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Between "My name is..." and "My names are..."

There have been lingering arguments on whether it is appropriate to use the singular verb 'is' or its plural form 'are' when introducing one's name. Some people argue that because the person is bearing more than one name, as in James Paul Moses, the verb to be used must be 'are' instead of 'is'.

Note that each human being has just one name. Let's look at the following:

1. Tope Johnson Balogun

2. Ramat Ihuoma Hassan 

The names in (1) and (2) above refer to different individuals with each set of name representing one person only. We need to understand that irrespective of the length of the name or its number, since it refers to only one person, the verb to be used MUST be the singular form 'is'.

Example: My name is Ramat Ihuoma Tope Anuoluwapo.

Not: My names are Ramat Ihuoma Tope Anuoluwapo.

However, if the person has an alias, he can introduce his real name and include the alias.

A musician, for example, whose real name is Tope Johnson Balogun while his stage name is  'Bishop' can introduce himself thus:

My names are Tope Johnson Balogun and Bishop.

Not: Tope Johnson Balogun Bishop.

Apart from such situations, the verb to be used must be singular no matter the length of the name.

We hope that you will no longer ask someone: "What are your names?" Or expect him to say: "My names are..."  It is wrong.

We hope you will find this post useful.

We  welcome your comments, observations and suggestions on this blog.

Best regards.

From the Grammarstar team.

Comments

Okwundu Uchenna M said…
This is well spot on. Nice one
March 19, 2022 at 2:54 PM
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