Thread: Foreigners making patronymics

I heard that people who ARE NOT Russian should NOT even attempt to give themselves a patronymic, because it is insulting. But I just read in a Russian self-teacher book that "there is nothing stopping you from creating" your own patronymic. So tell me, is it bad or is it OK for an un-Russian to make a patronymic for themselves? *sigh* Not that I am about to give myself one and walk around telling people I have one. Thanks!
H.B.

I've heard of people doing that, but it seems kind of pointless to me. Your name is your name. I mean, you don't change your name from John to Jean when you visit France. And what if your father had a completely un-Russian sounding name? My father's name was Keith, but I would feel a right berk calling myself Iain Keithovich

On the other hand, most of the Russians I met while I was there seemed to have a hard time understanding that
a) I had a first name they'd never heard before (many of them flatly refused to use it, instead using the closest Russian equivalent, Ivan), and
b) That my middle name isn't a patronymic, it's just a middle name, and as such means absolutely nothing (well, it's actually my grandfather's name, but that just confused matters even further).

I don't see anything wrong or insulting if a foreigner wants to have a patronymic. But often it just doesn't sound Russian and is funny.

Well, it can't hurt when you're still learning Russian, but it seems kind of dumb once you visit the country. Look at high school foreign language classes, where they make you "get into it." There were kids outside the god damn Spanish class who kept calling me Miguel for four years, and then other kids would hear them and think that was really my name. It wasn't so bad, but if I ever took a trip to Barcelona I wouldn't go around calling myself that like a tourist yutz.

It might be useful to give yourself a patronymic if for example you are a doctor or a professor, because it makes it easier for people to address you in a respectful manner? Or do people address foreigners differently?

how would mine sound ? "Матт Кербинов" looks like somthing from the new terminator movie.

The president's name of my compony is Andre, but it is very uncomfortable to address him so. Luckily his father was from Poland and his name was quiet Russian. We call him Andre Antonovich.

Originally Posted by jejik

The president's name of my compony is Andre, but it is very uncomfortable to address him so. Luckily his father was from Poland and his name was quiet Russian. We call him Andre Antonovich.

You don't work for the UN do you Jejik?

No I work for a telecommunication company.

how about Эдмунд Ричардович? Does that sound stupid? (don't say that the Edmund bit is stupid cos it's my real name not one I'm making up)

Эдмунд Ричардович looks just amazing. Almost Russian name but a bit difficult to pronounce.

Well anyone who names their kid Edmund in this day and age must really hate their son, so I see no reason why you should show him any respect.

:P What's wrong with Edmund? It's not like I'm called Edwin..haha...and at least you won't get teachers confused at school..in our class there is a Matthew Burgess and a Matthew Burt next to eachother in the register and a Ben Davey and Ben Francis next to eachother in the register. There's only two other Edmunds in thw whole school..

I don't know, it sounds like something you'd name your kid in the seventeenth century.

I guess that's just an american thing. We laugh at names like Bob Junior and Chuck (whatever that's supposed to be short for) maybe only Tv characters are called stuff like that though..

Эдмунд Ричардович -- this sounds really cool! Like an English king's name (made in Russian manner in order to be more funny and amazing).

Originally Posted by Oddo

I guess that's just an american thing. We laugh at names like Bob Junior and Chuck (whatever that's supposed to be short for) maybe only Tv characters are called stuff like that though..

Chuck is short for Charles--it's a nickname (and one I don't think anyone's used since the 60s). It's like Ethel or Gerty or Lemuel or Edna or Vera. Nobody names their kids those things anymore.

in any case, Edmund is not a common name here, but people think of it as perfectly normal. I think its not that uncommon in France, but they spell it Edmond (yuk!)

Actually, it seems to me that old fashioned names are getting popular again in the US, so Edmund is actually a pretty cool name to have.

Does anything like this ever happen in Russia, where names go in and out of "style"?

argh that's what I'm saying! It's NOT regareded as old fashioned here.[/b]