I just switched projects at work to one in which a significant percentage of the team is based in India. One thing that strikes me all of a sudden is how many members of that team have made-up “American” names like “Austin” or “Joe” that have no bearing on any possible pronunciation of their real names. Granted some of them take a syllable of their name that may sound like an American name – I’m just not sure what to make of the phenomenon.
Part of me thinks they should stick to their guns and teach people how to pronounce their real names, but another part of me realizes by giving up, they’ve effectively made their own lives easier too, because now they don’t have to spend all that time correcting people.