 What do I get if I keep my Chinese name of Xinyuan? And then what do I get if I just change my name to an English name? Oh, well, it looks like the pros outweigh the cons. This TikToker changed her Chinese name to an English name and she said her life got better instantly. David, are we surprised and should more people follow suit? This is the discussion going on. Yeah, I would actually call it more of a debate. There's this TikToker and I actually seen her from other viral TikToks when she was talking about PhD to ABG. And I would say she said her name was Xinyuan, which was a Chinese Mandarin name, right? And she changed her name to Sage recently and everything in her life went boosting way up, way more job offers. People at her current job are treating her better, way more dating matches on hinge and other apps like that. And this sparked Andrew a big debate because some people said, you go girl, you do what you gotta do to fit into this country. And other people said, you're selling your heritage out. You're selling out thousands of years that your ancestors given in the Western dominance. And of course, a bunch of opinions in between. We're gonna get into our takeaways, the comments section. So make sure you like, subscribe and turn on your notifications. Andrew, this seems like a trivial thing, but like we said, Andrew, people like taking these little things involving TikTokers, but the comments section goes macro. All right guys, my initial thoughts before we get into the juicy comments section is that I guess it really depends on how you see life. You see life as a battleground and that there we're in a cultural tug of war. When we get here as immigrants or immigrant children where you're like, I have to assert my culture. I have to represent my culture. I have to let people know and like, you know, push it on people. Or if you're just like, I just wanna live the best life that I can, man. I just wanna go with the flow. Right, cause you're saying if you wanna live the best life possible, immediately, conveniently, it would be to take an Anglo name in America, right? And then you're saying if you're more trying to plan a flag, be like a game changer, shift the matrix, then you would keep your Asian name, represent your Asian culture, be a celebrity, and shape people's minds. Yeah, well, you know, people are all gonna do this like pros and cons list of like, what do I get if I keep my Chinese name of Xinyan and then what do I get if I just change my name to an English name? Oh, well, it looks like the pros outweigh the cons. You know what I mean? And everybody has a different calculus, right? For some people giving up their name, that's like their heart. And they can't give up their heart. Let's get in the comments section, guys. It gets all into the weeds of it. Somebody said, well, to be fair, white people are terrible with non-Anglo names. Maybe in New York, LA, or SF, they had at least call you Xing. Instead of Xing Yuan, the X's would be confusing, but let's be honest, Americans struggle with French names, unless it's Timothy Chalamet. They're only good with German, sort of Spanish last names. But yeah, even other white people like Polish people or Russian people gotta Anglicized their names to fit in in the early 1900s. No, I'll tell you this. Not all Asian names are created equal. And just because you are Asian doesn't mean you're automatically good at pronouncing other Asian names. You mean outside of your own heritage, right? I'm not gonna lie. Some of the Korean movie star names, they're a little bit hard. It took me like, it took me like 10 minutes to fit, like to Park So-Joon. So you, this is an argument for like, adopting Anglo-Saxon norms so we can all operate under the same shared umbrella culture in America, right? Or North America. Again, it also matters like, how much of the culture you think you bear in other ways? Like we were born with English names. Now you might be open to changing it to your Chinese name. If you felt like that would benefit you enough or if it was gonna make life more interesting, right? I had thought about it. I had thought about changing my name from David to D1 or D1. Right, right, right. But also, yeah, I mean, you know, it just matters on like, if you feel like you do a lot for the culture otherwise then maybe you don't have to change your name. And it depends on your own individual capacities, right? Cause some people are like, well, you know, I just kind of feel like a Cooper. I don't really know anything about my character. So if I have the name Cooper then people will know that I am American. I like ribs, I like baseball. Somebody said Arabs and Indians don't whitewash their names. East Asians need to take notice. Is this true? This is really interesting because a lot of the Indian people I know who are very, very Americanized and born and raised in America, they kept their full on Indian names. And their names can be long and kind of hard to say. They'll be like, yes, dude, my name's Namesh. You wanna hit this joint? Yeah. Like the super Americanized, right? Yeah, yeah. But I think that obviously religion has a big part to play into why a lot of them keep their names. But also like, I guess what can we learn from them? Like because I guess a lot of them, they seem to be accepted in America and but they keep their ethnic names. I notice Japanese are more likely to keep their names too. Not for sure, but I'm just saying like more than Chinese are. Yeah. Because I think Japanese names, to be honest, are easier to pronounce. I think they're cooler, they're more accepted. Also like for a lot of Koreans and even Chinese, a lot of their names did come from biblical names, whether or not their families were super religious. Well, Arabs and Indian people typically not Anglo-Christians, right? Or not as bought into that system. I also think that in a way, they're almost like Western people. So they more know how to juxtapose against Western people. I think sometimes when you're so Eastern, you come here and you're just like, yeah, let's just give it all up because we're like totally out of our speed here. Whereas maybe like Arab, Middle East is right next to Europe. So they might know how to like interface or, I don't know, whatever, they probably got beef from way back in the day too. Somebody said, don't give in a Western dominance and disrespect, we're already speaking English and living American lifestyles. The least they could say is our names. I don't think this is actually a bad argument. This is a good argument for the fact that if you feel like you're a very, you're a high contributing Asian person in America, you're like- You mean contributing to America. No, and you're like, yo, I was in the military or oh, I have this job, I do my work well. You know, I speak English, I'm cool with all my friends and all I want them to is to say my name at least with 75% effort. