name as far as at all possible.
It's fair enough if you don't know their real names but just because it's more convenient? No.
I can understand if we us use an anglicised spelling for certain historical figures like Marc Anthony (who written as Markus Antonius in Danish by the way) especially as the Roman rules of spelling names was different from now.

On the outside chance that anglicised spelling should become a board rule I would continue to spell all names I know of as close to their real names as possible and there is no way I would disrespect my own royal family by not using their real names.
And if I were to be cencored for that, I would leave. - Because then this forum would become a forum for people from English speaking countries, not for the rest of us.
 
Um...I'm not understanding this statement.

I meant that I don't like it when they talk about "William & Catherine" and turn them into "Guillermo & Catalina". The last names are not THEIR names. They are just the spanish VERSIONS of their names. Just like they would not be "Wilhelm & Katharina" in Germany (thanks god we don't "translate" names). And not liking this "translation" into spanish on spanish websites I don't think it should also be the other way around. So no "John Charles" or "Johannes Karl" for "Juan Carlos" (based on where you live), because it's NOT the RIGHT name but only a VERSION.

Is it any clearer now? :ermm:
 
I agree with KitKat2006 that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to anglicize any foreign names. I'm wondering: Many of the Americans on this board certainly have classmates or colleagues or friends with Spanish names. Do you call a Juan John or an Enrique Henry? :huh:

So we should all install cyrillic keyboards to talk about Владимир I? I think not. Perhaps it's not "anglicizing" to use the Latinate alphabet but clearly, Cyrillic words are anglicized all the time to make them fit English pronunciation schemes.

As norenxaq pointed out, transliteration/transcription and translation are two different things. There are different systems of transcription and since this is an English speaking board, we use the English transcription (see the chart here for example).
Spanish, German, Swedish... whatever names do not have to be transliterated or transcribed, since they are written in latin alphabet.
 
i know most languages the name stay same , his name is Carlos not Charles
but whit Russian it is harder because they got other alphabet and some letter doesn't exist in that language like y , x , c , w etc
so i say NO names Anglicisizion
 
I'm wondering: Many of the Americans on this board certainly have classmates or colleagues or friends with Spanish names. Do you call a Juan John or an Enrique Henry? :huh:

That's what I also wondered but forgot to write. But I would like to ask this question especially to wanderer since he/she started this whole discussion. So how do you do it, wanderer? Do you anglicize your classmates/collegues names? How about actors and singers? Enrique or Henry Iglesias? Antonio or Anthony Banderas? Or what about all those american sport stars (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey) with foreign origin and names? Do you anglicize their names in conversations with friends, etc, too? Because you have to if you will stay true to your "it would be easier"-way. And no offense but this sounds completely moronic to me.
 
I meant that I don't like it when they talk about "William & Catherine" and turn them into "Guillermo & Catalina". The last names are not THEIR names. They are just the spanish VERSIONS of their names. Just like they would not be "Wilhelm & Katharina" in Germany (thanks god we don't "translate" names). And not liking this "translation" into spanish on spanish websites I don't think it should also be the other way around. So no "John Charles" or "Johannes Karl" for "Juan Carlos" (based on where you live), because it's NOT the RIGHT name but only a VERSION.

Is it any clearer now? :ermm:


Thank you for further explaining what you meant, I was really having a hard time with that one. And I agree that it should always be William and Catherine since that is their given name.
I live in a city with a high hispanic population and I would never dream of calling people named Eduardo by the English sounding Edward, or the Maria's of the world by the name Mary. Like someone else said it is disrespectful, arrogant and has a tinge of prejudice in it as well. On top of that, there are some names that just sound better in one language as opposed to another. Juan Carlos, IMO, sounds much better than John Charles. :wacko:
The Russian names are more open to questions for me because I have always seen their names spelled as Nicholas, Tatiana, Alexei etc. and I am not sure if that has been "anglicized" or if its the appropriate Russian name. I beleive Michael's name is really supposed to be Mikhail; is that correct?
 
I assume Carherine The Great is supposed to be Ekaterina The Great, but what are the proper names for Peter, Nicholas, and Alexander?
 
