# Why do Asian-Americans name their daughters these names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643 "2015-05-09T19:35:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/21 "2015-05-10T14:39:33Z")
One girl of Vietnamese descent (I think she was first-generation American) said she chose her name because Americans couldn’t pronounce her given name, ‘Houng’. She chose ‘Helen’ because it sounded kind of similar. Another coworker (who was born in Vietnam) kept her name, ‘My’ (with some sort of accent over the ‘y’). But she went by the English pronunciation so her given name and surname sounded like a tropical drink. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/22 "2015-05-10T14:51:36Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > So foreigner living in China will pick up a Chinese name, and this will have semi-official status and be used on forms and the like. Mine was even used on some of my immigration forms. The Mandarin teachers at my kids’ school assign Chinese names to all their students too - and they take the process quite seriously. The kids get a Chinese-style family name, which is kinda like their English family name but not quite, siblings all get a generation-name just like Chinese siblings would, and parents can have input into the process too. It’s quite clear that the teachers are expecting that, if the kids keep on with their studies, their Chinese name will be with them for a long time, possibly for life. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/23 "2015-05-10T15:18:29Z")
> [@bup](#): > > “Kim” seems like a win-win, if you’re Korean-American. It’s both a Korean and Anglo feminine first name… Korean family name. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/24 "2015-05-10T18:09:56Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > The Mandarin teachers at my kids’ school assign Chinese names to all their students too - and they take the process quite seriously. The kids get a Chinese-style family name, which is kinda like their English family name but not quite, siblings all get a generation-name just like Chinese siblings would, and parents can have input into the process too. It’s quite clear that the teachers are expecting that, if the kids keep on with their studies, their Chinese name will be with them for a long time, possibly for life. Yes. When my group or Oregonians went to Beijing for a study abroad program, our resident adviser gave us the Chinese names we would use there. The names have to be something the Chinese would recognize as a name. I still use mine when I’m around Chinese people. Same in Japan. I was working for the Ministry of Education in Japan, so I needed an official chop, so I could stamp my name on legal documents and such. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/25 "2015-05-11T03:53:59Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It works in the opposite direction as well. English names don’t render well in Chinese, because the characters used to approximate the sounds have meanings of their own. So coming up with something that sounds kind of like your name often means awkwardly combining a lot of random words that end up forming a nonsense phrase. There are some standard renderings for common names chosen to not be terrible, but they aren’t usually great. You don’t _have_ to pick a phonetic rendition of your name. I have three versions of my name, and all are typical, three-character names. My immigration name was chosen for me, and I have an old version and current version for the Chinese side of my calling cards that I picked (with consultation, thank goodness!). Some transliterations may be nonsense _for names_, i.e., a Chinese might not recognize them as names, but it’s not really “non-sensical” to them, after all there are hundreds of brands that do the same thing, and Chinese are good at recognizing the difference. “福特” (Fute) sounds roughly phonetic, its meaning is nonsense, but everyone recognizes it for what it is. That kind of goes for regular words, too, though. No one thinks to himself that he’s talking about “gate mouths” (doorway, etc.), and more than we are talking about “self moving” when we use the word “automobile.” I’m sure you have enough exposure to some of the less-typical-for-us names that Chinese often pick for themselves! We should compare notes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/26 "2015-05-11T04:19:21Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > For instance, my observations of a wealthy middle class school in Australia shows a high number of even more old-fashioned girls’ names than the OP … Alice, Madeline, Isabelle, Emily, Ava, Olivia … all common as mud. So we’re even more behind the times. I dunno, except for Alice, my 9 year old daughter here in the states has friends with all those names, and there are multiples of all but Olivia. You can’t shake a stick around her school without whacking an Emily or an Ava. The place is lousy with 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/27 "2015-05-11T04:23:46Z")
Yeah, that’s what I mean. There’s not really such a thing as “old-fashioned” when it comes to names - the old ones keep bobbing back up like corks. It’s just a case of “where in the cycle are you?”. Today’s “old fashioned” is next decade’s “ahead of the curve” ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/28 "2015-05-11T09:14:39Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I mean. There’s not really such a thing as “old-fashioned” when it comes to names - the old ones keep bobbing back up like corks. It’s just a case of “where in the cycle are you?”. Today’s “old fashioned” is next decade’s “ahead of the curve” Any bets on a big crop of little Charlotte Elizabeths starting school in five years time? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/29 "2015-05-11T10:33:14Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Any bets on a big crop of little Charlotte Elizabeths starting school in five years time? Pre-birth, already 17th and 31st in the UK: > **[Top baby girl names 2014](https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a25011627/top-baby-girl-names-2014)** > > Looking for the top girls' names of 2014? You've come to the right place. Check out our handy list of the top 100 baby names for girls, as chosen by parents. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/30 "2015-05-11T11:12:34Z")
