Can some English native speakers here tell me whether "Drew" is a good English Name? I am a Generation Z

May I suggest MARY!!!?

OP: would you be Drew Poo or Drew Hsu or Drew Woo?

Drew is more dated than Paul, OP.

And why do you need an "English" name?

Try Long Dong John

Drew is OK. But Paul is classic and OK too.

Drew is not a good name. Next.

R3 Wow, that's what I was fearing for, because Drew doesn't strike me a popular name for the young people. I need an English name because it would be easier for people to remember. I do keep my family name though as most Asian immigrants do. Thanks

Thank you guys. With the small samples I got here, I think I would not change my English name to "Drew" , which saves me the trouble to reintroduce myself to my friends.

Jaeyndyn is always hip dear

Hey OP, I don’t know who these posts are from but they’re either trolls or incels. Consider what time it is in most of the English speaking world - US, Canada, & UK are headed to bed, asleep, or just waking up and not on DL. Australia and New Zealand are awake but I can’t speak for them re names. Paul is absolutely dated. Drew or Andrew is a more youthful name IMO.

^ give your post 12 hours and you’ll get a global perspective.

Paul is a good, classic name. I'd way prefer it to 'Drew'.

Although UK York, the pedo sex predator might’ve ruined Andrew forever. Drew is hot though.

Why do you need an English name? You want to abandon "Paul" because it's not popular?

Drew sounds kind of like a douchebag name. I just think of "Dr. Drew."

Is your name difficult to pronounce OP? People may like your real name.

I think of Drew Bledsoe, Drew Brees and Drew Ferris

True. Embrace your real name. Fuck the racists. (If Barack Obama can do it, why not you?) If you dislike your real name then that's understandable though.

The Drews I knews were Andrews, so that was their nickname.

You could try a nickname of your given name, or last name too.

If you want a name that totally sounds like a teenage American suburbanite, try "Hunter".

If you want a name that sounds good to Americans AND (from what I've been told) sounds reasonably "normal" to people who speak a dialect of Chinese, try "Jason".

As an added bonus, if your "Chinese" name has a one-syllable family name and a one-syllable familiar name, you can tell people your name is "Jason {family}-{familiar}" (ie, if your name is "Yang Wu", tell people it's "Jason Yang-Wu". People who natively speak Chinese will recognize "Yang-Wu" as a proper Chinese name written in a slightly weird American way, while Americans will subconsciously note the 2x2-syllable cadence and just figure that your dad's last name was "Yang" and your mother's last name was "Wu" (if they give the matter any thought at all). Hyphenated "last names" are increasingly common in the US.

I would not choose a first name and surname that rhymed.

Brilliant R20!

Love Hunter (despite that massive DB Biden) Love Jason

Totally agree on family-familiar

Can't believe that someone would recommend using 'Hunter'. Ignore, ignore. Hunter is a stupid name anyway.

Are you in the US as a grad student? So in your early twenties?

Top five names for boys born in the US in 2000 are Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, and Christopher.

Typical nicknames for those would be Jake, Mike, Matt, Josh, and Chris.

Yeah, good point. I'd choose something that was popular the year I was born (if you want a popular name).

Bruce Jenner chose Caitlyn, which was not a popular name back when Bruce was born. I thought that Bruce would choose a "B" name, like Brenda.

GenX here. I went to school with an Asain kid who choose "Alan" as his American name. I thought that name was dated (our father's were named Alan) but my friend became Alan, it suited him. I think Paul is a nice name that people recognize and can spell, keep Paul. You will be Paul and stand apart from others who seem to have the same names (Hunter, Tyler, Hayden, Bryden, Ryder . . .)

What about Doug? So masculine.

Dreux is more modern.

Thank you all for contributing to the discussion. I will keep Paul.

Stick to your own name, don't conform so much. It's not like you can hide who you are, and neither do you have to.

OP, go with Paulina

Dick is a classic masculine name. It's something you can sink your teeth in.

Go with Timothée and you can say your parents were trend setters.

Change your name to Mike Hunt. No one will never forget it and you'll be the life of the party.

Drew is a white trash name.

Very white trash.

It’s Andrew.

Instead of Paul or Hunter, I think I will change my name to Huntington.

How about Jinda Linda, OP?

Mug Costanza.

Sauce!

Willy Eichner.

Slut Bunwalla

Roy Suckaboo is old money.

How about Beverly Leslie?

"Drew" is tacky. Either call yourself Andrew or change your name.

