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How do people with Asian names come up with their English names?
Many people from Asian countries have names from their culture (e.g. Yu-ru or Chi Ping) and then have an English name for when doing business (e.g. Kate, Erin).
How do they come up with their English names? Are they given these at birth as well?
7 Answers
- AlloraLv 41 decade agoFavourite answer
As far as I know, they have them from birth and their parents choose their names just like Western parents choose their children's names.
From Wikipedia:
- Western name
Urban or well-educated Chinese commonly receive a Western-style name (such as "Jackie" or "Steve") in school or select one for themselves.[2] These names are used routinely even in Chinese-language conversations among Chinese.[2] White-collar workers began to use Western names after Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms because their Western interlocutors could not properly pronounce their Chinese names.[2] The practice has since spread to the general population for various reasons. Western names may be perceived as more egalitarian, because their use does not involve issues of social hierarchy. They are also easier to type in English-language texts, which predominate in business technology, and may also be perceived as patriotic due to their association with economic progress.[2]
Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_name - Anonymous1 decade ago
It depends. They are either given their names at birth by their parents like everybody else, or when they move to a Western country and require an English name, they choose one that they like.
Source(s): My parents gave me a Chinese name as well as an English name at birth, so I grew up with both. On the other hand, my father, as well as some of my Asian friends, chose their own names when they migrated to a Western country. - Azriel NihilusLv 41 decade ago
lol most I knew, not just from Asian countries, but Polish, Finnish, Hungarian, etc as well-- when they came to America they just picked one that they liked.
It would be a little silly and stupid to have to give a child an american name at birth IN ADDITION to their real name.
=D I'm a bit jealous because they get to pick their own name and we're all stuck with the ones our parents gave us. xD
I knew a Chinese exchange student girl who went by Apple.
HOW COOL IS THAT?
- 1 decade ago
No, when they immigrate here they choose one that they think is easy to remember and fits them. Or a name they just like.
But I was born in Canada and so I was born with my english name, but my parents also gave me a Chinese name which is officially my middle name.
- 1 decade ago
in the philpinnes, it's very common to have spanish (cristina, yolanda, roberto, victoria, ernesto, etc.) and american (michelle, jennifer, katherine, james, jonathan, eric) names as their original, birth names..
- Anonymous5 years ago
And the same question pops up again
