<p>Dreanne doesn’t sound “ghetto” or of any certain race to me really, I just find it kind of unattractive personally for some reason. If she is choosing it herself, I suppose that’s not such a big deal, as she likes it. However I’d encourage her to look down the road. It may sound cool now, but I feel like it sounds a little “young” to me…I don’t know. Truthfully there are a LOT worse names, so either way you’re not in terrible shape. There will probably be some pronounciation problems, though. I was honestly a bit confused at first. I thought Dree-Anne with a long “e” not a short “e” for some reason. Also it’s relatively unlike her current name, which will be a hard adjustment for the family. </p>
<p>I would go with something like what her names sounds like now, to avoid confusion. However if she doesn’t like those sounds, then she doesn’t like them I guess. I’m not sure how you pronounce it or if there’s anything like it. Also her “legal” American name can be nicknamed like that to anything. For example Andrea (nicknamed “Drea”). There is also Ariadne (Ar-ee-ad-ne). Sandra. Brianna. Bryony. Lee Ann. Sienna. Sierra/Ciara. Susannah. Sarah. Ariana. </p>
<p>People also nickname by combining parts of two names (first and middle, if she could have a third name). For example to get Dreanna, personally I would go with Deirdre Anna. I LOVE Deirdre (pronounced Deer-druh). I think it is prettier than Dreanna personally but she could say that is a nickname combination of her first and middle name…and when she gets older if the novelty of that name wears off she could go by Deirdre or Anna. </p>
<p>If we’re just throwing out random suggestions of what we like though (lol I love names), my favorite names currently are: Isla (EYE-la, could be big pronounciation problems though but I loooove it), Julia, Simone, Laila, Kalia (Call-ee-uh - Haiwaiian I think for beatiful…LOVE IT), Aviva (hebrew, spring). There are definite sounds I come back to, and she prob doesn’t like those The names in the second paragraph she might, and I think it’s reasonable you might have some input/room for discussion with her, but like I said, if she is firm with Dreanne, that isn’t really so bad. It doesn’t sound silly or anything really. Respectable choice.</p>
<p>I can’t believe I read to page 6 before anyone objected to the tenor of the original question. My mouth dropped open when I read that the OP (Monica?) considers certain names “working-class”, “office girl” or “ghetto”, or even that these classist/racist opinions would get a sober hearing from the cc crowd. A distinct and nasty odor is wafting through this thread, ewww, methinks it stinks.</p>
<p>Further, Monica, what stronger inducement would a teenage girl have for choosing a unique name than to have her mother condemn said name as “ghetto”? If she has half the spirit of most teen girls, she’d have that name plastered on all her tshirts.</p>
<p>But the most interesting comment came from someone who calls him/herself coureur:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Coureur – not sure if it escaped notice, but the current Secretary of State’s name is Condoleezza (which is a misspelling/variation on the Italian musical term con dolcezza). Quite a creative name that some folks might call “ghetto”, wouldn’t you say, coureur? And the nickname is Condi (like your “Bambi” or “Barbie”, rather cute). I would submit to you that it hasn’t hampered Secretary Rice’s career, before her appointment Secretary Rice was professor and Provost at Stanford.</p>
<p>Prior to Secretary Rice, we have had Secretaries of State named (along with the usual James, John, and William of course):</p>
<p>Colin (non-standard British spelling)
Madeleine (as in the French pastry)
Warren
Edmund
Cyrus
Dean
Christian
Cordell
Bainbridge
Philander (!!)