:previous:
The names of Russian Monarchs, Regents and Pretenders of the House of Romanov with their Russian pronunciation:
- Michael is pronounced Mikhail. The "kh" sounds like the Spanish "j" (as in "junta" or "Javier"). In this name, "a" is pronounced as in "art", and "i" as in "ink".
- Alexis is pronounced Aleksei. "K" is much softer than the English letter, more like the Spanish "c" as in "como". "Ei" sounds like "a" in "ate".
- Feodor is pronounced Fyodr. "Yo" as in "yolk".
- Sophia is pronounced the same way as in English.
- Ivan is pronounced the usual way ("I" as in "ink").
- Peter is pronounced as Pyotr ("Yo" as in "yolk").
- Catherine is pronounces as Yekaterina. ("Ye" as in "yellow", "k" like the Spanish "c" as in "como", and a softer "t", like the Spanish one, as in "tempo" or "tu").
- Anna is pronounced the same way as in English.
- Elizabeth is pronounced as Yelizaveta ("ye" as in "yellow").
- Paul is pronounces as Pavel.
- Constantine is pronounced as Konstantin ("k" like Spanish "c" as in "como")
- Nicholas is pronounced as Nikolai ("ai" as "i" in "idle", "k" like the Spanish "c" as in "como").
- Alexander is pronounced as Aleksander ("k" like the Spanish "c" as in "como").
- Cyril is pronounced as Kiril (a soft "k", like the Spanish "c" as in "como" - the same as in Aleksander, "i" as in "intereset").
- George is pronounced as Giorgiy ("G" as in "good", "i" as in "ink" and "y" as in "yell").
 
This thread has given me some laughs, especially Iluvbertie's difficulty with Arabic/Vietnamese swear words.
I agree that we should try to say the names as they are in the original, although our pronunciations will not be perfect.
Speaking of Charles as Karl, what of Charlotte as Carla?
I never heard that Isabel meant Elizabeth. I thought it meant beautiful (bel) Isa, with Isa as a separate meaning from bel. There is a French name of Charles VI's queen, Isabeau, which is odd, since "beau" is a masculine form of "bel". Anyway, I am still wondering why Elizabeth could become Isabel or Isabelle.
 
HGD Stephanie's family have names, among the seven children, which come from various "ethnic" backgrounds, just as we often do in America. Antonia, Nathalie's daughter and Stephanie's bridesmaid, has a Latin or Italian moniker . Alain is French and Breton. Aymeric--what on earth is that, not Latin, maybe Breton. Her other sister is a version of Gail, Gaelle, I think, but I can't remember what ethnic version it is, possibly French. Nathalie, pure French. I don't remember the rest.
 
I never heard that Isabel meant Elizabeth. I thought it meant beautiful (bel) Isa, with Isa as a separate meaning from bel. There is a French name of Charles VI's queen, Isabeau, which is odd, since "beau" is a masculine form of "bel". Anyway, I am still wondering why Elizabeth could become Isabel or Isabelle.
You can find an explanation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel In medieval times there was a Provençal version of the name, Elisabel.
HGD Stephanie's family have names, among the seven children, which come from various "ethnic" backgrounds, just as we often do in America. Antonia, Nathalie's daughter and Stephanie's bridesmaid, has a Latin or Italian moniker . Alain is French and Breton. Aymeric--what on earth is that, not Latin, maybe Breton. Her other sister is a version of Gail, Gaelle, I think, but I can't remember what ethnic version it is, possibly French. Nathalie, pure French. I don't remember the rest.
Antonia is the French, as well as Latin and Italian version, of the name
Aymeric is a French version of the Old German name Emeric (Henrik or Henry in English), while Imre is the Hungarian version
Gaëlle is the French female version of the Breton name Gaël
Nathalie is the French version of a Latin name Natalia, meaning birth (of Christ)
All according to the French Wikipedia
 
Last edited:
What an odd question. Given current trends maybe it should be asked if we should write names with Anglo-French-Arabic-Chinese strings. How do you write Charlene, Mette'Marit and Guillaume in Arabic and Chinese? JMHO
 
What an odd question. Given current trends maybe it should be asked if we should write names with Anglo-French-Arabic-Chinese strings. How do you write Charlene, Mette'Marit and Guillaume in Arabic and Chinese? JMHO
There is a difference between transliterate/transcribe a name written in non-Latin characters into a name written with Latin characters and to translate a name written with Latin characters in one language into another version of the same name in a different language, for example to call you by the name Admirador.ee.uu/Admiradora.ee.uu instead of AdmirerUS as your nick says.
 
