Assalamu alaikum Brother Alfandi,

Thank you for the information.  I guess I will leave my avatar, I like to think that I at least strive to be peaceful and gentle!

The lady that I knew had reversed her name when she became a Canadian citizen (some Chinese do this, I guess they get tired of people here always getting their names wrong!).  She had a lovely Chinese given name, that I can't recall, but she went by an "english" name, so she was called Karen Hui.

It is a shame when people feel they must change themselves because others are naive or ignorant.  But, I suppose constantly having to repeat and explain your name could get very tiring.  By the way, there are some people in my city with the surname Ma, Maa and Maah, though I do not know them personally.

Peace, ummziba.