Prof. 'Wole Soyinka actually endorsed the "my names are" phrase.

The correct one is my name is.... Except you are telling us that there are other entities beside you whom you are also introducing!

That "My names are is rarely used" does not mean its a wrong english sentence, Both are correct...That "My names are is rarely used" does not mean its a wrong english sentence, Both are correct...That "My names are is rarely used" does not mean its a wrong english sentence, Both are correct...

It is typical to say "my name is". However a more technical approach would be "my names are". The latter takes into consideration the Nigerian three-name system i.e the first name, the middle name and the surname(last name). Saying my names are Bright Okechukwu Okorie emphasizes that you introduce yourself by the three-name system. However when you say my name is Bright, it indicates introduction by first name. Though traditionally, most people would say my name is Bright Okechukwu Okorie. Therefore, typically, 'my name is' is correct and technically, "my names are" is correct.

Conventionally, my name is, is it!

Generally both seem to be grammatically correct. Using MY, a possessive Pronoun in this case, one would be tempted to scrutinize it as singular attributed to the plural word NAMES followed by ARE that depends on the condition of the object(names). In other word, it is informal or non-standard to say 'My names are...' yet correct in all grammatical sense. It is traditionally right and widely accepted to say 'My name is...'. However, English language evolves - while the old English language is getting obsolete the new one is changing rapidly.So, we can say both of them are correct grammatically, as the former is non-standard and the latter is generally accepted.

2 me, my name was sounds damn correct!

I have seen journalists on several ocasn sayn my 'names are' and i kept wonderin wich is coret. Pls i stil want mor lyt shed

Actually both of them are correct cause if you have 3 names and you want to tell someone the 3 names you are to use My Names Are, Gbenga Godswill James but if you wants to tell the person just one of your name, you can use My Name Is Godswill. That's it so to me both of them are correct

I think my name" is" is correct

D correct thing is "My Name is", if u must use "my names are" then it means u are listing ur names and thus must use comma to separate dem but dats kinda weird. If u are still in doubt, y nt beta skip d whole "my name is/ are" & use "I am John Ibu Okafor". Lol

The name's Bond, James Bond.
My name's Aaron Hotchner. Call me Hotch.
I'm miss Moneypenny.
Q, just Q.

paris10: Final post, get it now or you'll never learn. It's very simple.

Analogy:

* My orange is nice: Here, I am referring to one singular item. My name is John Bramo Utaka (formally referring to myself). Remember formal letters?

* My oranges are nice: Here, I am referring to more than one item or more items. My names are John Tractor Effiong Bramo Utaka (informally referring to myself). What about informal letters?

Depending on your use of English, you could certainly get away with murder.

When you put some water into different jars, or different water into one jar do you say "there are some different waters in the jars" or I have some waters in the Jar?

12go: Prof. 'Wole Soyinka actually endorsed the "my names are" phrase.

Does not say he is always right

[i][/i]@ op: If Eminem had made a song like "my names are chiki chiki Slim Shady", u go buy?

na over sabi dey kill 9jirians, especially dose wey don manage get 1 or 2 satifikate 4 school. even the english people wey own the language no dey use my names are bla bla bla

look good[img]http://www.50centloseweight.com[/img]

shymmex:

Utter tosh!! Nigerians like to mention all their full names, and using 'is' for a bunch of names is grammatically wrong...

Hehehe... Funny dude!

Nigerians generally are title lovers - therefore with such high sounding names and titles such as Alhaji Dr Chief Professor so, so, and so ....
the longer the name the more the feeling of "self importance and relevance in the society" We seem to revel in frivolous, vain and mundane things.

"My name is...." PERIOD, and may I beg that we close this thread please!

>>>>>

No arguement here. 'My name is'is correct,

mustspin: "my name is" when you want to introduce yourself officially with just your 1st and last name but "my names are" when you wanna introduce yourself informally by mentioning all your names and prolly nicks too

Yes, to me also like they are all correct, sha d way u introduce yourself, if it's only yr fist & last name" my name is" but, yr name +titlles "my names are" sha dat is 4yr area but, in my onw "my name NA" is d correct one.

shymmex: How can a Nigerian say: 'my name is'??

Imagine an urhobo man saying my name is: obatsemukoroalopo mukoro oritse olukunmumkinmi

A Yoruba man saying my name is : Opeyemi Balogun Ogunjimi Olasupo Oladipupo

Or an Igbo man saying my name is: Ojukwu Emekachukwu Ofodile Isinachukwu Idozie

'My name is' will never work in the Nigerian context, everything about us defies normal logic...

So, it should be 'My names are' in Nigeria.

In such situation, it should be
MY NAMES INCLUDES...

Aringon: "My name is" is the right grammar as per using it to introduce yourself in a gathering whilst "my names are" could be used in a court of law where you have different names given to you maybe by your father, mother, grandmum oor grand-dad. Eg you could be called Adekunle by your dad,Niyi by your mum, Omo by your grandmum and Wills by your grand-dad. The court will wants all your name listed in case any witness(s) coome(s) to mention any of those names.

It will be very wrong for a sane or educated person to stand up in a meeting, training, seminar and introduce him/herself by saying "my names are"

You just helped me solve this mystery; and it's simpler than I thought.

I believe the reason the people who usually make this gaffe are from the Eastern part can be traced to a comedy serial based on a court, that aired back in the 80s. The comedy as I said was based on court proceedings and the setting was in the colonial era. The judge was white, therefore the litigants usually had both English and Igbo names (apparently to make it easier for the judge to preside). The whole comedy was based on the court translator's errors which on occasion resulted in miscarriage of justice (if my memory serves me right).

What was the name of the program again?

Nickydrake:

I think it's a brilliant example. Unless you'd be nice enough to distinguish between 'number' and 'figure' in the context.

You're clearly among those who are confidently asserting that it's right to say 'my names are', which in itself belittles whatever analytical powers you imagine you possess.

I dey laugh o. I am being bamboozled by big grammar. My dear,I still maintain my stance that the analogy used was wrong. Perhaps, it was not properly presented. I would want us to take a look at it from this angle, '7895' is a number with 4 figures. Both are synonymous but cannot be used interchangeably. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant_figures#Identifying_significant_figures) You cannot have '7895 numbers'. If you must pluralize number, then you must have two separate numbers. Thus it is right to say 08033758952 and 0805526555 are my numbers and not 0802255666 are my numbers. I hope this clarifies.

Now to the issue of name and names, I would advise you to consult a linguist. Grammatically, it is correct to say 'My names are' if it is logical for you to say it. So why the fuss? If I have more than a name, it is right for me to say 'My names are Tayo and Daniel. Please take the pain to do an extensive research on this. That an expression is popular doesn't make it absolute. There could be variations.

Thanks.

just say "I am ........"
dats easier

If you mentioning your first name you can use is but if you are mentioning your full name, then are is the correct word to use.

God will bless you for posting this. "My names is" is the correct English "My names are" is yoruba English

ENGLISH and YORUBA have one thing in common, They are both ASHAWOS,.......sleeping with other languages and not even know which one belongs to them. If that stup!d yoruba man says "My names are" sounds Igbotic we agree becos in English Language:"my names are Obasanja and Awo" is correct.

brainpulse:

When you put some water into different jars, or different water into one jar do you say "there are some different waters in the jars" or I have some waters in the Jar?

you are so on point brov! my names are is sooooooo........ OMG kai kai kai!!!