My name is being made fun of?
Bang Ang New York, NY People often make jokes about my name. They would ask “did your parents drop pots and pans or something?” or...
First name Maria. AM NOT HISPANIC.
Maria Smith San Jose, CA It’s a bizarre little problem to have. Especially in California.
I am more than my name
Kelly Grayson, Tukwila, WA. I recall my years of education, all my teachers would call my name and then overlook my hand when I raised...
My name and skin don’t match.
Jennifer Lopez Salt Lake City, UT Don’t match your assumptions, that is. It certainly doesn’t help to have the same name as a famous Latina,...
My last name doesn’t define me.
Johnathan Neufeld Canada Throughout my entire life, people have judged me because my last name is German and Jewish. People have simply assumed that I...
“White Girl” was my name until college.
Samantha McFadden New York, NY I grew up outside of New York in a city that was definitely more urban than suburban. I spent the...
But your last name is Decker?
Michael Decker Austin, TX In Texas, the dominant ethnicities are German and Mexican. Over the past two hundred years, these two have mixed greatly —...
How do you say your name?
Kaushik Pattamadai Cherry Hill, NJ I don’t really have many bad experiences with my name or my race in general. I have just noticed this...
College admission: Smith better than Zhang
Steven Cui Foster City, CA Kids having their white dad’s family name and a Chinese mum get the best of both worlds, at least on...
Race-neutral name, foot in the door
Meredith TX Growing up as a Black girl named Meredith wasn’t easy. I was teased about it a lot. But as I entered adulthood I...
We Share The Same Last Name
E R Leathers Emerville, CA Each and every Sunday, after attending church, my four sisters and I would head to downtown Raleigh. Sometimes we stopped...
Rubinstein? Funny, you don’t look Mexican.
J. Rubinstein Cincinnati, OH Not many Mexicans named Rubinstein
The nuns rechristened Dominican Andre “Andrew”.
Julia Meyer Bell Fallbrook, CA I teach high school English, and Andre is one of my students. He is proud to be “Dominican American” (not...