Wow I never knew Nicholas and Nikolai were the same name, I've seen both spellings in some Romanov books I've read and assumed to we're unrelated names.
Thanks for all those examples. When I read books on the Romanovs Nicholas' name is always spelled in the anglicized fashion, but I have never heard of anyone writing or saying Alexie's name as Alexis.
 
Wow I never knew Nicholas and Nikolai were the same name, I've seen both spellings in some Romanov books I've read and assumed to we're unrelated names.
Thanks for all those examples. When I read books on the Romanovs Nicholas' name is always spelled in the anglicized fashion, but I have never heard of anyone writing or saying Alexie's name as Alexis.
You are most welcome. :)
Nikolai is the only form used in Russia or the Slavic world: Nicholas is just the Anglicised version.

Tsarevich Alexei's name is rarely, if ever, used in its Anglicised form Alexis. However, I have often seen the name of Aleksey Mikhailovich of Russia (Aleksey I) written as Alexis I or Alexis of Russia.
 
This thread reminds me of another post on these forums about Georgii, son of Maria Vladimorovna (of russia); someone refused to use that name and said it should be George, because Georgii (probably anglicized as Georgie) sounded too childish for an adult :)
 
Nikolai is the only form used in Russia or the Slavic world: Nicholas is just the Anglicised version.

Tsarevich Alexei's name is rarely, if ever, used in its Anglicised form Alexis.
Swedish usually translates the names as Nikolaj and Aleksej, although sometimes Nikolaus is used in Swedish, for example it was one of the given names of prince Eugen Napoleon Nikolaus of Sweden. (I wonder which Nikolaus he was named after, perhaps Nicholas Alexandrovich, the first fiancé of the future empress Maria Feodorovna, née princess Dagmar of Denmark, as he had died a few months before Eugen was born.)
 
When did the western world (other than the Spanish press) stop translating name. It seems like before World War I, they all translate name of people no matter what language
 
When did the western world (other than the Spanish press) stop translating name. It seems like before World War I, they all translate name of people no matter what language

I don't know, I was surprised to hear names are translated in other countries. The first rule in all of my language classes was... Do not translate names! I thought that was the same everywhere.
 
I don't know, I was surprised to hear names are translated in other countries. The first rule in all of my language classes was... Do not translate names! I thought that was the same everywhere.
Names are translated in ALL countries. You also use translated names.
It's normal and necessary because of various language systems and various sets of letters.
 
I don't know, I was surprised to hear names are translated in other countries. The first rule in all of my language classes was... Do not translate names! I thought that was the same everywhere.

We did it in the NL too.. think of the french kings like Lodewijk XIV, or several Karel's from England or Karel de Grote etc...
 
Let me clarify myself. I was thought in school whenever we worked on a text that if it contained a name we where not allowed to change it. Same thing with place names, etc.

And I hadn't thought of all the foreign kings and queens who's names had been translated. I'm not sure when or why it changed. These days, in the dutch papers, I see everyone mentioned by using their own name and not by using a translation. Perhaps it's because the world has become more global and people have more knowledge of foreign languages.
 
Foreign historical royals are still translated here in Denmark.

Like Henry VIII, who to this day is consistently written as Henrik VIII.
The French kings were at least until the early 70's often written as Ludvig XIV or Ludvig XVI - that has fortunately changed.

But the Russian names are still translated to Nikolaj, Alexander or Katarina. Only the most recent historical articles and books attempt to get it right.

At least we've never translated say George III to Jørgen III! :ermm:

Nowadays all current royals are known by their real name - with one notable exeption: Ex-king Konstantin (Constantine), who really ought to be spelled Konstantinos II.

I guess it will take another generation before royals are finally known by their real name as people are getting so much more globalized.
 
These days, in the dutch papers, I see everyone mentioned by using their own name and not by using a translation. Perhaps it's because the world has become more global and people have more knowledge of foreign languages.

