An unanticipated reason not to change your name.

Many people when they achieve (or want to achieve) fame end up trading their hard-to-pronounce or hard-to-spell name for a name that is nearly monosyllabic or deemed more "appropriate." The examples are many, but include Louis Burton Lindley, Jr (who later became the much more interesting Slim Pickens), Marion Morrison (who later became the infinitely more manly John Wayne), Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili (who changed his name to the much more imposing Josef Stalin).

We have, however, recently uncovered a reason why simplifying your name may not be the best career move. In Sylvaina, Ohio, Royal Barber wrote the names of his opponents in a local race on tombstones in his yard. Mr. Eff was not pleased and asked to have his name removed. Mr. Jennewine, however, was not included in the display as his name would not fit on the tombstone. At the GNU Public Dictatorship we are nothing if not helpful, and we ask you to keep this in mind when debating whether to simplify your name.