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, but at least they can try. I don't think this is asking too much, honestly. I actually don't. Somebody said though, this is an argument in favor of the name change from Shingya and the Sage. It's totally logical. Plus she picked an indie pop folk singer name like Sage. This is going to help her tremendously. Someone said, I respect her ability to change and what it did for her life and it was beneficial, but God made us all unique and some of us have to downplay it based on our circumstances just to live a good life on earth. This makes me sad. Man, you know what's really interesting, David? That there's even a lot of Fawb immigrants who pick their names later in life, but they pick like wild names like Galaxy, Rainbow, Google, Google, Universe, Shadow. Man, I've seen some crazy ones. Usually though, you don't want to notice they're not super attached. And if they ever became American, usually they don't keep the name Shadow. I'm not saying none of them do. In Monterey Park, they definitely do and Flushing, but like if they're going to get a job in, you know what I mean? Like in a corporate job in Manhattan or in LA. How come none of the Chinese immigrants picked the name Ted? Yeah, hello, my name is Ted. Somebody said, I changed my name as an English Scottish woman because my maiden name just sounded too Southern. So I totally get it. I just don't understand why you just can't pick names like that benefit your life. What's wrong with that? Like any name that if I like my mom's last name better just because it sounds better, is that necessarily disrespecting my dad? No, I think that, you know, again, if your name is the only part of your motherland culture that you're holding onto that you represent, then maybe you might want to keep it to remind yourself. But if you feel like changing your name is actually going to benefit your life and you're like, I don't know, I feel secure in my love, it's myself. I don't feel like I'm whitewashing. Then you have your right to do it too. Yeah, I mean, I remember I had a white PE teacher whose last name was a very German last name like Kiltal Vogelstern or something like that. And her sister was a radio personality and her sister was like, yeah, I definitely had to change it for Anglo radio because like people were not feeling a name that reminded them of Nazis. Right, anything that makes people feel more foreign or reminds them of a certain thing. It also depends on what type of job you have, of course. Right, and media, you gotta adapt, right? Media is more adaptive centric. Depending on what radio station you're on, if you're like on world music, maybe it helps to have that last name. If you're on mainstream Taylor Swift music, change it because people will judge you depending on what demographic they are. Somebody said, what's wrong? You gotta take a Chinese name when you go to China. So there's nothing wrong here. But is this true or this not true? I don't actually fully think this is true because sometimes Andrew, like if your name is Andrew and you're white and you go to China, they will call you Andalu. But sometimes, yeah, they do give you like a Chinese name if you wanna pick one that has the meaning and doesn't just go with the alliteration. Somebody was saying in Japan, people would not wanna say a Chinese name either. So what's so wrong about it? Asians do it to other Asians. Quit trying to pin everything on white people. Yo, I love how people bring in Japan, always in these arguments, like white people like using how Japan runs their structure and runs their country. I was like, see, well, Japan doesn't, everybody loves Japan, huh, huh, huh? Japan is also a 99.7% homogenous society, whereas America is literally very, very diverse, you know? And it's supposed to be the land of diversity. So I do think that that is some different historical context. It's an immigrant country. It's only 200 years old in terms of most, even European bloodlines. Somebody said, man, I'm glad she changed her name because she wasn't even saying it properly herself. She kept saying, my name is Xing Yuan. My name is Xing Yuan. And I noticed some people from like Ohio, like let's just say Xing Yuan is from Ohio. She might've been telling white people her whole name, her whole life, their name was Xing Yu and even though it was Xing Yuan. Right. Because we knew this guy whose last name was Xu and he was like, yo, my last name is Zhu. And remember, we were like, your last name's not Zhu, bro, it's Xu. Right, right, right. Well, you know, I think some people even take their Chinese names and even they keep their Chinese names but they morph it to more make it sound like English. But then it sounds even, it sounds terrible. Well, it's wrong in Chinese technically. And then, I guess it's just easier. It's just like in between. I don't know, the in between can be weird. Somebody said, Sage or Xing Yuan or Xing Yun or whatever, Xing Yun, whatever her name is, sure is gorgeous. And somebody came in and said, yellow fever alert, yellow fever alert. Somebody said, man, quit hopping on the victim bandwagon, man. People think you're pretty, at least shut up. You know, the, you know, Yahoo comments going crazy. Somebody's saying, so basically she's telling us that we should all accommodate American people's racism and our lives will get better. Let me guess, she probably dates a white guy too. I don't know. I mean, yeah, again, this