I know a guy from Singapore named Lester. His parents gave him that name in hopes that he would be the first of their family to be educated and live in the U.S., which came to pass. They thought “Lester” would allow him to blend right in. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/31 "2015-05-11T11:54:18Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I grew up in a city that is 10% Asian American, and I haven’t observed the phenomenon you are talking about. I was about to question your judgement until I noticed you mention Filipinos. > > This is a Filipino thing, not a general Asian thing. > > English names have been part of the name mix in the Philippines for a while, long enough to develop their own trends and conventions that don’t necessarily correspond with own. In other words, you aren’t seeing a bunch of people who just don’t know how to use English names. You are seeing people who have been using English names long enough to develop their own way of using them and their own generational trends. > > Another factor is that some names are Spanish names rendered as English nicknames-- so Concepcion might go as “Connie”. It’s common to combine names (Maria Theresa, for example, may become Marites) or use invented names, which may also then be shortened to a nickname. It might be Filipino-American thing, but not necessarily a Filipino thing, as Wendy, Kimberly, and Tammy (the first three names listed in the OP) are decidedly unusual names in the Philippines itself. Of the other names listed in the OP, Sharon and Cheryl are still popular and Elaine, while less common, isn’t too unusual. For historical reasons, Spanish names remain common, though I’ll note that the names popular here are different than the names in Latin America or Spain. More recently, American names have become popular, again for historical reasons. ETA: As noted, the American names popular in the Philippines don’t necessarily conform to the names popular in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/32 "2015-05-11T12:26:45Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > For historical reasons, Spanish names remain common, though I’ll note that the names popular here are different than the names in Latin America or Spain. More recently, American names have become popular, again for historical reasons. My sample size is small but I know about 10 Filipinos straight from the Philippines. Some of them have Spanish-sounding names, but none of them is an actual Spanish name I’ve ever heard. There’s a smatter of names that I guess are pure Filipino, and a “Jerry.” Surnames, though, are predominantly Spanish-sounding, and most of them are recognizable, common Spanish surnames (e.g., Vallez). Socio-economically speaking they’re all college graduate engineers and decidedly middle-class. I imagine there are class distinctions in the Philippines. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/33 "2015-05-11T13:04:19Z")
One other thing Filipinos love is nicknames. Witness these names of the current and past few presidents: Corazon “Cory” Aquino Fidel Ramos Joseph “Erap” Estrada Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Benigno “Noy-noy” Aquino III [the incumbent] Three out of five have a nickname by which they are commonly known. Some of these are obviously derived from the given legal name. Others are a whole other unofficial monniker. One recent senator was named “Joker” Arroyo (no relation to Gloria); I can’t even tell you what his legal name is. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/34 "2015-05-11T15:26:47Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > My sample size is small but I know about 10 Filipinos straight from the Philippines. Some of them have Spanish-sounding names, but none of them is an actual Spanish name I’ve ever heard. There’s a smatter of names that I guess are pure Filipino, and a “Jerry.” > > Surnames, though, are predominantly Spanish-sounding, and most of them are recognizable, common Spanish surnames (e.g., Vallez). Vallez is not a Spanish surname, or at least, not one that’s normally spelled. It looks like a hypercorrection of Vallés or Valles, by someone who thought it was a patronymic (neither one is a patronimic, one means “from the valley” and the other one means “valleys”). Just for curiosity’s sake, what would the “Spanish sounding but not actually Spanish” names be? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/35 "2015-05-11T16:14:43Z")
I’m going to guess that was supposed to be “Valdez”, a common _apellido_ all over the Hispanosphere including the Philippines. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/36 "2015-05-12T02:58:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Vallez is not a Spanish surname, or at least, not one that’s normally spelled… Just for curiosity’s sake, what would the “Spanish sounding but not actually Spanish” names be? Spanish-language, not Spanish-from-Spain. “Vallez” with that spelling is very, very common in the Americas. An example “Spanish-sounding” name might be “Arnulfo.” ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/37 "2015-05-12T03:15:06Z")
[Arnulfo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulfo) is a perfectly cromulet Spanish name. I got curious and went a-googlin’. It seems [Wendy Valdez](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Valdez) is a local actress who has appeared on several TV shows. So I’m probably wrong about the recent popularity of the name “Wendy” in the Philippines. Couldn’t find anyone named “Kimberly” or “Tammy”, although there is a Hotel Kimberly. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/38 "2015-05-12T04:03:21Z")
For what it’s worth, I know two Chinese Eunices. Alan and Henry also seem to pop up a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/39 "2015-05-12T13:19:23Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Korean family name. Beat me to it. When we in the west see names like Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung, etc., we assume that Kim is the first name, because that’s the western convention. ---
**Author:** ![sonder999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@sonder999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sonder999)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643/40 "2015-05-12T13:42:06Z")
Damn OP you think these are bad? Have you heard about Mary, Linda? These are the real cringe-worthy ones. The reason is most newly-immigrated Asian Americans, especially the Chinese, don’t know shit about western culture. When I had English in elementary school back in Asia, we had these western females named as Linda and Mary and obviously those who had been taught these lessons when they were young students, grown up thinking these old-fashioned, horrible names are the “norms”. Simply put, they are different culture, and just plain stupid probably. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-asian-americans-name-their-daughters-these-names/719643.md?page=3)