I am a female writer about to publish my first book (bildungsroman set in real life), and I am not from an English speaking country, so I have decided to exchange mu current surname to a name that's easier to pronounce, both in my language and in English. So, now I ask you, which surname do you like best? Feel free to comment.
I thought your name read Nathaniel at first glance. I like Nathaniel Ellis. Not on your list, but works for me as a pen name. What genre/s do you write in?
Sorry, don't like Nathalie. How about Samantha Q. Wiggins? (I have a prize for anyone that knows where I got that from).
My real first name is Nathalie, and I am going to keep it. I don't think I've ever seen an author with that first name, so I see that as a positive thing.
Sorry (talk about putting ones foot in their mouth). I would have put it more delicately if I had known it was your real name. I have never heard of that name before. Sorry.
I have a similar dilemma as yourself. I would like my Chinese name in my published works somewhere, except my Chinese maiden name has no vowels and I've lived with it for long enough to know English-speakers find it baffling lol. My English first name + Czech surname is the best combo but I really want my Chinese name in there somewhere, but I also need it to be pronounceable and easy to spell for English speakers I've currently settled on English first name + Chinese middle name minus the hyphen I normally have in it, but then it looks like my surname and it feels weird Using my current full name would be fine too, but I just fear it's too long and complicated!? Anyway, I feel your pain.
It's Swedish, so we don't have many of the sounds and pronunciations that you have in English, like the "th" sound.
Hahah, it's okay! I really do like my name though; it's rather common both in Scandinavia, France, UK and the US, and I pronounce it the French/Scandinavian way ("Nah-tah-LEE" - and you say it all rather quickly). Flows beautifully in my opinion, but everybody has a right to their own opinion, and if you don't like my name that's completely alright.
I KNOW, RIGHT?! First you have to find a name that goes well with a part of your original name, then that name also has to be easy to pronounce in English. It gives me a headache. However, I do think it's worth keeping in mind that we live in a globalised world where "strange" names and words aren't really strange anymore. Right in front of me I have a book that written by someone "Acemoglu" - I don't even know which country that's from - yet, I do have the book. I just don't like my real surname and would like to have a name that I like and that suits me and my idea of myself. Good luck with your name hunting
ANOTHER QUESTION: most of you who voted consider "James" to be the best last name for me. Don't you think it's a negative thing to have such a common surnames as a pen name? I mean, there are Henry James, James Joyce, E. L. James, James Patterson, James Baldwin... It's a common name. Is that good to be common, or is it stupid to be distinguished?
Well, nothing wrong with using your own foreign, hard-to-spell and/or impossible-to-pronounce name. It's your name and you should be proud of it However, it's a simple good business decision really to choose a name people can actually spell and remember. I once read a novel by an Indian author and I still can't tell you who that was, though I've read her name and tried to memorise it a handful of times already. This does her and her book sales absolutely no favours, in my opinion, because in order to find her name, I have to google search her book title first (problem is the book title sounds awfully similar to "My Sister's Keeper" - it isn't My Sister's Keeper.) There you are, it's called Sister of my Heart: https://www.amazon.com/Sister-Heart-Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/dp/038548951X By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Seriously, I don't speak Hindi and I'm not familiar with Indian surnames - and I grew up with a large Indian minority in my school so I've come across Indian names before. I just can't remember the name. And that's just no good for business. On the other hand, it's got me talking about her book every time the dilemma of names have come up - so maybe it is good for business! To your new question - I think a unique name is a good thing in the age of google searches. You don't want someone more famous popping up in the search engine instead because your name is too similar or the same as the other famous author or for a typo to lead people to someone else instead In your case, I'd worry people would end up with Natalie James. Most people would forget the H.
I have the same problem with M. Night Shalaman, Shamalan? Shyamalan! I feel disrespectful for never being able to remember it, but it just won't stick in my head. As for the similar names thing, my pen-surname "Aschendale" was something I came up with while noodling around. It's not a German family name, but sounds it, and when I made it there was only one other result, one single page, on Google for it. Some sort of mecha, I guess. Anyway, it sounds German, I'm part German, and I pretty much dominate the search results for it since it's made-up.
None. The name is the most important advertisement any company or business has. If you pick a pen name, it is good to be... - Easy to remember. - Easy to remember right. - Not confusing. - Easy to talk about. - Assosiative. - Good sounding. If you keep Nathalia, then Newman has something. Nat.... New... but ...halia... ...man. Nooo-o. If you keep Nathalie, then I would like Nathalie Nash, Nathalie Navarro or Nathalie Nelson. Female first name + male first name as surname... Noo.... Too confusing. If I was just picking something from that general direction and thinking about reader, bookstores and social media, it would be Nadia Nash. Oh... Are you my neighbour? I'm... En Finne igen, ...kele!
You forgot Bond James Bond... Seriously, I voted James because it sounds more natural than the others. I'm in the US. It didn't even enter my mind that it was too common, and with your follow-up question I still see no concern. As long as you don't use something like Vonnegut or Rowling, I think you are good.
Ellis is a fairly, if not very, common last name of primarily Irish origins. There is also Elis (from the area/town in greece) and a few others including one form of Ellis that comes from welsh I belief (or is it elys?....) Anyway, alternatively I have heard a lot of people anglicise their names in some forms or another (mostly people I meet in real-life). e.g (random swedish name): Nils Sjöberg could be like Neil Sonburg... Always a possibility but it really depends on the name and if you can "translate" it into an english name or something english-speaking people would be able to pronounce without a youtube how-to video. Just thought i'd mention this.
If this your only choices, take Nathalie Newman. It's prooven that people remeber better names that begin with the same letter - Harry Harrison, James Jones, Katherine Kelly.
