My full name is Adam Ryan An. My first name is Adam [ædəm], my middle name is Ryan [ɹaɪən] and my last name is An [æn] - it sounds like “Anne”. I use he/him pronouns.
My legal first name is Zeal [zil] - or, if you have the feel-fill merger like I do, [zɪl]. I hardly use this name, and I don’t have a legal middle name, either.
I publish as Adam An; please call me Adam.
Where did Zeal come from?
I truthfully have no idea.
Why’d you start going by Adam?
Because I don’t have to explain it to people! I got it from a little-known Cartoon Network show called My Gym Partner’s A Monkey when I was in second grade.
What about the middle name?
It’s so that if I ever change my name legally I’ll have something to put on the form. There’s no significance to it, but I like that it ends in an A and a nasal. Other candidates were Ethan and Tristan, but let’s be real, am I a Tristan?
Do you have zeal?
That question is why I don’t use that name any more.