Imanina Syasya Binte Muhammad Tani is tired of feeling like her full name is "one big problem".
She goes by Syasya day-to-day, and until moving to Australia from Singapore two years ago, she had never experienced name discrimination.
"Having a name with so many syllables … it was quite confusing when I moved here, because I never thought it would be an issue at all," she said.
"Somehow my name is an issue [in Australia], and I didn't ever think it had to be."
Syasya believes her family struggled to find a rental property in Adelaide, not just because of the tight market, but because of their name.
"When looking for rentals and your name is Muhammad, people have prejudices," she said.
"There are prejudices like, 'are you going to pay the rent on time, are you going to take care of the house'.
"People aren't going to say, 'I don't like Asians' or 'I don't like Muslims'.
"It's bad to assume that [my father's] name is an issue … but it's just that, that was the only factor pointing towards why we didn't get a rental sometimes."
Syasya has encountered repeated mispronunciation, administrative errors, and others failing to use her preferred name despite multiple reminders.
A recent background check for a new job required every possible combination of her five names, while her university application form did not have enough space for her to include more than three.
'Prevalent' discrimination that's hard to prove
Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan said both interpersonal and systemic name discrimination remained "prevalent" in Australia.
"Name discrimination is a form of racial discrimination – it's never acceptable and there's no place for it in Australia," he said.
"It's harmful to the individual experiencing it, but also to the collective wellbeing of our society."
Commissioner Tan, who is of Chinese background, said he had personally experienced the "insidious" form of discrimination, and that it was common for people to change their name altogether.
He said it often started as a "nagging feeling", was difficult to identify, and even more difficult to prove.
"Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of statistics for us to turn to and this is the reason why we are creating an Australian Anti-Racism Framework, that will help us focus on the issues about the gaps in getting data and information that will assist us," he said.
"In itself, name discrimination is unlawful if it can be proven [under the Race Discrimination Act]."
Last year's federal budget included $7.5 million over four years for the Human Rights Commission to develop a national strategy to tackle racism and promote racial equality in Australia.
"It's also about industry itself looking inwards and providing capacity to train its own people, to create cultural understanding of what racism is about in this particular area," Commissioner Tan said.
"In tenancy, for estate agents to be able to understand what we are talking about, and to be able to effectively advise landlords in particular, who might be asking for a certain preference, and discourage them from that approach."
A 'lasting impact' on identity
Western Sydney University social sciences researcher Dr Rimple Mehta said there had been "ample research" about the impact of name discrimination in Australia on people with non-Anglo-Saxon names, especially in employment and the private rental market.
But she said name discrimination often started well before adulthood, between school students, or from teachers repeatedly using an incorrect or mispronounced name in the classroom.
"This discrimination takes place on a subconscious level, but it has a lasting impact on the sense of belonging on young people, who at a very sensitive age are trying to build a sense of identity and build their networks," she said.
"It really does touch every aspect of an individual's life and it really does have a lasting impact in a way that we cannot always see."
The Human Rights Commission and experts like Dr Mehta agree it is an issue that needs to be addressed on a social level, as much as a legal level.
"Like most social issues, the most important thing is to create awareness, not just of the fact that name discrimination is prevalent in Australia, but also an awareness about the impact of that … discrimination on the individual and for the community at large," Dr Mehta said.
She said such discrimination could have a lasting impact on an individual's mental health, while seemingly simple administrative issues such as spelling errors could create barriers to critical supports and services.
'Just ask me what my name is'
Syasya said the "issues" with her name had been "exhausting" since moving to Australia.
But she won't ever change it.
"A lot of my friends as well … have really unique names… but everyone just seems to Anglicise it, because it's so much easier," she said.
"I think it's a little bit heartbreaking.
"Everybody is named for a reason … and my name in Arabic means 'Our Faith in Radiance and Daughter of My Dad' and it sounds really cool in English. It's who I am."
She said she wanted more people to speak up if they felt unsure about a person's preferred name or pronunciation.
"It feels like people care when they say to you, 'Hey, what do you go by?' instead of just assuming how to pronounce it," she said.
"I love my name and I don't just want to change it to fit in … (and) because it's easier on my life.
"If I say my name once, 'Syasya', and you think, 'I have no idea what she just said', just ask."
