I wouldn't change the spelling. If a name has too "un-English" a spelling, maybe just pick a different name. "Chielo" isn't going to be any easier for an English-speaker to pronounce anyway because of the multiple ways to read the written vowel combination "ie". Most would probably pronounce it as ĉiloŭ or something.

I only suggested dropping the spaces in Delasteloj because spaces confuse some computer systems. I have the suffix "III" at the end of my legal name, and it is a huge headache. For one thing it frequently messes up my place in an alphabetical list of people with the same last name as me, which always causes a bit of confusion when I try to vote. Also I've gotten a few computer-generated letters addressed to "Mr. Iii". So annoying.

I'm guessing literoj kun ĉapeloj would be even worse though. I would definitely recommend not using a name with ĉ, ŭ, etc.

Delastelo would be a good way to maintain original Esperanto spelling by avoiding the J entirely.

Another choice that you haven't mentioned - you could always go with Zamenhof! Or the surname of another important person in Esperanto history. One with a not-too-hard name, which probably leaves out Kalocsay. But we have Privat, Lapenna, Baghy (not so easy but not so hard), Waringhien, Auld, or dare I say, Kabe (which would be mispronounced "Kayb", I'm sure, single syllable - but Kabe's real surname was Bein). We also have Piron and Harlow, two recently-deceased 'eminentuloj'. Wells, after the famous dictionary.

I don't like the fractured look of Esperanto words that have been forced into English pronunciation norms. I would choose a name that naturally has no circumflexed letters or letters that are pronounced differently than in English.

Some small ideas with an Esperanto theme:
Stelo
Verdo/Verda
Verdulo
Espero

Or: this is a really cheesy one, but the Esperanto family in the video course "Pasporto al la tuta mondo" is surnamed Bonvolo. [which would likely be mispronounced as "BAHN-vah-loh"]

If you share a hobby, perhaps you could pick an Esperanto word that somehow relates to that hobby?

nw2394:I feel insulted by Esperanto that I can't spell my surname in Esperanto correctly because it starts with a "W". Such is life - I either spell it with a "W" and risk someone mispronouncing it - or I throw out my heritage - guess which I choose.

Why is it insulting? If Esperanto had the ability to spell and pronounce every name from every language, it would be incredibly complex and difficult to learn. Almost every language has sounds that don't appear in many other languages. There are hundreds of sounds that appear in various languages, and many ways of spelling them in various languages.

Should an English speaker named "Smith" feel insulted by most languages of the world because they don't have a "th" sound? Should a German named "Hochmann" feel insulted by English since English doesn't have German's "ch" sound?

Hi Russ,

I totally agree. Although people learning/speaking Esperanto are usually open minded, some still think that they have to measure everything in context to English (no harm intended ). Somehow I understand it because in some regions of the world English is so dominant, that people living there will never have the feeling that they could belong to a minority (languagewise).

Anyway, speaking about Smith, my name (German) is Schmid (Ŝmid), the same like Smith in English, although the correct writing of the profession in German would be Schmied (but many versions for the name are used).

So in Esperanto it would be Forĝisto and it wouldn't be a problem for me to use it as a pseudonym when I would e.g. go to an Esperanto meeting.

Geraldo

At the UK in Rotterdam, I talked to a woman with the Esperanto surname Najbaro. Of course her non-Esperanto English neigbours mispronounced her name as Nadge...
I have three forenames: the forename of my mother's paternal grandfather; the forename of my paternal grandfather; my mother's maiden surname.