tl;dr for many of the same reasons we don't use Linus's.
Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
141–150 of 174 posts
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#142From the article:
> Many nearby countries, like France and Germany, had systematized surnames generations earlier
Which isn't actually true: Prussia (and after German Unification, Germany) instituted a wave of fixed family names in the 19th century. As the names were recorded by officials, they often ended up being changed/assigned by same officials (as also happened at Ellis Island in the USA). In the Prussian case you can see it directly in the case of names assigned to jewish families, which often played to stereotypes (Goldschmidt "goldsmith") or mocked the recipient (Fischbaum "fish tree").
Turkey performed this process after the revolution in the 1920s; I read that Atatürk chose his as "Father/Sire/Source of the Turks"
The field of naming is called Onomastics.
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#143From the article: > Many nearby countries, like France and Germany, had systematized surnames generations earlier Which isn't actually true: Prussia (and after German Unification, Germany) instituted a wave of fixed family names in the 19th century. As the names were recorded by officials, they often ended up being changed/assigned by same officials (as also happened at Ellis Island in the USA). In the Prussian case…
> I read that Atatürk chose his as "Father/Sire/Source of the Turks"
IIRC, the Parliament (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) gave Atatürk his "surname".
It might give more context to add his definition of "Turk" is similar to "American". Basically, it's about how you feel; if you feel like you're Turkish, you're Turkish. It's not tied to a specific race.
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
>and phone calls are always weird when I answer "Hi, this is Phil" and the person on the other end goes "Oh, sorry, I was calling for $FIRST_NAME". So don't answer the phone that way. There's no reason to volunteer info to a complete stranger you know nothing about anyway. All you have to do is say "Hello?" Then the caller will say "I'm looking for ", and then you can handle it however you like.
When you're a small business owner, and you have potential customers calling your cell, it's polite and professional to state who you are.
In such cases, isn't it usually better to have a business phone number, and perhaps a trade name as well?
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same in Spain and Sweden when it comes to fiscal Id. Really useful. But the number is not enough to buy anything or open a bank account. For that you need the physical id card that is as hard as forge as passports. A very good system to make contracts, paying taxes, school registration, etc easy without allowing false impersonation.
Sweden's personnummer system is much more elegant - your code is your date of birth followed by a 4-digit unique identifier. Everybody knows their personnummer by heart, while in Italy most people carry their health card around with the 16-character codice fiscale.
>Everybody knows their personnummer by heart, while in Italy most people carry their health card around with the 16-character codice fiscale.
Cannot say about Sweden, but most people I know in Italy also know by heart their Codice Fiscale (whether they carry with them nonetheless the card is another thing).
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#146Anecdotal aside: I refer to the creator of the Lambda Calculus as “Alonzo” most of the time. When I'm in the mood for tongue-in-cheek, I might even call him “Saint Alonzo”. He is, after all, my second hero after Leonhard Euler.
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#147Having a single name is quite common nowadays, particularly among celebrities: Slash. Bono. Dido. Cher. Sting. Prince. I really wonder what it says in their passports. And what about The Rock? Is his first name "The" and his last name "Rock"?
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#148Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here in Italy we are given a Codice Fiscale at birth, which is a string of 13 characters derived by 3 letters of the last name, 3 letters of the first name (usually these 6 letters are all consonants, but there are exceptions for names like Anna), 2 digits, a letter and two other digits representing the birth day, one letter and the digits representing the birthplace an one last letter which is a checksum. These are…
Same in Spain and Sweden when it comes to fiscal Id. Really useful. But the number is not enough to buy anything or open a bank account. For that you need the physical id card that is as hard as forge as passports. A very good system to make contracts, paying taxes, school registration, etc easy without allowing false impersonation.
How do you use this physical ID card online? Or phrased otherwise, how do you apply for a credit card or similar online?
Re: Why we don't use Galileo's last name (2009)
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
In some Western European cultures (Portuguese and Spanish, and thereby Latin American), most people have two last names. When dealing with automated systems in other countries, it causes all manner of problems!
I know someone who went to study one year in Portugal, one of the things she noticed was that most students' full name would fill more than two thirds of a printed A4 paper. That for sure would cause problems in some standard forms.
What names do Portuguese people (or people with longer-than-average names) put on flight tickets?
I think I've tried looking this up before, but is there an IATA regulation on what names are acceptable for a flight ticket?