In a recent correspondence published in the journal Nature (Nature 452, 530 (3 April 2008) | doi:10.1038/452530d; Published online 2 April 2008) titled "Give south Indian authors their true names", three scientists–Nalini, Jeevananthinee, and Sujatha–emplore the journal essentially to discontinue their requirement to give first and family names.
This is due to the non-universal naming system used in most Western countries, where, usually, the father's name is given to the children as a family name, and the children are given first names of their own.
This brings up an interesting question. What does one do with one's name (when using a non-Latin alphabet, or a non-Western naming scheme) when publishing in an English-language journal?
Having (at least) two names, as in the Western system, does not guarantee that one won't be confused with someone else (e.g., Dr. John Smith a fictitious professor who must exist several times). If one has only one name, like (the fictitious) Dr. Rani, a family name must be invented. Similarly, what does one do when one has many names, like (the fictitious) Dr. Abdallah Abu Zaid Ibn Abul-Raouf Bin Ali Abdur-Rashid Al Hijazi. I know several people in the latter situation who are required either to cut parts of their name out, or to amalgamate them into two words, or a combination of the two. It is such a problem that I know two siblings who have different family names in my address book.
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