is tough, man. It just depends on how you act and where your heart is at, I guess. Somebody said, oh, can I name myself Oregano, coriander, dill or cloves since we're picking herbs that white people like as names. Coriander, kind of a cool name. That's actually kind of a cool name. Somebody said, I thought the Xing Yun would work for dating apps, but I agree not for corporate environments. And somebody was saying, nope, it only works for Japanese names because people sexualize it through anime or possibly hentais and fetishize them. And then somebody said, let's be honest, in 2023 and speak the unspoken, there is specifically an anti-Chinese thread going on when it comes to Chinese names with Xs in them because they are associated with spies and the geopolitical rival slash enemy. All right, here's my thing. If you're the type of guy to look at a girl's name that is Xing Yun and assume that she's closer to a spy, you're probably not the type to even like a lot of Asian women, at least like East Asian women. But I do think that the name change to Sage made some white guys probably go like, dude, she might like me if her name is Sage. But I'm not sure if our girl named Shen Yun would like me. But also, I do think that if you are only like filtering and trying to date Asian guys, I don't think Asian guys would hold it against you as much, but I do think the larger amount of American guys are going to prefer a English name. Dude, whether it's guys or girls, there is a level of foreignness that people are okay with. And then once it crosses that threshold, it does step into like, it's kind of weird to me territory. Andrew, let's get into our final takeaways. Like we said earlier, it sort of boils down to what do you see as your mission in America, right? Like our parents all come from foreign places. Some of us are born here. Some of us come here at what, five, 10, 15, 20 years old. Is our job here to represent our culture, the heritages that we come from, that people obviously in the Western world or North America, the Anglo world, like know nothing about or don't care about or maybe they're a little bit interested in it, but not that interested. What's our goal? Is our goal just to have the best career possible? Cause then obviously we definitely change our names. In fact, we should probably change our last names too. Well, think about it this way, man. When our parents were naming us, they, they in a way were maybe thinking a little bit like Xinyuan, right? Because they were like, okay, we could name them Chinese names, Dishong and D1. I have an X in my name, D-I-X-I-O-N-G. That's how it'd be spelled in Pinyin. Dishong? Yeah, Dishong, which is hard to say. You know that would be hard to say. I have a Chinese name, it's Feng Dishong and it actually translates to masculine cultural warrior. D1 would look weird too, but it's a little bit easier to say, but Dishong would be hard to say. Well, that X-I-O-N-G is tough, yeah. It's just a weird, like it just doesn't look normal. What if you would have spelled it D-E-E, Xiong, I guess, S-H-Y-O-N-G. Yeah, or Dishon, or like, you know what I mean? Like, I wouldn't have people say it like that obviously, but that's like, you know, kind of a joke you say, I would say it like that. But I would say ultimately, yeah, I mean, I think everybody has a decision to make and ultimately, you know, maybe if it's just a name, you know, you just do what's better for your life, I guess. I don't hate her for it. It's not my job, I have an English name, so it's hard for me to hate on her. Right, right, right. It's hard for you to be like, oh yeah, when my name is Andrew James. Like, you know, I've met Asian people who ask me and they're like, oh, is the J in your middle of the name? Is that for like your Chinese name? Like Jin? Yeah, is that Zhang Wen or Zhao or Jin? I'm like, nah, it's James. And they're just like, you have two English names? Man, it really is tough to say, man, because I noticed some parents, they feel so disconnected from the Western world, they just give their kid the game plan that's gonna make them the most upward mobile or fit in the most. And other people, they wanna engage with the Western world and educate the Western world about where we come from and are like thousands of years of history. So those are two completely different missions, but I will say this, even though me and you have even Western middle names, our parents were very big on us being able to read and write our Chinese names growing up and would call us that sometimes. Yeah, that's true, that's true. I mean, I think, again, it all comes down to the family, comes down to the individual. How much do you wanna wrap? What does a name mean to you? And what does wrapping look like for you, right? Yeah, if it's the only thing about you that is Asian, then maybe keep it so it reminds yourself. But also if everything about you is like, if you feel like you're getting the job done and you're like, you know what, I just wanna make it a little bit easier for people that's fine, I don't think that's wrong either, man. Yeah, like we said, what's in a name? A name does change people's perceptions, whether it's right or wrong, this is the way the world works. For me, I guess me, I'm hopeful in the future, I'd love to see people take more ownership of their Asian names, but let people know that I'm not just a quiet person with the Asian name, I'm here to contribute both to America, but also to educate you about where me and my ancestors come from. Let us know in the comments down below if you would change your name to your traditional Asian name. What do you think about our names, D-Shung and D-One? Maybe should we change our names? Would that make it more interesting? Would the views go up? Would that benefit us? I don't know, everybody has just a pros and cons chart, okay, about what things will do their life. Everybody makes their own decisions in life, right? Everybody weighs it out. It's just like Han's character and fast and furious. Life is simple. You just make decisions and you don't look back. All right, everybody. Thank you so much for watching. We are the Hop Hop Boys and until next time, we out. Peace.