Welcome, guest blogger Mike!
Chinese employees at my company have a choice to use their Chinese first name or an English first name on their employee badge and email address. I don’t know the career implications of choosing one or the other, and I really don’t have a preference. (But I will admit that it’s easier for my Western brain to remember English names).
About one-third of the Chinese employees choose to use an English name. I can’t imagine what it’s like to choose your own name as an adult, but I suppose there must a certain freedom to it. It’s a chance to redefine yourself within the English-speaking culture at work.
Some choose names that sound similar to their Chinese names...Liu could be Lou.
Some choose typical English names like.....Bill, David, Michael, Eileen, Jack, Ethan, Will, Ben, Jimmy, Helen, Eddie, Andy, etc.
Others choose an English name based to their interest or hobby. The most common English name among the hundred or so male college students I interviewed was Kobe (not the Japanese city or the beef, think NBA).
And others choose names just because they like the sound of it.
For the past year I’ve collected the English names I’ve come across at work that I find interesting or fun. All of the names below appear in official employee systems, either as their email or the nickname in their company profile, which shows up in various databases. I’ve sort them into themes.
Weather-related:
Storm
Sunny
Shady (reference to Eminem, she’s a fan)
Rainy
Cloud
Snow
Sky
July (this one caused some confusion in a conversation, until they figured out it was his name. Who’s on first? I’ve met an April, May, June, and Augusto, so why not July?).
Cute:
Dolphin
Puppy
Swallow
Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow’s child is named this, right?)
Cherry
Manly:
Axl
Fjord
Heaton
Sand
Grit
Stone
Rock (there’s also an American with this name)
Armstrong
Stronger
Whimsical:
Sprite
Arrow
Flight
Run
Ryder
Wise
Elves (not sure if it’s the king of rock & roll or Santa’s helper?)
We deliberately chose an unusual name for our daughter, partly because as a Michael, there is no real advantage in being confused with 3-4 other people in your class or workplace. So I applaud these folks for defining themselves as unique!
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2 comments:
Hi Mike and Debbie, I am a regular visitor now on your blog..Some how I find a connection between you living in China and my first few years in USA..Although there is a big difference but still there is a similarity..I wish that I have the writing skills that you guys have...At least could have been kept a journal...
Fatema
Hi Mike,
Great post! That would be interesting to choose a name as an adult. Especially in another language, where I might never be quite sure what it meant.
I like Grit, Sand, and Rock. Those made me laugh.
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