Are ethnic minorities who use anglicised names sell outs?

im half italian (british) and lebanese but pretend (sometimes) to be latin

Nothing wrong with that! Not sellling out!

How on earth can it be a sellout? I'm sure they are perfectly aware of their original names prior to Anglicization.

I think Anglicization is a great idea as it may often help in maximising their probability of employment.

Well, I am doing it. I'm German and have a northern German / Scandinavian name that most English speakers find quite hard to pronounce. That's why I go by an anglicised version of my second name. I've met some people who found it weird but I can't see what's wrong with it. It's just really annoying if you spend like 10 minutes just to spell your name every time you introduce yourself, especially at parties meeting random people you'll probably never see again.

Exactly. I don't know why people find it difficult to understand why people do it when the reasons are obvious.

Why change their name completely to an English name, why not simply shorten their name but it keep its form? It's common for people called Alexander or Christopher to shorten theirs but not change it completely to suit others. Also I've met a lot of Muslims/Arabs who have really long complicated names and Greek people as well, they don't use English names though - either people refer to them via a shortened version or they simply keep it intact. It doesn't seem to do them any harm.

That is selling out. Selling out is when you change something about yourself or something that you have or do for success.

When I lived in South Asia I wore a kurta/lungi.

When I started work in the UK I wore a suit.

Soon I will go to the Netherlands and since there is no dress code at the company I'm joining there I can wear a kurta again.

Do you think it is selling out to wear a suit in the UK?

What about a British-born person who wears a tracksuit at home but chooses to wear an ironed suit and ironed trousers in his/her workplace (in the UK). Is this selling out too? - since they are after all changing something about themselves, probably for the sake of success.

I think there is a big difference between them actively choosing to do it, and feeling that they have to.
And since no two people are the same, it wouldn't be wise to call them all "sell-outs" at the best of times.
I understand what you are saying, but there is more to an ethnic or religious background than a name.
Much, much more.
If I get married in the future and take my husbands surname, am I selling out my family?
Not in my book.

When I lived in South Asia I wore a kurta/lungi.

When I started work in the UK I wore a suit.

Soon I will go to the Netherlands and since there is no dress code at the company I'm joining there I can wear a kurta again.

Do you think it is selling out to wear a suit in the UK?

What about a British-born person who wears a tracksuit at home but chooses to wear an ironed suit and ironed trousers in his/her workplace (in the UK). Is this selling out too? - since they are after all changing something about themselves, probably for the sake of success.

No I'ts not selling out to wear a suit.

Your example is different. Wearing a suit is different from changing your name for two reasons. Firstly, at your workplace, there will already be a dresscode set out for you to adhere to. And secondly changing your name is a bigger deal. Its a permanent change.

People just don't seem to understand that it's a simple process of adaptation which is driven by a need for survival, it has an evolutionary basis.

I'd rather be an adaptable than a non adaptable individual.

I think people who aren't able to adapt are usually simple minded, my observation anyway. I'm sure there's loads of research demonstrating that adaptable individuals tend to be more successful.

Hence why it could be described as selling out. Changing your name from a foreign one to an English one is "adapting" but it is also discarding a part of your heritage in order to chase success (and money).

Hence why it could be described as selling out. Changing your name from a foreign one to an English one is "adapting" but it is also discarding a part of your heritage in order to chase success (and money).

No. You can always change the name back through deed poll. Many people have official names which differ from the names their friends and family call them. My uncle has an official name which none of his close family call him - instead they call him by his pet name which is very different (not like Robert vs. Bob).

Also, if I don't wear a kurta, but wear jeans and a jumper in public (but not in the workplace), does this class as "selling out" too? (since there is no 'dresscode' in public places)

Do you think changing one's citizenship classes as 'selling out' too? So were I to change my English citizenship to Dutch citizenship would I be 'selling out'?

This applies to anyone of immigrant background who has a foreign sounding name and purposely uses an anglicised form of their name or uses a completely different English name instead. Barack Obama did it for a while, used the name "Barry" which people in college knew him as rather than his birth name. It is much more common in the US as you'll see a lot of Oriental/Asian as well as Arabs people adopt English first names (that may be because Americans find pronouncing foreign names a bit tricky) but it is quite common among some groups in the UK. It isn't uncommon for people of Nigerian background to use English names officially but be referred to by their African name among their family. What does everyone think though, are they ashamed of their culture or is this simply an effort to fit in with the rest of us? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I'd rather do that, **** heritage. In fact, I'm already doing it in many ways, call me a sell-out or whatever you like. There are some traditional things in my culture that I would rather do with out.