<p>Have her look at name books to find out any unthought of meanings to them, go with a standard name, it could be unusual but will have history behind it. A made up name will sound contrived- Dreanna makes me immediately think of dreary, have her avoid any names people mispronounce or misspell the first time they see it. I personally will mispronounce a lot of British Isles names, I see no phonetic logic and don’t feel at all apologetic about not knowing how to say Siobahn the way they do there.</p>
<p>I would encourage her to keep her Vietnamese name, especially in CA, she will see a lot of others from Asia, including Vietnam. If she must, Deanna has a nice ring to it. Warn her that an American first name will alert people she meets that she probably is adopted, most people will never learn her middle name. She may also want to reidentify with her heritage when she is older. </p>
<p>Why not make her wait to change her name until she is 18 and can do it on her own- after she experiences the cultural richness of CA?</p>
<p>I’m a European mix married to an Indian (not native American…). We have many SE Asians around here, mostly Hmong, the locals have gotten used to nonEuropean names.</p>
<p>1.) Personally, I don’t really like names that appear to be more common names (Diane) spelled differently to appear interesting, but we all have our irrational prejudices.</p>
<p>2.) I like Deanna best of the 3. I like Deann least because I find it hard to pronounce. I would read it to be pronounced ‘Deen’. Dreanne sounds to me a made up name, like it was formed from the dad, Andre, and the mom, Anne, and I would pronounce it like lspf72 says, ‘Dray-ann’.</p>
<p>3.) Don’t think it matters at all. People can have perceptions of a particular name for all kinds of reasons and you can’t really control for that. They will change over time and from person to person. To me, none of them are really associated in my mind with the things you mention anyway. </p>
<p>4.) I am Ukrainian. I have also lived in France, but have lived in the US most of my life. I don’t know how it has affected my perception of the name. To me, a lot of American names seem strange because it is not so common to see invented names or spellings in the other countries I am familiar with. I don’t think it is strange with her ethnicity. I think a lot of people from Hong Kong and places like that take an American name in addition to their Chinese one, so it wouldn’t be too uncommon.</p>
<p>5.) Is she wanting something that sounds like her Vietnamese name?</p>
<p>Dreanne sounds African American to me too. Not a negative, but it does fit in with the common African American practice of making up new names.</p>
<p>Deanne or Deanna or other variants reminds me too much of Counselor Troi on Stark Trek: The Next Generation (“Captain, I sense a million men staring at my cleavage”).</p>
<p>Whatever name she chooses I recommend that it pass what my wife calls The Secretary of State test. In order to keep your daughter from being dismissed or not taken seriously as she begins her career, you need to give her a dignified name that would sound good on a Secretary of State. Queen names work very well for this: Elizabeth, Victoria, Anne, Mary, etc. It doesn’t <em>have</em> to be quite that dignified, but what you really want to avoid are names that are too cutsie or sound too childish or too much like a stripper: “Bambi” and the like.</p>
<p>I think Deanna is fine if that’s the compromise that gives your D something close to her first choice. She may have to repeat it and remind people, but it’s not any more of a challenge in regard to Diana than the name Diane would be and people seem to live with that. And it sounds “American” enough. Welcome to CC, btw.</p>
<p>I like Deanna best of the three. People will constantly be mispronouncing the other two, and that will get old. (Dreanne will come out as “dreen” or “drain,” deann/deanne will be “dean”). BTW, my m-i-l was “Dean” and often mistaken for male. Sometimes she was called Deana (two syllables–dean-a). Even Deanna will probably be read as “Dean-a” sometimes.</p>
<p>My impression of “Dreanne” is that it looks like a mistake. (Personally, I like classic/traditional names like Catherine or Elizabeth. Imagine if your D becomes a doctor, judge, president, or queen. I can’t picture “Tiffany” as a surgeon for some reason. My D’s have names that can be taken seriously in any profession–I don’t like “fluffy” names).</p>
<p>I agree that now is a great time to start using a new name. Good luck. Maybe she should look at some baby name websites/books. She may find something she likes better. What about Dana? Or Daria?</p>
<p>D. Giang … sounds perfectly nice to me - she can be called DEE - or Dreanne - or Dreanna - or what ever name she really wants to be.</p>
<p>It is unusual for kids to be able to choose their own name - I would certainly give her the benefit of the doubt to choose what she wishes to be called - as long as you are considering this name change now - and it does seem like a great time for her to do so - being as she will be changing schools/areas where she will be a new entitity :)</p>
<p>My son has a very unusual name - have never met another with his name - and he used to hate it - til he reached mid-teens - then he loved having that differnt name that people took notice of. It fits him perfectly these days - as does my gals name as well - unusual for a young gal.</p>
<p>Ones name gives identity to ones self - but does not the person make. Allow her the freedom to make this choice - as she will be the one to live with it. May take some getting used to - but it will all fall into place easily once the decision is made.</p>
<p>I second Marite. Adriana (or Adrianna, though I prefer one N) and dreanne(a) or Dree could be nicknames, but she would have a lovely name for formal occasions and that she might grow into when her tastes mature, D hs friend named Adriana (was Val.; is at Williams.) Nick name in schook was Adge (for close friends) but people called her Adriana as well (pronounced Aye-dre-anna.)
D now has friend at Barnard named Adriana pronounced Ah-dre-ahna. I prefer first version; easier to say.</p>
<p>Deanna is the name of an NFL quarterback’s wife (white) with a good reputation, I have also heard it elsewhere, it is not a madeup name. A nickname is a great idea for the new location, the best part is that it is easily changed in the future.</p>
<p>^^No, Deanna is not a made up name, but Dreanne is, or at least is sounds made up to me. Never met a Dreanne. That r will be trouble. I strongly recommend leaving it out.</p>
<p>I can’t seem to get past reading Dreanne and saying “Dreen” in my mind. It looks and sounds really odd to my ears. I think the best suggestions so far are to recommend some variation of Adriana, which can then be nicknamed to “Dree-anne” if that’s what she wants.</p>
<p>Many of us were born/named names that we really don’t like - and have been able to accomodate who we are by being called by a nickname - my ‘real’ name is not me - but my ‘nickname’ certainly identifies me and more of who I am.</p>
<p>That said - this is a child who may well be very comfortable with the name Dreanne - could be called Dreanne - Drea - Dee - whatever - but she will essentially control what she is called/identified as. For some reason - she identifies with this name - and I guess what I am saying is - this needs to be respected. Many of us did not have that choice - we are called what our parents chose - like it or not. This gal has the choice we have not had.</p>
<p>I personally would make that a huge part of this consideration - what she wants for her ‘american’ name - be it different - or not - (her present name is already different) - one tends to demand the respect of correct spelling and pronounciation when ones name is different. Just google the name DREANNE and you will see it is not made-up - but actually has a very nice ring to it - and in the professional world - is quite acceptable :)</p>
<p>I agree with the OP about the name Dreanne. It does sound a lot like a stripper name. (But again, that could be a Vegas thing - I live in LV too). </p>
<p>If your daughter is really insistant on being called Dreanne, suggest changing her name to Adrianne/Adrienne/whatever spelling you like. That way, she has something a little bit more formal to use on official documents and college apps, but can go by Drianne for short.</p>
<p>Or, if she really likes names that end with “ann”, that are still unique, I knew a girl named Lianna. It’s not too common, but still sounds really pretty.</p>