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ArchivesOne-letter names?
Does anyone know if one-letter names (or names that would only have one letter if they were transcribed to the Latin alphabet) are used anywhere on earth - I mean, are there people called, f.ex. A or O?
1492 the Native Americans discovered Columbus
~ Loesje
1492 the Native Americans discovered Columbus
~ Loesje
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Replies
In Vietnamese, yes.
https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Đông_A
https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trần_Đông_A
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Harry S Truman as YMPvt mentioned. There's also a writer, Jennifer 8. Lee, for the New York Times whose middle names is the number 8 (translated from Chinese, although legally it is spelled Eight).
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Not really but Harry S Truman's middle name really was just S. That was because his parents couldn't decide which grandfathers name to use as a middle name.
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"O" really is quite a common last name in a few asian countries, usually transcribed as "Oh" or "Ou". Same goes for "Lee" in fact, in korean it's pronounced as "ee" without the L sound, I'm not sure why the L is added, if it's already there in korean but isn't pronounced or if it's only added to make it look more like a name to us (and maybe because of the chinese "Lee"/"Li" which is pronounced with an L)
I also know a french village called "Y" ^^ But apart from that ...
I also know a french village called "Y" ^^ But apart from that ...
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U Thant, the Burmese frm. Secretary-General of the United Nations :)
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...in this case U is not a name but a Burmese honorific title, equivalent to the English "Sir" or "Mr.":
http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Burmese_English
http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Burmese_English
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Aha! Do calling him "Mr U Thant" would be superfluous :)
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In English we need two letters to make the -ng sound, but it's possible that other writing systems could do it with just one ... so then the Vietnamese (I think ...) name Ng would qualify.
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O is a surname in Korea. I remember reading once about a Korean immigrant to the USA who eventually had to change the spelling of his surname to "Oh" because the bureaucrats at places like the drivers' license office just wouldn't believe his last name could be "O". !
There also have been quite a few people in the USA whose parents have given them names which are just initials. Usually there are at least two letters which are always both pronounced when the person is being addressed: A.J., J.B., etc., though I suppose that some of these people probably have a single letter in the first name spot on their birth certificiates, with the second letter in the middle name spot.
There also have been quite a few people in the USA whose parents have given them names which are just initials. Usually there are at least two letters which are always both pronounced when the person is being addressed: A.J., J.B., etc., though I suppose that some of these people probably have a single letter in the first name spot on their birth certificiates, with the second letter in the middle name spot.
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Incidentally...
I used to have a co-worker of Korean origin with the last name Oh. Unless she is a descendant of that same immigrant, I'd imagine that Oh is a pretty standard transcription of O.
[And it did create misunderstandings. Several times I'd say "You need to speak to [first name] Oh," and people would ask what her full name was, apparently assuming that O. was just an initial used to differentiate her from another person with that first name. The fact that we *did* have another person with the same first name in the office didn't help a bit :)]
I used to have a co-worker of Korean origin with the last name Oh. Unless she is a descendant of that same immigrant, I'd imagine that Oh is a pretty standard transcription of O.
[And it did create misunderstandings. Several times I'd say "You need to speak to [first name] Oh," and people would ask what her full name was, apparently assuming that O. was just an initial used to differentiate her from another person with that first name. The fact that we *did* have another person with the same first name in the office didn't help a bit :)]
This message was edited 3/26/2007, 5:31 PM
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