"Why would anyone insist on having more than one name?", you might ask. Then too, why do so many insist on having only one? Is not the motivation for having one or many the same?

There was a time, when society was much simpler than it is today, and individuals strove to make their life interesting. In today's world those who succeed are often those who have learned best how to make things simple.

If you think living in one modern society is complicated enough, try living in many, each with its own unique language and culture. It is only then, when you can truly appreciate the need for more than one name. Oh, you could be a dictator about what people call you, and insist that everyone learn to speak all over again. Unfortunately, the only people, who would be your friends under such circumstances, are those who might want to learn your language or already know it. In short, teaching other people's tongues to wag differently from the way they are accustomed is not an easy task; moreover, most people have neither the need nor desire to change on account of you.

Of course, what happens in most cases, is people call you what their tongues will allow with the least amount of training and adjustment, and you adjust your ear to accommodate the new sounds -- audio adjustments appear to be much easier than muscular. If you are lucky, everyone will come to agreement about the new sound for your name, and after making a modest effort learning your host society's language, you can even come to understand how the sound of your new name came about.

Unfortunately, sound is often only half the battle. For example, writing an English name in German or French is easy, writing a German or French name in English can be more difficult, and writing an English, German, or French name in Japanese or Chinese is an altogether different story.

Alternatively, you could create a completely new name -- one, which has the "look and feel" of your host languge and culture, but differs enough so that your host society does not feel you are cheating. Many people do not wish to call foreigners by names identical with those normally associated with people from their own linguistic and cultural upbringing. After all, each of us has spent many years, often decades, of both rigorous and informal training learning what it means to be a German, a Frenchman, a Frenchwoman, a Chinese, a Japanese, or a resident of Hong Kong. As a result, people do not want to award their society's names to just anyone.

Now, if you thought any of the above difficult to understand or annoying, you might just prefer to stay at home, or find a host culture that uses names identical to those commonly employed by natives of your own culture and language of origin. Certainly, such a choice would make it easier for government officials, who usually insist that your only correct name is the one printed in your passport or on your certificate of birth. Let us not be anti-establishment, however. People in authority have a serious job to perform, and it is difficult enough distinguishing between the good and bad citizens of one's own society, let alone those of another's. Criminals contribute little to our general social welfare, as you might be well aware.

Since changing names can be used as a means of social camouflage enabling us to hide from the punishment of our crimes or bad behavior, many people are wont to view name-changing as a sign of social irresponsiblility or even childishness. In order to avoid such stigma I have gone through great effort to provide continuity to my names, so that I am true to both myself and those with whom I associate.