When do you use your own name to refer to yourself?


I searched for "referring to yourself in third person" and other similar
phrases , but found only these:
[Q1](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2320/speaking-in-the-third-
person), [Q2](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5388/when-is-it-
appropriate-to-refer-to-yourself-using-your-name-rather-than-%E7%A7%81-or-o).
All searches in google also lead to similar discussions.

But I already know that referring to yourself in the third person in
conversation might be seen as childish or cutesy. What I wanted to know about,
however, was their usage in the workplace. There was an email from a co-worker
asking if we were free on MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM. Then the replies that came were
like this:

> 田中： 田中はOKです。
>
> 木村： 木村も大丈夫です。
>
> Me: 私も大丈夫です。

etc. etc. They are men in their 30's - 40's and I don't think they were trying
to be cute at all. In fact, this isn't the first time they've answered in this
way. Our department head once asked us to check each of the projects we were
in-charge of and the replies were in the form:

> 田中の分。。。

This second one, I can somehow understand since 〇〇の分 becomes somewhat an
encompassing name or way to refer to the projects under 〇〇.

I'm wondering, then, when is it appropriate to use your own name like these
examples? Should I have used my own name as well? Was it fine I used 私 (I used
私 because it's the only way I know how and I wanted to be safe... but was it
right)?

If this has actually already been asked and I just didn't search hard/well
enough, please lead me to those questions/articles/etc.

Thank you!




This is not uncommon in business settings. For one, 「田中はOKです。」 is easier to
type and more concise than 「田中です。私はOKです。」. For one, they may be trying to be
fair and businesslike. Using their own family names signals they are treating
themselves the same way as other colleagues, from the third person's
perspective. The person who says 田中の分 referring to himself signals he doesn't
want you to consider his own personal matter or the personal relationship
between you and him. Anyway, the difference is not large, and 私 is always
safe, too.

Note that these people are using their family name, which is not common among
young girls who refer to themselves using their names. They normally use their
first names.




This is not uncommon in business settings. For one, 「田中はOKです。」 is easier to
type and more concise than 「田中です。私はOKです。」. For one, they may be trying to be
fair and businesslike. Using their own family names signals they are treating
themselves the same way as other colleagues, from the third person's
perspective. The person who says 田中の分 referring to himself signals he doesn't
want you to consider his own personal matter or the personal relationship
between you and him. Anyway, the difference is not large, and 私 is always
safe, too.

Note that these people are using their family name, which is not common among
young girls who refer to themselves using their names. They normally use their
first names.