Elihu (2 – under US Grant and Teddy Roosevelt)
Martin
Abel
Jeremiah
Hamilton (as a first name)</p>
<p>But my favorite is Lawrence Eagleburger, who liked his name so much he named 3 of his sons Lawrence Eagleburger (yes, 3 siblings with the same name).</p>
<p>Her daughter could pick the name Condoleeza Philander. (Yuck!) Or how about Cyrusette?</p>
<p>Being serious again, I understand why the OP herself is concerned about the impact of a name; that’s what parents do. I agree with others that her daughter should choose her own name. I do feel, however, that the move to CA is rushing things, making the daughter choose before she has had the time to try out her choice. In the nine months I was pregnant, I changed my mind many times about what names I liked – some of my first choices make my skin crawl now. </p>
<p>The best part of this name change story is that the OP’s daughter is keeping her Vietnamese name as a middle name. If the OP hadn’t said that, I would have been lobbying to keep it. Too many children and teenagers want to jettison their names with the hope that they can be perceived anew, although it doesn’t happen quite that neatly. (OP: you should have a talk with your daughter about this.) It would be a shame to lose the identity “tag” she still holds from her Vietnamese heritage, especially since I gather from what the OP has said that she doesn’t have the culture to go with it. If she decides later in life that she was silly to give up such a wonderful name, then she can always start using her middle, or original, name.</p>
<p>One last note about the importance of names: perceptions of her new name will soon mold around who <em>she</em> is. For example, her best friends may one day consider naming their own daughters Dreanne because of how much they loved her. (I named my own daughter using two names of childhood acquaintances whom I admired; it wasn’t a conscious choice, but I realized later that I had done this.)</p>
<p>I tend to think that moving is the perfect time to “try out” another name, but not necessarily change it legally. She may decide that she hates it after hearing it for 6 weeks! There may be a problem with it (i.e., the Law of Unintended Consequences) that she doesn’t like - nicknames coming out from mispronounciations or such. It may sound too much like someone else’s name. </p>
<p>She can always have it changed legally later on.</p>
<p>Ah true…but this is “college” confidential. If she changes her name legally, she should do so early in the high school years so that standardized tests (like the SAT/PSAT/ACT), her transcript, and whatever else she may need in the college application process (oh…gee that would include SS card, drivers license and tax returns) MATCHES the name she puts on her college applications.</p>
<p>I actually like the name Condoleeza; but not Dreanne. Nothing to do with possible “ghetto” associations, but a matter of euphony or lack thereof. </p>
<p>Since Giang sounds like either zahng or yang depending on regional pronunciation, some other possible names might be Jan or Janna or Janine. I know some people who are known by nicknames. It’s a rampant practice among WASPS. Bunny. Muffy, and so on. Obviously, these are totally unofficial and do not involve official name changes. The girl could ask to be called by her chosen nickname and make a decision as to whether to legalize the practice later. By the way, I know someone who graduated from college as a he, decided to become a she when entering grad school and decided to go back to being a he again upon finishing grad school. Not only did this gender bending necessitate a change of pronouns, but s/he changed his/her name each time!</p>
<p>It certainly is not fair that children (or anyone!) are judged by their names. But the truth is that we <em>do</em> get certain impressions of people based on their names. This is one of the reasons why naming a child is such a big deal.</p>
<p>Moving or not, I STILL think it would be smart to wait-- at least until HS graduation, moving on to college or work, etc.</p>
<p>At 18, the OP’s daughter will likely have completely different names in mind than she does now. She may even decide to keep the name she already has. She just seems young to be making this decision.</p>
<p>I was born on Easter and was called “Bunny” for 13 years until I put a stop to it. (Rude boys <em>IN THE SCHOOL IN THE NEW CITY I MOVED TO</em> teased me about it mercilessly, since I bore zero resemblance to a Playboy Bunny, ha, and they couldn’t keep themselves from pointing this out loudly and tauntingly.)</p>
<p>Which brings me to my other points. </p>