Donna Chang

Oliver is always a cute name for an Asian.

Remy Rifkin

Tai-Pan

Bob... You can never go wrong with Bob. Everybody likes Bob

Paul is the much better name by far. It’s timeless and has no negative connotation. Everyone knows it’s the full name andhow to spell it. With Drew, you’ll get caught up in the Andrew, Andy, Drew confusion. Drew is also sometimes a female name. Some of the catty DLers will naturally call you Nancy Drew.

[quote] As a result, I've been contemplating whether to change my English name to "Drew", which rhymes with my Chinese last name.

Drew Hu?

Why would you want your first and last names to rhyme? That’s silly.

Drew is a working class/deplorable name. I don't think any upper class parents would name their kid Drew.

[quote]"Drew" is tacky. Either call yourself Andrew or change your name.

What about Andy? Is that a groovy name?

[quote]Some of the catty DLers will naturally call you Nancy Drew.

Who is the Nancy Drew?

Seven.

Soda.

Bill... Bill is a very cool name. Everyone I know named Bill is cool

Why would you want a name that rhymes?

Shallow might be appropriate OP.

^ Shallow Hal... I like it 🙂

Tom is a name of strength and dignity. Toms are very handsome and masculine

Brian.

John... Big bad John. John is a tough name that demands respect

I'm a Paul and I'm glad to see so many nice comments about it above! (Rare for DL.)

@r62, Dick... Big Dick, because 🙄

Scott.

Many English names are Saint's names, OP, and most names have a meaning attached to them. If you want to find an English name that suits your personality, look up the name in Butler's, or research all linguistic associations to that name.

To want an English first name merely because it rhymes with your Chinese last name is déclassé in the extreme. It's how American trailer trash might name their children.

^^^And anyway Andrew is not an English first name. Andrew is a Scottish first name.

John, because.... 😛

[quote]The Drews I knews were Andrews, so that was their nickname

Likewise. As far as pairings of English forenames with their common nicknames, you could do worse than Andrew/Drew.

In my experience, it's mostly older men who are called Drew (by close friends and Andrew by others.) The younger Andrews are all called Andrew.

Edward/Ed is another forename/nickname combination that works well I think. You might always call someone Edward but if you hear him called Ed it's not jarring (e.g., Robert/Bob, Charles/Chuck, John/Jack)

Paul is an solid name that doesn't seem old and doesn't seem new; and no negative connotations or unfortunate rhymes.

Why don't you just use your normal name instead of operating under the belief that English speakers are too dumb to pronounce your name?

Drew can go both ways...male and female name. I like it.

[quote]Oliver is always a cute name for an Asian.

?

R8

I think Paul is fine. Drew isn't an improvement. Especially a name like "Drew Chu." If you're still considering this, there are online lists of popular baby names by year that will tell you whether a name is common.

R70

Because unfortunately, they are. I've told people of Asian ancestry that I'm happy to use their Asian names. They aren't usually that hard and I studied Japanese so I know one East Asian language. But there are a lot of ignorant and lazy Westerners.

"Oliver is always a cute name for an Asian."

I'm NOT Asian!

Paul inspires confidence.

DLers obsession with names and generations are always baffling to me.

Paul is a perfectly fine name. It is common enough throughout the world because of St. Paul and European languages all have an equivalent - Paul, Paolo, Pablo, Paulus, etc. Everyone will know how to pronounce it will recognize it when they hear it.

That is about all you want.

[quote] I went to school with an Asian kid who choose "Alan" as his American name

Oh, that's nothing. I went to high school in the '90s and there were girls named Alice, Agnes, Iris, and Ethel in my school. It was like their parents found a retirement home in Boca to name their kids.

R78

I knew a Korean international student who chose "Lars." At first, I thought, "Interesting name his parents picked." Then I realized he had selected it as his "American" name. Anyway, it suited him.

R78

It can also be a class thing. It wasn't until I went to a fancy boarding school that I met anyone named "Martha." There were lots of Pamelas and Alices. There was an Agnes. There was even an Ethel although she used her middle name. Then there were the names that rich people make up that no one else has. As all these girls were nice and pretty I liked their names.

R76

It's a little dull. It's fine for OP to keep, but I'd never pick it.

R52

I went to boarding school with a boy named Drew. I think he's now a headmaster of another boarding school.

The most common names for Asians to take on are: Charlie, Mike, and Andy.

R50

If I heard that an Asian immigrant had a name like "Paul," I might wonder if he was Christian and his family had been exposed to missionaries and other Western Christian do-gooders.

