webgovernor:I agree with Miland here. For example, two of my office-mates are named Lee and Leon (Lee-on).

If I were to say "Lee dislikes Leon" (Li malsxatas Lion) then everything is fine, but if I say (Lion malsxatas Li-on) then that leaves the listener to logically parse the phrase, which greatly reduces conversation efficiency as time is needed to determine the direct object. By using "al" the problem is removed all together.

Li malsxatas al Lion, kaj Lion malsxatas al Li.

Unless, of course, you plan on saying "Lion-on" in place of Lion.

Okay, I can see how that situation results in problems.

This whole "Lee" and "Leon" issue is one of the major reasons why so many people choose to 'esperantize' their names. If you have a name that might cause doubt if it's used in its 'native' form, it is very common to go by an Esperanto name, and even if your name doesn't cause doubt, it's still common. Someone named Lee would normally go by Lio or Liĉjo. Someone named Leon would probably go by Liono or Leono (which gives the meaning of "lion" but is unlikely to cause confusion). Use of an Esperanto form makes confusion less likely, and also makes it easier to fit your name into Esperanto grammar and use the -n ending in the right places.

Kate, you have a couple of choices. You could go by Kejt, based on pronunciation. It is not my favorite solution but I see it frequently. You could go by Kate and expect people to learn to pronounce your name. This is not uncommon either, but as someone mentioned, if you were outside the US, you would probably want to write a phonetic pronunciation on your name tag in addition to your name. And even within the US some smart aleck might still be calling you "Ka-teh".

You could also Esperantize your name and go by "Keto", to approximate the sounds of your name following Esperanto pronunciation norms. This choice is intuitive to experienced Esperanto speakers, and it's for the same reason why Cambridge is not "Kejmbriĝo" but "Kembriĝo" in Esperanto - because dipthong sounds in the middle of words are uncommon in Esperanto, and are normally simplified to a simple vowel. That's why it would be Keto and not Kejto (although you could also choose Kejto).

But you are also fortunate that your name is international, and most international names have an accepted Esperanto equivalent. Kate is a nickname form of Catherine, which is "Katerino" in Esperanto. So you could call yourself Katerino, or the nickname form of that, Kanjo.

This solution may be useful to some of you other forum-readers; if you aren't sure what to call yourself in Esperanto, do a little research on your name. It might be a variant on another name that already has an Esperanto equivalent. For example, James is a variant of Jacob, so the Esperanto version of James would be "Jakobo". Janet is a diminutive form of Jane. Jane is a variant of a female form of John (likewise, Joan, Johanna, Janice, Jeannine, Joanne, Shauna). So if your name was Janet (or Joan, Johanna, etc), you could go by Johana or Jonjo. You could also choose something based on the meaning of your name. Someone named "Chastity" for example, might choose the Esperanto word for chastity as their name (Ĉasteco, in this case).

Thanks erinja, your posts are very enlightening. I think Liĉjo makes sense for me, since "ĉjo" is apparently a common nickname affix.

-- Liĉjo

Using al with a name sounded like a good idea, but in fact the preposition cannot be used with direct objects in an unrestricted way. The alternative to adding -n to a vowel is leave an un-Esperantised name without the accusative ending. We have, in PMEG:
Ne-Esperantigitaj nomoj povas aperi O-vortece sen O-finaĵo. Ĉe tiaj nomoj oni ankaŭ povas forlasi N-finaĵon, eĉ se la frazrolo principe postulas tian finaĵon.
I translate:
"Non-Esperantised names can appear as nouns without the -O ending. We need not add the N-ending to such names, even if their role in the phrase would normally require such an ending."