Exploring the Logic of Name Changes and Identity Construction: A Reflective Self-Narration of Assimilation Expectations

Abstract

This paper derives largely from my own experience during two international sojourns as a case study to tease out the salient elements of the dynamic processes involved in the exchange of my Chinese name Xing for an arbitrary English counterpart Helen, and then followed by reverting to Xing again. Contrary to previous studies that construe the issues of international students reconstructing their ethnic names into English ones as an innocuous expression of good will and cultural integration, this study argues that the neglected impact that these transitions of nomenclature have on the patronization of one’s ethnic identity should be addressed as a matter of significant importance. The methodological approach taken here will involve adopting a reflective philosophical self-narration of the ramifications on my ethnic identity associated with the name change. This analysis will be extrapolated and further developed within Cross’s five-stage model, arguing that the name change process is indicative of a developing awareness of one’s ethnic identity.