This will give uyou some ideas, OP.

I’ve knew a Korean Methodist called Wesley

[quote]Why don't you just use your normal name instead of operating under the belief that English speakers are too dumb to pronounce your name?

R70 = Ming-Na Wen

^ Ho Lee Fuk 😳

I went to grad school with a married Chinese couple who chose names that they thought would help them with American pronunciation.

Not sure how effective it was because the names they picked were Ivan and Stella.

changing your name form one dull anglo-saxon name to another is idiocy.

Midwest American here. It has always made me sad that so many immigrant Asians believe they have to take a Western name. The super nice and accomplished woman who does clothing alterations here is "Kate." You should be able to have your name. Do Americans/Westerners who move to China, Japan, Korea, etc., take a different name? I highly doubt it.

If you're going to keep another name, stick with Paul. It is perfectly fine.

Know three guys named Drew. Each was born Andrew.

Drew is such a trashy name.

Do you people all wait tables in chain restaurants?

Germanicus

Why do Chinese and other Asian people try to have an English sounding name but not Indians who have even more tough names to pronounce ?

R95, I don’t know for sure but I would guess the extent of racism based on skin color has something to do with it. This guy who was visiting his son was reported to the police as “a skinny black man acting suspiciously” and was body slammed headfirst onto the concrete sidewalk and paralyzed and the officer who did it to him is now back on the force. Even though there’s also racism towards Indians in the US, the racism towards blacks is so extreme that it would probably cause many people to lean towards keeping an Indian name. “Police officer Eric Parker, accused of injuring Patel, was fired from the Madison Police Department and charged with third-degree assault. In March 2015, the FBI charged Parker with felony civil rights abuse, but he was later acquitted of all charges. Parker was reinstated into the force in 2016.“

R96

Oh, that's an interesting theory. As a Black person, I could never confuse dark-skinned South Asians with African Americans or African immigrants. They look so different. But I guess some folks don't see anything except brown skin.

I like Drew and I like Paul.

Reasons against "Drew": It is a unisex name (like Drew Barrymore), so you often have to clarify. Reasons against "Paul": I don't like the Beatles. No other reason.

Whether it's dated or not? I wouldn't care. You encounter pros and cons whether your name sounds GenZ or not. if you stand out, you have the advantage that people might remember your name - and you - better. (But if you were going for unique, you would probably just use your Chinese name.)

That list is quite interesting, R98. All the names at the top of that list used to be considered so old fashioned (like1800's old fashioned).

I knew a couple of chinese girls with Kitty as their western names. Like, Hello Kitty.

R91, it has to do with racism. My mom was Mexican American, she and all her siblings had Spanish sounding names they were baptized with, on the census when they were all small, every child had an American sounding version of their name. The parents must have done it, the kids were too young to change it themselves.

I used to think that was paranoid and crazy, then when my mom aged, she looked much more ethnic. When she was old and sick, she got treated like shit and ignored by every doctor. She died because no one could be bothered to refer her to a specialist. She could gave been given antibiotics and been completely cured. I look much whiter than her and have a white name, no one would have treated me like that. It was unbelievable. So don’t blame people for thinking they have to, racism is real.

A name that’s hard to spell is a hassle for its bearer.

I don't blame them at all, R101. I know that racism is real, it just makes me sad that they can't have their own names here. Your story is also sad. I'm an old white person, but I can safely say that old white people aren't dying off fast enough. I'm afraid we are going to see the effects of that in two weeks as well.

[quote] I can safely say that old white people aren't dying off fast enough

What a disgusting statement. And no, it's not "okay" to say because you're white.

It sounds like r103 needs to take a dose (or 100) of his own presciption for "old white people".

John PMBT, is that you?

[quote]Drew or Andrew is a more youthful name IMO.

"Youthful?" Not a single kid on any school campus I've ever worked on is named either of these. Don't do it, John!

Andrew Chu sounds even worse than "Drew Chu", which already sounds like a toddler with a speech impediment pointing at a train set.

Pierpont Paul and Drew aren’t very distinctive.

109 self correcting here. Pierpont.

Paul and Drew aren’t very distinctive.

[quote]This guy who was visiting his son was reported to the police as “a skinny black man acting suspiciously” and was body slammed headfirst onto the concrete sidewalk and paralyzed and the officer who did it to him is now back on the force.

And this has what to do with Kwan calling himself Ron?

Drew Liu/Hsu/Woo/Chu is a GREAT name OP!

