Ask Lemmy

Why should I change? They're the one who sucks!

I guess it depends how common your last name is where you live. If you're a Smith/Johnson/Brown/Williams in the USA, those are pretty common. If you've got one of those names in China, maybe a name change is in order.

If your last name is Summerbell, that's a bit rare, and maybe you need to distance yourself.

Weinstein might be a fairly common jewish name? Definitely not changing mine, it's very common.

I'd definitely consider it if my family name was Hitler, or something that's a common swear word nowadays to the point that few people even know the original meaning anymore. "Ficker" is a relatively common name in my country, but to contemporary people it's basically "fucker". Many change the name into "Fischer" or use their spouse's name instead.

Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.

I am from the Netherlands. The media etc. do not reveal surnames when court cases are being mentioned. I could be wrong but I believe that is set in law.

Changing your name is an insane amount of work and it is not worth it

Harvey Epstein is crazy bad luck for a name.

For me, it depends on the crime and how common or uncommon the name is but still probably not.

No, because my name is already very common and there are several prominent murderers, war criminals and even traitors who share my name, and I barely rate among them.

Don't take this out of context but.... I see nothing wrong with Dahmer.

One of the worst US congress members shares a last name with me, but it's also so common that it's pretty diluted. It needs to be both infamous and uncommon, sharing a last name with millions of people ain't that.

Then again, Epstein is kinda common and I can't help giggle when I bring up a certain researcher with that last name and call her model the Epstein model.

If you Google my first and last name, all the results are about a serial killer who is not me. I include my middle name as often as possible, partially because of that.

I have an extraordinarily rare last name combined with an extraordinarily rare first name, I’m literally the only person who has ever had my full name in the entire history of humanity, I’m keeping it.

An ex of mine had the same name as the wife of a killer. I find it hilarious that when you Google her name, that person comes up. I hope it forever is an impediment to her finding employment. What? No, I'm not bitter.

Hell no, people can finally spell it.

No, I hope I’d have the self-confidence to own it.

• I went to school with a kid named “dick”. Not Richard or rich, but he insisted on “dick”. He was the first to joke about his name and he laughed about it. I don’t know how he truly felt but everyone loves the comedian, and even bullies couldn’t make fun of him
• I just got a new coworker with the same name as a famous comedian, and same deal. His intro speech started with “not that one”, and he can quote movie lines with the best of us. Actually I haven’t worked with him so know nothing else about him. I remember his name and that he has a good sense of humor
• my name Isn’t at all common but there’s a professor in Chicago with the same name, who has authored a bunch of text books. Does it count that I sometimes joke about my “alternate life”?

Nah, too common.

There’s a documentary about this called, “Meet the Hitlers”. Worth a watch

My whole name - first, middle, and last - is one of those that’s so generic I’m damn near impossible to Google without already knowing other key identifying details. Details that, if you already knew, you probably wouldn’t need to Google me anyway.

If they did it in my county then they would be fairly closely related, like 2nd cousins and their kids or closer.

This would make it harder to change my name

Hell no, I'm waiting for the day one of these psychos makes us famous.

Honestly, pretty good litmus test for filtering out people obsessed with true crime. I'd keep it

No, this has happened and I did not feel the need to change my name. Nobody even associates my name with his because his heinous crime happens so often in my country.

I was named after a family member before everyone discovered what a criminal he was. To be clear, my family will not use my birthname. I thought that was a winning story until I met a guy named Chuck. Chuck Manson.

Neither of us have changed our names.

The spelling of my last name is rare enough where I live that I sincerely doubt anybody here, who isn't already part of my family, would be heinous enough to do that.

So, probably not. I already don't really associate much with extended family to begin with, so I'd probably be out of the loop for a long time anyways.

Probably, because my last name is pretty rare. I actually have my mother's surname so I think I'd just change it to my father's.

I used to have a customer named Jeffrey Epstein... I understand not changing it, but oof...

I'd just change my first name to Dick or Karen instead

Guess it would depend, but I'm leaning toward no, because it's one thing my father gave me that I will always have, and he passed away over 20 years ago. I'm a Stephen King Constant Reader like my father before me, and Sai King says "do not forget the face of your father."

I live in an area where I'm the only one related to me for hundreds of miles, with the exception of my wife, who took my name when I married her. But there are other people using my last name. No relation. Way I see it, if the wrong people come looking for me, they'll find them first, and they don't know me. Maybe one of them has my first name as well. Maybe that person will be my designated decoy. I'm not on social media, so my face isn't widely known. Some bad dudes come looking for me, these other people will probably catch their attention before I will. I say let 'em have it.

Jokes on me there are close to a hundred million people with the same last name as me, I'm not changing

In ex Spanish or Portuguese colonies, where having 2-4 family names is common, that happening would mean someone in your (extended) family did it

I guess I'd just get married

My last name is lame anyways

In this age? Change your name anyways. Humans are stupid. Just having a name that is novel is exceptionally valuable, like William Beaver, Maximus Watts, or Richard Rockefeller.

The were 4 other guys in my high school with my name. So no, can't see bothering to change it.

My last name is limited to my 5 closest relatives. This is due to a bizarre misspelling 3 generations back followed by mostly female descendants.

No true Hossenfeffer would ever commit a crime!