Since this went out some time ago, I thought I would resend it
so people don't have to search through their mail folder from
last month.
Regards,
Larry
-----Original Message-----
From: Rowland, Larry
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 10:57 AM
To: DocBook Technical Committee
Subject: Surname and Firstname
I have investigated the issue regarding what to use for names of
people. It is quite interesting and the exchange in the mailing
list that Norm mentioned was fascinating. However, it did not
really provide compelling reasons to adopt something other than
givenname as the complement to surname nor to abandon surname.
As far as standards go, there are a number of them but most seem
to be very Western oriented (firstname/middlename/lastname) and
while more consistent than what we currently use, not really
superior. Others seem overly complex for what we need.
After considerable additional research on the Web, I did not find
significant reasons for abandoning the givenname/surname model.
I recommend replacing firstname with givenname, which is widely
accepted as a complement to surname. We should consider
supplementing it with othername or additionalname to cover things
like nicknames or maiden names, but simply explaining that
firstname really means given name seems weak. If we do go down
the path of modifying our name elements, attributes may be
appropriate for specializing the othername/additionalname but
may not be necessary for our purpose (which is really to allow
identifying a person without too much cultural bias). I would
be happy to pursue what attributes might be appropriate if
we decide to modify our names.
However, if simply changing the descriptions is what we are going
to do, here is what I would recommend.
For surname
Current:
surname - A family name; in western cultures the last name
Description
A Surname is a family name; in Western cultures, the last name.
Recommended Change:
surname - An inherited or family name; in western cultures the
last name
Description
A Surname is an inherited or family name; in Western cultures, the
last name. This is used for the patronymic or matronymic or any
name that is based on a persons situation at birth or due to
marriage or adoption.
For firstname
Current:
firstname - The first name of a person
Description
The Western-style first name of an author, editor, or other
individual.
Recommended Change
firstname - A given name of a person.
Description
Use firstname for any given name or chosen name of a person. This is
also used for forenames and nicknames.
Looking forward to discussing this.
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[ Larry Rowland | If you want to build a ship, don't drum ]
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