Whats in the name?

Mugunth Subramanian
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

After migrating to Australia one challenge I face is explaining my name. You may wonder, whats there to explain?

Most Australians, looking at my name, might infer Subramanian is my surname.

In fact “Subramanian” is NOT my surname. Its my father’s name.

And my first name is the last name to my sons. My son’s names are “Mugil Muguntharaj” and “Sudar Muguntharaj”. And my wife has her father’s name “Kandasamy” as surname. These are called Patronymic names which we follow. Patronymic names are not new, many countries & cultures still follow this.

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