ANGAD

Angad Is one of my nearest and dearest friends. Our birthdays are one day a part, and since we were both born under the astrological sign of Gemini (the twins), we joke that we are each one half of a set of twins. We lived in neighboring halls freshman year of college, and remain friends to this day. All that being said, it wasn't until interviewing him for this project that he finally admitted to me how his real name is pronounced. 

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He introduced himself to me as "Angi" when we first met, and whenever I would pester him for how his full name was pronounced he refused- out of stubbornness that was mostly in jest, I'd like to think. For as long as we'd been friends, though, I realized we had never discussed his family's story of immigration, nor my own. While we joked about our families, and the ways they clung to the traditions of their home country, we had always thought of our parents stories of immigration as separate from ourselves. 

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We weren't the ones who had immigrated, so why would we talk about this immigration? 

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Given names are chosen as points of study among immigration scholars, for many reasons. However, one primary reason stands out amongst all the literature- given names indicate an immigrants desire to assimilate/ acculturate, and their desire to pass on their culture to their children.

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It is sometimes assumed that immigrants choose cultural marked names because they are unaware of American social norms. Angad and I often joke about our parents being out of touch with American culture, but reality, research indicates that it is not lack of awareness that leads immigrants to choose culturally marked names, but rather a pointed effort to stay connected to the countries they left behind.

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Angad's parents are from India, Indian and other South Asian immigrants are some of the most high achieving immigrant groups.

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In this way, the children of immigrants, and our chosen names, are not at all separate from our parents stories of immigration.

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