The daughter and the Name (your opinions please!)

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I have been CC lurker for the past few years, mostly due to older daughter’s high school process…Quite a community you have here!
Anyways, I have an interesting question. Our (younger) daughter is adopted from Vietnam and wants to try to change her name as she still has the name that was given to her by the adoption agency. She is entering high school and has decided that she would rather have her vietnamese name as her middle name, and choose an “american” name as her first. She has always thought about this but I told her that if she wants to do it she should do it NOW, since we are moving from Nevada to California and she will be encountering new people and it would be a perfect time to use her new name. </p>

<p>The question here is what name should she use. Her name now is Giang But for her new first name she wants to be called Dreanne, two syllables, ends with “ann”.The beggining sounds like dream. The thing is, I feel as though it sounds “ghetto” or a little rough. My older daughter even made a remark that it sounds like a porn star (shudders). We are currently living in Las Vegas due to our jobs in Hotel management, and we feel the las Vegas influence is affecting our daughter’s name choice. There are some people in her school who have very strange names which make people prejudge them as poor or rude, and as it turns out, actually do come from broken families.</p>

<p>At this point I am suggesting the name Deanna, or DeAnn. She does not want a name like Sara or michelle or Linda. She is open to suggestions and I am open to opinions. Hubby and I have fought long and hard and we want to put an end to this ;-)</p>

<p>1.)What do you picture when you hear a name like dreanne (w/ or w/o the E), Deanna, or Deann? </p>

<p>2.) Which of the three do you prefer and why?</p>

<p>3.) Does it sound like a working class girl, an office girl, basically how will it affect her career and how people think about her in the workplace and as a professional which she aspires to be</p>

<p>4.) What is your ethnicity and how do you think that affects your perception of this name and what would that name sound wierd with her ethnicity?</p>

<p>5.) Any other names you would recommend? No vietnamese names here as that will be her middle name. </p>

<p>6.)Any other comments?</p>

<p>Thank you so much. All the other names my daughter has come up with are very “Local” and I don’t think will work in CA or when she becomes a young woman. We are worried it might sound too “cute.” She wants a rough sounding name for some reason (shrug) but maybe it’s just a teenager phase. </p>

<p>Monica</p>

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<p>Heh…Diane? or does the spelling really matter for the ending…</p>

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<p>She also like Deann, (dee-ann) but is afriad people will confuse her with the ever-so-popular Diana.</p>

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<p>Honestly, a name on paper doesn’t mean alot. A name with a face means more. If your daughter’s personality is such that you have nothing to worry about, then I wouldn’t worry about it. Does that make sense? For instance, if I met an 18 year old whose name was “Mabel” (no offense to any Mabel’s out there!) I might think briefly, hmm…funny name for a young person, but the person she IS is what I’d remember, not that her name wasn’t quite right. </p>

<p>I don’t think that name is too off base. She may be looking for something unique - some kids like to stand out in one way or another. Does the name have some special meaning to her? I guess it’s somewhat her choice, but what you can do is offer the advice (more than once if the opportunity arises) to remind her to choose a name she will be comfortable with when she is 20, 50 or 80 years old!</p>

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<p>I think Deanna is the best of the choices. No capital letter on the A.
It’s pretty!
I don’t think the name Deanna would affect her career any which way.
How many Jennifers, Meghans, Courtneys, etc. etc. do we now see who are very successful? Lots!
German-Swedish-Polish.
The name is fine with her ethnicity.
America is all about self-invention, after all.
The main thing is that she is happy with her name.
Best of luck to Deanna!</p>

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<p>I have a friend named Darianne, which I love. She is very successful too!</p>

<p>Sorry but Dreanne/Deann is not my cup of tea.</p>

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<p>How about Dina?</p>

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<p>1.) I don’t picture anything - a “disembodied” name is not particularly meaningful to me. </p>

<p>2.) I prefer Deanna, because it is the only one of the three that I’ve heard before. I like well-established names (actually, even Deanna is not well-enough established for me).</p>

<p>3.) I don’t think her name will have much influence on her career.</p>

<p>4.) I’m Irish-American. I have known many Chinese people working here as scientists, and it is quite common for them to adopt an American name that sounds similar to their Chinese (first) name.</p>

