Referring to one's name

Question

I take issue with this. In the very real sense 'vous vous appelez...' is 'you call yourself...'. Not 'votre nom est...' - 'your name is'.

What I am CALLED - how I refer to myself or how others do - is not what my name is. They are two very different things, and in my family (and throughout many Russian-speaking families - though my family is English) people have names and then the diminutive or 'nickname' form.

For example, my grandfather's name is Charles. He is 'called' Ted.

Therefore, why is 'you call yourself...' an incorrect translation?

Accepted Answer

It is futile trying to infer what the French should be based on what the English is. You simply have to accept that in those instances where, in English, one would say, "My name is Hugo," the French speaker says, "Je m'appelle Hugo."
Vous vous appelez Hugo. -- Your name is Hugo. 
If you want to say something along the lines "You go by the name of Hugo," you could say: Vous vous faites appeler Hugo.

Answer

Bonjour à tous,
Remember:

To be called [something] = my name is [something] -> s'appeler [quelque chose]
To call yourself [something] = to go by the name of [something] -> se faire appeler [quelque chose]

Bonne journée !

Answer

Hi Sable,The verb appeler also means "to name" although "Je m'appelle"is often translated "to call oneself...'.     It just as correctly could be translated as  "to name oneself'Bonne continuationJim