Her name is only Alita in the translated version. In the original her name is Gally.
And this is just me speculating, but I think of it as because it's the title that both fans of the un-name-changed series and the ones of the name-changed series more familiar with its past recognize.
As for me personally, I only think of the first half of the series as Battle Angel Alita. That's probably because I first read it as the English-translated version, but eh.
Gunnm really is a much shorter name, though. Less title fatigue for me to remember.
You know guys, if I know the root of the Japanese title, it's pretty likely that I also know that the main character also had a name change.
I find that unlikely, since it's been available in the US for 20 years only as Battle Angel Alita, which is also the the James Cameron version will use whenever that gets off the ground.
Well, sure. The second half is (colon) Last Order. Though 'half' may be the wrong word since it's already twice as long and still going.
Shorter yes, but in addition to my previous reasoning, try saying it.
My feeling is that we're speaking English to each other, so we use English names unless they're clearly dislike by the natives- by your reckoning I should start referring to Japan as Nippon.
Indeed, Gally is the true name for the heroine in Gunnm. As far as I know, the name was inverted with her "girly" name, precisely because it did not sound feminine to Anglo-saxon audiences (I would have said American, except I do not know if it was translated in the UK.) But Kishiro actually gave that name to his character.
It's not the true name, it's the Japanese name. The source material being Japanese doesn't make it 'true.' Not sure which name you're saying is girly- both are feminine names, though Alita does give off a more tomboyish vibe, but that may be because of it's association in my mind with this manga. English is the usual catchall- Anglo-Saxon is a racial group, not a language. Kishiro also used Alita, in a dream sequence, which indicates to me that he's okay with it.