Tune that name

When writer Russell Smith immigrated to Canada from South Africa in the 1960s, no one asked him or his family to change their last name. Despite the fact that Smith is one of the most common surnames in the country, it wasn't a problem — it's as Canadian as maple syrup. On the other hand, says Smith, "Who knows what my family would have done if asked to change it. They were very eager to get out of South Africa because it was a very repressive place at the time."

Fast-forward 40 years to Canada's multicultural society, where Statistics Canada projects that by the year 2017, nearly a quarter of the population is expected to belong to a visible minority. Visible perhaps, but the last names of one particular group won't be reflecting their cultural heritage. For the past ten years, Sikhs with the appellation Singh or Kaur have been told to change their names before being allowed to immigrate to Canada. They have apparently done so without protest until just recently, when Tavinder Kaur complained that her husband Jaspal Singh's application for permanent residency in Canada was being held up because of his last name. A letter from the department of Citizenship and Immigration told them that "the names Kaur and Singh do not qualify for the purpose of Immigration to Canada."

Sikh baby boys are given the name Singh, girls — Kaur. Ranjit Singh Bassi, president of Shiromanie Sikh Sangat Toronto, acknowledges the number of Singhs is a problem but says it should be sorted out voluntarily, not by the government. "When I started working, there were three Ranjit Singhs at my job. Cheques were getting mixed up and they referred to us as Ranjit Singh 1, 2 or 3. So I changed my name to Ranjit Singh Bassi. However, people shouldn't be forced to do it. You can explain to immigrants it may be a problem, but give them a choice. I would never tell you to change your name. It's about people's freedom."

Federal immigration officials told CBC News that "asking applicants to provide a surname in addition to Singh or Kaur has been an administrative practice used by our visa office in New Delhi as a way to improve client service and reduce incidents of mistaken identity. This was not a mandatory requirement. There is no policy or practice whereby people with these surnames are asked to change their names."

The department admits that the letter sent to Jaspal Singh was poorly worded and says that it will make changes to prevent future misunderstandings.

Name control

Few countries have ever required people to change their names to qualify them for admission, although some have rules regarding names. For instance, New Zealand officials recently refused to approve a couple's desire to name their child 4Real. The country has naming laws to ensure a child isn't given a name that could offend someone and/or that might cause undue harassment for the child. In the past, the office has rejected names like Adolph Hitler and Satan. In Quebec, if parents give children a name considered too uncommon, they are asked to modify it.

In the past, while it was never official procedure, Canadian border officials often changed names of immigrants with so-called 'foreign names' deemed too difficult to pronounce. Immigrants often changed their names for the same reason. Howard English, of the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) Federation, says, "My paternal grandfather changed our name from Angelczyk to English when he came from Poland. Apparently it was too difficult to pronounce. That was common at the time. Jewish immigrants who came here changed or shortened their names. They were so happy to leave the persecution and be in Canada that they didn't see the change as a burden. However, they weren't compelled to do. That makes a big difference."

So what does it say about a country like Canada if it asks potential citizens to change their names to make things easier for clerical staff? Russell Smith finds the trend frightening. "It's shocking to ask people to change their last names. It's something you would expect of an authoritarian state, not a democracy. It's an absurd form of social control."

Ethnic visibility

Ohio University psychology professor James Bruning, who has studied naming for 30 years, says, "Prior to World War I, a number of people with German backgrounds changed their names. I grew up in a German small town in Nebraska and most of the Germans anglicized their names to escape the stigma of being German. People also wanted to prove their allegiance to the country. It was voluntary but there was also a great deal of pressure not to be German."

Dr. Bruning says Czechs, Poles and Serbians also dropped the ending 'ovitch,' which means 'son of.' Others added vowels where originally there were none to make pronunciation easier. Countless entertainers have also changed their names. Everyone from Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman), Martin Sheen (Ramon Estevez), Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) to Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson, later Norma Jeane Baker) has taken on a different and often more Anglicized moniker.

However, some cultures would never dream of it. Take Armenians, whose last names for the most part end in '-ian.' Salpi Derghazarian, executive director of the Armenian Benevolent Union, explains, "Our identity is very important to us so we don't change our names. Sometimes they are very difficult for others to pronounce but our names are an important part of our identity. We want to keep our culture, our heritage, our identity."

Cashing in

There are some people who aren't that attached to their last names. Several years ago, preparing for a promotional campaign, Decima Research conducted a poll for Dunlop Tires, in which 37 per cent of those polled said they would adopt a corporate brand name if paid well to do so.

Four people actually changed their names from "Dunlop" to "Dunlop Tire" as part of the promotional gimmick. The price of family heritage came cheap to Dunlop Tire, the company: the four people split $25,000 US.