Sign for Names

jillio said:
If you are hearing, a deaf person assigns you your sign name. It is usually based on some identifying characteristic of that person.
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Yep. I remember one of my boss who from Italy was always smiling at everyone and he was a joy to be around so I gave him a sign name with the letter V and signed it from one end of lip to another in an effort to copy his smile. Everyone thought my sign name for him was a good one.
 
deafskeptic said:
Yep. I remember one of my boss who from Italy was always smiling at everyone and he was a joy to be around so I gave him a sign name with the letter V and signed it from one end of lip to another in an effort to copy his smile. Everyone thought my sign name for him was a good one.
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Sounds perfect! I have also seen a few sign names given that were not quite so nice, LOL! But deserved!:giggle:
 
jillio said:
Well, talkers also use pronouns like "him" and "her" a lot, and the deaf have a different way to denote that. Also, keep in mind that, just like with nicknames, the sign names are not used wxcept in informal situations where everyone knows each other and recognizes the sign name. Upon introduction, or in a group that is not close to that person, the name would still be fingerspelled. It can be based on what kind of person, but not always. For instance I have Deaf friend Patrick whose name sign is a "P" being swung like a golf club because he is a golfer. My son adopted the "P" being shaken as in "purple" because his favorite color is purple. He gave one of his cousins the name sign "D" being swung across the non-donminant forearm as in "music" because he is a musician.
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MM.. I think I have the perfect sign name for my nephew Philip who is really into music.
 
My sign name is the "S" handshape starting at the top side of my head and going down, stopping the shoulders. That is to represent my curly hair. :)
 
jillio said:
Sounds perfect! I have also seen a few sign names given that were not quite so nice, LOL! But deserved!:giggle:
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Once I gave a friend of mine a sign name that was very close to the sign for the b word.. She hated that sign name but it stuck because it was an apt one. :giggle: Our friendship didn't last long.
 
That's interesting about your teacher.

Yeah, My mom gave me a sign name for joyful "j" on my middle chest like a heart. I am thinking about change my sign name is "J" on my collar like a necklace. It's common sign name for "J" on middle chest.

neverlandbyrd said:
I don't think my teacher is from Russia, maybe adopted from Russia, that's a really popular thing to do around here, I know a dozen people who were adpoted from Russia or did the adopting, my aunt included-her daughter is from Russia. So quite possibly!

I can understand why you'd want one simple sign for a name instead of fingerspelling all the time! Talkers have sort of nicknames too, instead of Jacob we say Jake, Jennifer is Jenny, Meredith is Mere, and such! So that makes sense. I just wondered if the signs meant that name in a direct translation, but I guess from what I've read of your posts that many times you are given a name that is a quality of who you are/what kind of person you are, joyful, smiley, short, tall, etc?
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I learned in my interpreting class that in the old days (in US), the boy's sign name was the initial of his last name...and it was usually in the upper part of the head; the girl's name was the initial of her first name...and it was usually in the lower part of the head. Or the sign name was in neutral positions (such as in front of body or on side of body), but the initial "rule" was still the same: boy's last name and girl's first name. Over time, the sign names evolved to where it is more descriptive than traditional. If you notice, a lot of senior citizens have the old traditional sign names and the younger generations do not.
 
My usual name is just my name spelled, some times shortened to "J E N".

My 'pet' name is like two J, with the tip of pinky brushing across the palm of the person it is said to. I only do this with people who are close to me, and my boyfriend some times adds to it by placing his palm on mine after, only he is allowed to do that version.
 
My name sign is A all across chin. Like use your right hand make A and touch left side of little away from the chin with your thumb part and move it all across to right side. It represent my smile. My mom gave that name sign to me when I was 3 she's hearing but that name stuck with me lol. My fiance fell in love with me because of my smile so it still represent me so why not keep it you know lol.
Also I hate it when people want to change their name sign because it'd only create confusion. Like my friend nate his name used to be N on left side of chest but he changed it in high school to N on top side of his head because he think it look like hearing sign for retard (stupid right?) and now half of time everyone call him by his original name out of habit and me I told him I'm not using his new name sign I'm using his birth name sign lol
 
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