What's in an American name?

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2023

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the U.S. continues to grow racially and ethnically diverse, that shift is reflected in how our names are changing. Still, culture wars persist. And that can mean Americans are forced to consider what makes us American, and what makes a name American.

Two years ago this week, a 21-year-old gunman in Atlanta massacred eight people in three spas. Six of those victims were women of Asian descent. It prompted a wave of reporting about racist attacks and violence, and for Marian Chia-Ming Liu, it began a deeply introspective journey – one that prompted thousands of Washington Post readers to reach out with stories about their own experiences with their names.

Marian talks with Elahe Izadi about what she discovered on her name journey, and what other people from across the country have shared with her along the way.

Join Post Reports LIVE on April 13th! Martine Powers will host a live conversation in D.C. with best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth and I, in partnership with Politics & Prose. Sittenfeld is the author of books like “Eligible” and “American Wife.” Her latest novel is “Romantic Comedy,” about a late-night comedy writer’s search for love. Listeners can purchase tickets here, and if you can’t make it to D.C., you can always join via a livestream.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we get to the show, we have some exciting news to share about a chance to experience
0:06.4	post-reports live.
0:08.4	On April 13, our host, Martin Powers, will be live in conversation with bestselling author
0:13.3	Curtis Siddenfeld.
0:15.1	She's the author of books you might know, like eligible, prep, and American wife.
0:20.1	Her latest novel is Romantic Comedy.
0:22.7	It tells the story of a late-night comedy writer's search for love.
0:27.1	This has this tremendous talent for bringing complex women to life on the page.
0:32.0	It is on full display in this new book, and Martin has been all about it.
0:37.4	The conversation will be live on April 13th at 7pm in Washington, DC at 6th and I in partnership
0:43.9	with politics and pros.
0:45.8	The event will also be live streamed, so there's still an option if you can't make it to
0:50.4	DC.
0:51.5	You can purchase tickets at 6th and I dot org.
0:54.9	That's s-i-x-t-h and I the letter i dot org.
1:00.1	We'll also have more details in our show notes, and we hope to see you there.
1:07.0	When I think of Ahmed, for me, it's the name that I was called with so many times and
1:14.0	so many occasions with so many memories.
1:17.6	Ahmed Ibrahim is a mechanical engineer based in New York.
1:22.0	He's a really sweet guy.
1:23.4	He's chatty and he's open to talking about himself.
1:28.0	So many other people has this strong emotional tie to his given name.
	...

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