You want him to call himself "Pierpont Chu", r109?

Do not do the Asian thing of taking English surnames or placenames as your forename. No Staffords, no Wesleys, no Carltons, etc, etc. It's the naming version of a McMansion.

David, Paul, Peter, Johnathan, etc.

Nobody good-looking is named "Drew." "Paul," OTOH,.....

Hey fellow Jen Zee here. Right now the big thing is the dark academia aesthetic. So I have a few suggestions: Oliver, Harry, Archie, Edward, Henry, Frank, Tobias, Vincent, Victor, Rowan, and Warren. I see these in books, tv shows, branding, etc. I keep seeing "Chu", so I assume that's your family name? Tobias Chu sounds very distinct and sophisticated.

More suggestions for names that sound "American", but probably still sound reasonable to Mandarin-speakers:

Jackson (or Jaxson, if you want to use a spelling that looks "edgy-young", at the cost of occasionally confusing anyone older than 40)

Lincoln (or Linkin, though the latter might compromise people's respect for you in a professional setting. I just can't imagine hiring a lawyer or accountant named "Linkin")

Shawn or Sean

Bo or Beau

----

Big, huge tip: don't pick a first name that rhymes with your last name, or involves anything like alliteration, puns, homonyms, or similar sounds. In Mandarin, it's cute and clever. In English, it'll just make people think your parents were assholes. In English, a "perfect" first + last name have sounds that are kind of "opposite" each other... or at least, the last syllables of your first and last names should be "opposite".

Examples of good names: Shawn Lee, Lincon Yang, Jaxson Chen

Marginal: Jackson Jin-Ma, Lincoln Lee.

Absolutely not: "Lou Lee", "Shawn Shan", "Jackson Jin"

Also, if you're planning to spend your life in the US, do some research to see how Chinese-Americans with a last name similar to yours commonly spell it. Because the ancestors of most Chinese-Americans came from Canton, the spellings they commonly use might look "antiquated", "old-fashioned", or even "provincial" to someone who grew up speaking Mandarin and using Pinyin romanization... but most Americans can pronounce them without a second thought. Guaranteed, if you use a Pinyin spelling that significantly deviates from the common American (probably Wade-Giles-derived) romanization, your name's pronunciation will get mangled by every single government official and restaurant employee you encounter for the rest of your life... even IF they happen to be Chinese-American (because they themselves have probably never really encountered "Chinese" names written with Pinyin spelling rules).

"Jaxson"??? r116

Oh, Honey. No.

Whoops, r116 here... after a little reflection, I think "Jackson Jin" falls into the middle (ok, with caution) category.

I'd say a name like "Lincoln Lin" is about as close as you'd ever dare to get to first and last names with related sounds. It's right on the razor's edge, but still manages to be OK (but barely).

No English surnames or place names as surnames! No "Lincoln"! That's a place and a surname. Stick to the solid men's first names if you want to be taken seriously. Not the McMansion ones.

^^^Correction to r119: No surnames or place names as FIRST names.

My go-tos in any situation are Neil & Bob.

Stuart and Clifford are destined to make a comeback.

R25 I thought he would choose a K name, like all of the women in his life had.

[quote]—Asians look ridiculous when they do this

So true.

[quote]"... but I can safely say that old white people aren't dying off fast enough"

R103 Consider leading by example, racist cunt.

[quote] Big, huge tip: don't pick a first name that rhymes with your last name, or involves anything like alliteration, puns, homonyms, or similar sounds. In Mandarin, it's cute and clever. In English, it'll just make people think your parents were assholes. In English, a "perfect" first + last name have sounds that are kind of "opposite" each other... or at least, the last syllables of your first and last names should be "opposite".

What R6 said, absolutely. I would also like to add: Look into the meanings of the names - maybe there is one that speaks to you.

Just don't pick Kevin or Jason.

If they're intended to stay a while, I rather think non-primary english speakers should consider antiquated anglicized names. While not particularly hip and likely to be given a nickname, the psych of it works in their favor in the long run....

for example:

Abner

Archibald

Bastian

Bernard

Booker

Byron

Calvin

Chester

Clancy

Clarence

Clinton

Clive

Dudley

Duke

Emmett

Ernest

Ezekiel

Ezra

Franklin

Garfield

Gideon

Gordon

Grady

Harold

Harvey

Herman

Holden

Horace

Howard

Humphrey

Ike

Irving

Josiah

Lorne

Luther

Milton

Montgomery

Orson

Oswald

Otis

Percival

Preston

Quincy

Reuben

Roman

Roscoe

Rufus

Saul

Stanley

Terrence

Theodore

Vernon

Vincent

Wallace

Woodrow

Zachariah

Adolf is easy to remember.

