English names

[Neil]

My wife asked me to think of an English name for our son.  I've had difficulty with his name since day one.  His name is: 小埼 which is pronounced: xiaoqi.  The word for cellphone is: 手机 and pronounced: shouji.  My stupid western brain can not hear the difference, let alone pronounce it.  There's no way anyone in Canada will get it right, especially other kids. 

I never realized how difficult choosing a name can be.   

[Pineau]

Neil,

Are you looking for an English sound alike or a name with the same meaning. Or, does it really matter? If it is Chinese pinyin most people will get it wrong anyway. And among kids that could lead to a lot of teasing. Does the kid really care about keeping his Chinese name? Maybe it would be better if he just " fit in" by picking a popular and meaningful English name of the day. 

[Neil]

Yeah, a popular and meaningful English name would be best.  But it should suit him and be easy to say.  I mean, he doesn't speak English so if he can't pronounce his own English name properly, it will only be that much more difficult for him.

[shaun]

Neil,

If he is going to have difficulties with pronunciation then you will want to avoid certain letters in the alphabet.  Don't worry too much about kids making fun.  It is going to happen no matter what.  Pronunciation I guess, is why we see so many Asians in western counties with simple names like Peggy.  Not so common but easy to pronounce.  In my area I see a lot of males named David or Mike.

I had a student last year who immigrated from Israel.  His name is David or his mother pronounces it Dahvit.  One day I hear a student ask him if he had a donkey when he lived in Israel.  David said no that he had 2.   Another student kept saying "I just want to know what a dradle is," so David brought several cheap ones to school and told the student all about them.  David rolled with the punches.  In one years time he became one of the more popular students.