<p>5.) I love the name Grace. </p>

<p>6.) My preference is for classic names. Both of my sons have names that appear in the Bible, although I am no longer religious.</p>

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<p>Would she care for the name Brianna? It sounds almost like Dreanne but without the connotations. Another variation is Briony.</p>

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<p>what do you picture when you think of the name Dreanne? it terms of personality, character, ethnicity. Positive or negative</p>

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<p>I agree with the other posters. If she likes Deanna (no capitalized A), then I’d say that’s the best choice. It’s not too common, but it’s still an accepted name. I’m not a big fan of the other name options. They do have that “stripper”-ish feel to them. I think Deanna would translate well in any circumstance, whereas I don’t think Dreanne or the others necessarily would.</p>

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<p>Dreanne sounds black in ethnicity to me. No negative connotations. I don’t think of strippers. </p>

<p>The only Deanna I know is a perky blonde young lady, so that’s what I think of when I hear that name.</p>

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<p>I guess I picture a typo when I read Dreanne, like somehow an “r” got thrown in there by mistake. Or I picture parents who couldn’t decide between two names and so they merged them. I also want to start say Doctor when I first see the name because of the Dr in the beginning. </p>

<p>It is creative, and heck, she could always change it again when going off to college. (I switched from using my middle name to my first name when I left for college. It was easy. It’s another natural transition.) If this is a way for her to claim her own identity and she is really in love with the name, let her have it. (I don’t picture a porn star or anything really detrimental to a young woman when I see the name.)</p>

<p>P.S. Another thing I just noticed, I want to say Dreanne as one syllable, rhyming with dream.</p>

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<p>If she wants a more “American” name, it seems like she should pick one that’s slightly more common in America than Dreanne, which I’ve never heard of. I think Brianna or Deanna are close to what she likes and more “American” sounding, which seems to be what she’s looking for. Otherwise why not keep her given name? I know teens want to fit in, but some day she may be proud of her heritage. </p>

<p>(I think you might be right about the Vegas influence… Vegas is not exactly mainstream America. Dreanne does have a “street” edge to it).</p>

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<p>Dreanne doesn’t sound right and it would be a nightmare for constant misspelling by others. Deanne is nice, and uncommon, but Deanna does sound softer. </p>

<p>Darianne is pretty, but seems like it should have a family story behind it. I have a cousin named Daria and I’ve always liked that name too.</p>

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<p>One last question before I log off…</p>

<p>What about Dreanna? Dreanne with an A? I fear it sounds to “cute” and not like a professional young lady.</p>

<p>thanks!! keep the opinions coming! any other name suggestions also?</p>

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<p>When I first read the name, Dreanne didn’t suggest any ethnicity to me, but then when you mentioned “ghetto” I started to think of the name as starting with “dray” like Dr. Dre and then Anne. So yeah, I agree with you that it sort of has an ethnic sound. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) I just think Dreanne is asking for a lifetime of mispronounciation and misspelling of your name.</p>

<p>Same problem with Dreanna. Gotta lose the R.</p>

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<p>where’d she come up with dreanne? just curious. leigh-anne is similar to dreanne and (to me at least–upper middle class 18 yr old from the midwest) might have more of the connotation you’re looking for. </p>

<p>she also might want to consider nicknames that would go with dreanne or something that would sound cool with her vietnamese name.</p>

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<p>Another thing to consider is whether or not people are apt to pronounce the name correctly. Remember back in elementary school, whenever there was a new teacher or substitute, there was always some poor kid whose name the teacher would mispronounce? When I see Dreanne in print, I might be just as apt to pronounce it “dray” like Dr. Dre, instead of “dree” as in dream, like you explained.</p>

<p>I don’t really get any impression out of it, good or bad. Even though you are moving, it’s a shame to feel rushed into making a big decision like this. If she is unsure, you could always wait until she’s ready for another big change (college).</p>

<p>FWIW, our younger son just hates his middle name, and says he’s going to change it when he’s 18. It’s up to him.
Good luck</p>

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<p>doesn’t Giang mean “river” in vietnamese? What about a name that has same meaning, but an American version?</p>