<p>If the OP’s D is just entering high school, that means she’s probably around 14 years old. As someone else mentioned above, most teens do a lot of growing and changing from 14 to 18. If I’d picked a forever-name for myself at 14, I likely would have been horrified by it at 18. While moving is a good time to start fresh, age 14 might not be the best time to make a legal name change. And at that age, kids can be merciless: if she chooses an odd name like Dreanne that no one’s ever heard of and can’t easily figure out how to pronounce, she may get more attention than she prefers in the form of teasing. Just a thought…</p>
<p>What an interesting thread! Though I swore not to post while on vacation, I just cannot resist! I looooove the name Giang…what a perfectly beautiful name! I believe this was suggested before, but why not keep it, but use a shorten version, Gia, (with slight pronunciation twist) for daily use? I have a fairly common Irish first name that is shortened in a variety of ways, depending on who is doing the shortening - family or friend. I’m never called by the long version of my given name, so I know this will work. I don’t know if she would consider Gia “American” enough, but what is American really? The Betty, Cathy and Sue days are pretty much over imho.</p>
<p>(Also, love the name Johanna, pronounced Yohaunna. Thought I’d throw that one out there since it has a similar play on sounds as Dreanne or Dreanna. I’m not crazy about Dreanne because, and for those who are not similarly obsessed with history this WILL sound weird, the first letters remind of the HMS Dreadnaught…lol!)</p>
<p>Right, and I admire Ms. Rice for rising to her high office despite being burdened by such a uh, “creative” name. And the term “Secretary of State test” is merely my term for choosing a dignified-sounding name and functions as a stand-in job title for any high position.</p>
<p>The sad truth is that names play a significant role in the in the opinions that other form about us. They probably even play a role in how we think of ourselves. Which is why the choices are important.</p>
<p>Another sad truth is that in the work place women often face a greater hurdle than men in being taken seriously. Far too many people (nearly always men) are regularly dismissive of the opinions and ideas of women – regarding them as lightweight or childish. To the extent the woman’s own name either feeds this stereotype or dispels it is a point worth considering.</p>
<p>I doubt WASPs are the only people who use nicknames. Muffy?? Sounds like someone took a quote from the “Preppy Handbook” that came out about 25 years ago.</p>
<p>We know a couple families (non WASP) who call their cute little daughters Bunny, though.</p>
<p>I wasn’t clear.<br>
Nicknames of course are rampant. I consider Sue or Jim or Bill nicknames. But Sue, Jim, Bill, Bob and Tom are short forms of regular names; and they don’t sound the same or carry the same connotations as Bunny, Muffy and Corky, especially for those who see 50 only in the rearview mirror. The Bunny I know is well over 80 and Muffy won’t see 60 again. As won’t Corky. The Preppy Handbook probably prevented more people from being given such nicknames–it was such a parody.</p>
<p>EDIT: another consideration: word associations.
Some kids I know got called Justin Time and Lucas Mucus. I can see a potential Dreanne being called Dreary Dreen or Dreary Drain.</p>
<p>State your case using specific examples, coureur. I don’t buy this argument – seems based on a low form of stereotyping, not just of women, but of men.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Can it be true that “far too many people (nearly always men)” would, in year 2007, maintain Neanderthal hierarchies like this? Or perhaps you were describing only yourself and and your attitudes?</p>
<p>A few years ago, Harvard Law School had a student named Bright Yellow. And of course, the College had Rivers Cuomo.</p>
<p>My S has had Kayla, Kaylie, Ariel, Aidan.</p>
<p>I would disagree that Christian, Claire, Ruthie (short for Ruth) Lilly, Leo, Laurel, Annabel are “non-traditional.”
Someone mentioned recently that you know roughly when a Jennifer was born. Names come in and out of fashion.</p>
but I loooove it), Julia, Simone, Laila, Kalia (Call-ee-uh - Haiwaiian I think for beatiful…LOVE IT), Aviva (hebrew, spring). There are definite sounds I come back to, and she prob doesn’t like those 
The names in the second paragraph she might, and I think it’s reasonable you might have some input/room for discussion with her, but like I said, if she is firm with Dreanne, that isn’t really so bad. It doesn’t sound silly or anything really. Respectable choice.</p>