• RBWells@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I was doing payroll recently for my work, and came across Harsh Harsh. I had to ask our HR lady, really? His last name was Harsh and his parents named him Harsh?

    Well, no. She said his name was simply Harsh but our system required a last name so she repeated it.

    Still, pretty harsh I think.

    • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      My grandfather in law only had one name. When they immigrated, they made his first name “XXX”.

      One time someone asked him “like the movie?”

      • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I met a soldier who’s last name was too long to fit on a nametape. They asked if he could shorten it and he chose X instead. iirc he was Indonesian or Thai…

        • RBWells@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          I worked with a lady whose married name was Xu, she’d kept it when she divorced him. She was Laotian. (Really cool lady, grew up in refugee camp, married high roller Chinese guy, got t educated, when they divorced she moved to the US and was successful on her own). One day i forwarded her an email from a vendor, his name long and unpronounceable, and she looked at it and said, oh! That is the same as my maiden name! I could see why she kept the last name of the Chinese husband :)

          • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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            10 hours ago

            heh, easy decision to cut a lot of time signing shit out of her life.

            I feel bad for the kid in first grade who’s like “I’m Bobby, Bobby Laxwhanxijontongsilvalessbronchongamonson”

        • Jumbie@lemmy.zip
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          21 hours ago

          That’s actually against regs in the US military. The correct way is to keep spelling until the name tape runs out of space.

          However, who’s going to correct the man about his own name? In his case, X literally pronounces as KingFaldTheBeeswaxBeeblebrox and I’ll be damned if you think it’s anything else, you silly gate guard!

          What happened? I blacked out.

    • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      21 hours ago

      Woulda made them set my first name as “Just” so it’d be “Just Harsh” and it should make for some who’s on first fun.

    • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      24 hours ago

      Sounds like some refugees coming from the african/middle east.
      I have one colleague with an “official” and an actual birthdate.
      I believe some also don’t have the given/sur name system.

    • Flax@feddit.uk
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      2 days ago

      That’s an interesting thing, in many countries such as the UK, it is perfectly legal to just not have a surname. Probably the best example is our own King, Charles.

      • elephantium@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        But Charles does have a surname. Mountbatten-Windsor? Or does that not count? I’m foggy on what the rules are for the royal family.

        • Flax@feddit.uk
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          1 day ago

          That’s not his actual surname. Mountbatten-Windsor is a surname given to descendants of royals who aren’t working members (or ex royals in Andrew’s case). While Charles still doesn’t have a surname, generally if you faced a situation where you had a database which absolutely must take a surname, he’d likely simply put down “Windsor” as the Mountbatten thing was a compromise made between the late Queen Elizabeth II and the family of the late Prince Philip.

          It kind of applies to working royals as well.

          However even then, I believe that would probably only be used by Princess Anne. As the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales will probably use the word “Wales” in place of a surname, and previously would have likely used “Cambridge” in terms of school records. I don’t know how this works out for the rest of the family as Princess Beatrice and Eugenie’s father (formerly York) lost his title and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s children aren’t working royals/prince/princess despite the fact they are normally perfectly entitled to the title, as they are a grandchild of the monarch. (Although with Harry and Andrew gone, some are speculating that Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor might step up).

          Queen Elizabeth II still has some living cousins such as HRH The Duke of Kent and HRH The Duke of Gloucester. They aren’t really well known but are still carrying out royal duties quite diligently (well, that would also depend on your viewpoint on royal duties, etc)