Translation of first names has happened a lot less lately but for instance translation from cyrillic to western alphabet still has many variations.... in dutch a lot of russian last names are changed to a point where people wouldn't recognize there own name :lol:
Fortunately for royals last names aren't used often, but f.i. in sports it's tragic :ermm:
 
It depends who the text is written about. Names with normally be translated into Dutch, except when this would mean that people will mot know who it is about. At least, that is that was the rule during my history-classes at university.
 
Names are translated in ALL countries. You also use translated names.
It's normal and necessary because of various language systems and various sets of letters.
Names may be translated into Lithuanian-souding names in Lithuania, and into Spanish-sounding names in Spanish-speaking countries, but it's not true for ALL countries, for example in Sweden we don't translate foreign names written with the Latin alphabet into Swedish-souding names, prince Charles is prins Charles and not prins Karl, king Juan Carlos is kung Juan Carlos and not kung Johan Karl, and so on.

When it comes to names written with a non-Latin alphabet they are transliterated, and not translated, even if the words may sound similar and look similar in writing, they do mean two different things.

In Sweden the change of the names of foreign-born members of the Swedish royal family ended with princess Margaret of Connaught, her name was Swedified into crown princess Margareta, while lady Louise Mountbatten kept her given name (had it been Swedified it would have been Lovisa) when she became crown princess in 1923.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your answers, Meraude. It seems that all of Stephanie's family have French names. I would think Antonia would be Antoine, however, in French. But probably French speakers have some names which are not translated but merely traditional, thus, Antonia rather than Antoine. Luxembourg is a fascinating little country where both a Germanic and a French language are common, and thus names of royal people can be French or Germanic or neither, as in Maria Teresa.
We are like this in America with our names. Our names come from many sources.
And some of them are made up out of whole cloth. My name Mariel is made up by my parents to honor my grandma Mary Elliott. But in some countries (France, South America) the name Mariel is used (I hear) as a shortened form of Maria Elena, or in French as a diminuative of Marie, but the "el" suffix, I believe, is actually from a German root, as "Hansel" and "Gretel". So names can come from various sources, and in America, they really do, a lot!
My son speaks of French as "goofed up Latin". He studied Latin seven years in middle school and high school, just because he found it interesting to do so. The chopping off of end-sounds or sounds of suffixes in French is certainly "goofy". But cute-goofy.
I had a French speaking Canadian friend who insisted on pronouncing my name Mariel as "Mar-AI" with the "el" pronounced "AI".
I think this may be bastard French but anyway, that's how it was.
 
Last edited:
Names may be translated into Lithuanian-souding names in Lithuania, and into Spanish-sounding names in Spanish-speaking countries, but it's not true for ALL countries, for example in Sweden we don't translate foreign names written with the Latin alphabet into Swedish-souding names, prince Charles is prins Charles and not prins Karl, king Juan Carlos is kung Juan Carlos and not kung Johan Karl, and so on.

When it comes to names written with a non-Latin alphabet they are transliterated, and not translated, even if the words may sound similar and look similar in writing, they do mean two different things.

In Sweden the change of the names of foreign-born members of the Swedish royal family ended with princess Margaret of Connaught, her name was Swedified into crown princess Margareta, while lady Louise Mountbatten kept her given name (had it been Swedified it would have been Lovisa) when she became crown princess in 1923.
prince Charles is prins Charles
Is 'Ch' in Sweden language said as 'Ch' in English?
 
Thanks for your answers, Meraude. It seems that all of Stephanie's family have French names. I would think Antonia would be Antoine, however, in French. But probably French speakers have some names which are not translated but merely traditional, thus, Antonia rather than Antoine.
As Antoine is a male name in France, everyone would be mistaken the poor girl for a boy if she had been named Antoine :ohmy: The female variants are either Antonia or Antoinette.
prince Charles is prins Charles
Is 'Ch' in Sweden language said as 'Ch' in English?
Most Swedes would pronounce (or at least try to pronounce) the name Charles as it's done in English. As for ch in Swedish, it's one of the at least 16 different variants of how to spell the sje-sound, pronounced as /ɧ/in Swedish.
 
Back
Top Bottom