Completely ignore R129, OP.

NO ONE wants to fuck an Abner.

Have you visited St PAUL'S Cathedral lately? Listened to any of SIR PAUL McCartney's music?

Some things never date. Not liking your name because few people are using it is a sad comment on the mentality of Gen Z.

It's a good

Mircopenis.

r130 Adolfo is more passable

sorry for the r129 length, folks...

r131 you had an instant reaction to Abner... as non sexy but it's benefits extend beyond. One might not want to fuck an Abner but if Abner might have other assets to his name.

hoosing something that seems quaint, maybe even old fashion and well, religious christian... it plays off on multiple levels to the American pscyhe - namely it leans into whiteness.

Jude

[quote] Nobody good-looking is named "Drew."

Ahem.

[quote] NO ONE wants to fuck an Abner.

Ahem.

For those of you taking offense at my statement that old white people aren't dying off fast enough, take a good look at the attendees of a Trump rally and get back to me. I'm not stating that ALL old white people are problems, but I am stating that a majority of the problematic people in this country are, indeed, old white people.

When my husband was in grad school in the ‘90s I worked at the international admissions office (he got free tuition if his spouse was employed at the school), and we has so many Chinese applicants who had given themselves the name ‘Chase’.

"Drew" is douchey as hell. "Paul" is classic and timeless.

Please, for the love of god, ignore R116. I hope that's a parody post.

[quote] I'd say a name like "Lincoln Lin" is about as close as you'd ever dare to get to first and last names with related sounds. It's right on the razor's edge, but still manages to be OK (but barely).

What about Lucy Liu?

[quote] Guaranteed, if you use a Pinyin spelling that significantly deviates from the common American (probably Wade-Giles-derived) romanization, your name's pronunciation will get mangled by every single government official and restaurant employee you encounter for the rest of your life... even IF they happen to be Chinese-American (because they themselves have probably never really encountered "Chinese" names written with Pinyin spelling rules).

Can you give an example of this? How is it mispronounced in relation to the spelling?

I totally understand why you want to use an English name and applaud you for trying to fit in with the 'locals'.

Paul's cool. Stick with it.

r144:

"Wong“ vs "Huang"

"Chang" vs "Zhang"

"Chao" vs "Zhao"

I'm (just barely) old enough to remember *wholesale* confusion when lots of people from Vietnam appeared in the US with last names like "Ng" that literally *nobody* (Asian or otherwise) in could intuitively pronounce until someone told them it was just a weird French-influenced spelling of the "Chinese" last name "Winn" (or "Wen").

Blame the French for *totally* fucking up the Romanization of Vietnamese & making it even more incomprehensible to Americans than Pinyin for Mandarin ;-D

My go to fake name is Brad.

Drew as the short form of Andrew is akin to Topher as the short form of Christopher, and equally dumb sounding.

"Wong“ vs "Huang"

These are actually different though. One is King, one is yellow. I think Wong and Wang is the same. “Ang” is pronounced “ong” so Wang is pronounced Wong. Chang should really be pronounced Zhong.

I like Francie.

This is HILARIOUS, mainly because the OP MADE HIS DECISION at R29, and hasn't been back, yet fools keep telling him what he should do...

R151

It's an interesting discussion. You could always move to another thread.

Drew is a little bit douche-y and an especially bad choice for an Asian looking for an Americanized name because people may think he didn’t realize it’s (usually) a nickname. Also, if any Americans already know him as Paul, changing his name will look weak and immature.

Paul is a good name. Classic, people can spell it, and not overused. I think if you are Asian and looking for an American name you want something that may communicate, “I’m doing this for you, not for me. I already know who I am.” And Paul does that, while also being a perfectly nice name. Anything even slightly trendy has the potential to become dated and makes you look insecure. Also, if you are still reading this, OP, trendy popular names are often looked on by Americans from families that have been successful for a while as tacky. Not always, and sometimes these people chose unusual names because they can. But that’s not what you want. You don’t want a popular, trendy name. You want the opposite. I know this has been implied in this thread, but I don’t think it has been explicitly stated.

Now, if you are going into some kind of creative field, maybe you go with something really out there and distinctive. But if you are in the US to study engineering or get an MBA, stick with Paul. You made a good choice.