本文转载自公号棕榈大道本科申请
(微信号：palmdrive_undergrad)
本期新词
Vocabulary
Disproportionately 不成比例地
Ambiguous 模棱两可，有歧义的
Proceed with caution 可行但慎重
Boost success 增加成功机会
Conjure memories of 唤起...回忆
Tones 声调
Idol 爱豆，偶像
欢迎加小助手微信【luluxjg2】进入社群哦。来小酒馆，一起看大世界！
留学念头萌芽伊始，很多小伙伴就琢磨为自己起一个高逼格、很拉风的英文名。但稍不留意，很容易踩雷——
比如，有位博主曾在美国街头就“女生最糟糕的英文名”这个问题进行采访，结果很多青少年对Jessica这个名字非常反感。
甚至调侃道：“如果你的父母给你起名叫Jessica，说明他们并不爱你”！
起英文名到底有哪些门道？哪些英文名才是“好名字”？今天就带大家盘一盘留学生起英文名的那些事！
1
Choosing a good English name
起个好英文名，是门学问！
有位好朋友，曾是一名中文名拼音受害者。在国外生活时，但凡涉及吃饭购物需要“报上名来”的场合，总会出现各种尴尬到“想用脚趾抠出三室一厅”的翻车惨案。
看到一条条吐槽“拼音式”英文名的朋友圈，作为好朋友不厚道地笑到捧腹！
事实证明，对于留学生而言，拥有一个响亮的英文名对融入国外当地生活大有裨益。不仅在日常生活中会大大降低囧事发生的概率，而且与国外朋友们沟通时也会更加方便。再比如：
“拼音式”英文名
沟通不顺畅
地道英文名
快速拉近关系
更重要的是：在美本申请的面试环节中，一个大气又好听的英文名或多或少也是“加分项”，更有助于我们给招生官留下深刻印象。
但留学生们问老师、翻词典、查百度、看知乎......精挑细选出的英文名，却成为老外大吐特吐的槽点！
首先，由于文化差异，我们印象中的好英文名和外国友人传统认知中的好名字，实在差异悬殊。如下：
其次，留学生们仅是起了一个比较“土”的名字还算好的，一不小心起了带有贬义的英文名才是欲哭无泪！
下面，就带大家看看，有哪些英文名是千！万！要慎重对待的！
1
Ambiguous English Names to Avoid
有歧义的英文名，注意避雷
2
Sharing Same Name As Your Idol?
与偶像用同款名字? 可得谨慎
一部分准留学生在看影视剧或体育比赛时被圈粉，突发奇想get偶像的同款名字。
比如，自己是《哈利波特》的铁杆粉，干脆起名叫Harry Potter；看电影《小丑》爱上了主演Joker，那自己也叫Joker；热爱篮球喜爱Kobe、Micheael Jordan等NBA球星，起同款英文字向偶像致敬......
但事实上，这些名字在国外并不常用，还多多少少让人有点反感。比如，在美国版知乎Quora中，关于#有哪些中国人常用，但其它国家人不常用的英文名字”的话题中，用以上这些偶像同款名字就引发很多网友吐槽。
3
Name Like Zeus, Forget It
有神话系的英文名，想想还是算了吧。
很多小伙伴想要为自己起一个磅礴大气、寓意美好的名字，就着眼于神话故事中的人物名称。
比如，给自己取名叫Zeus, Athene, Eris, Poseidon等。但这好比老外给自己起中文名叫玉皇大帝、太白金星、孙悟空、嫦娥。
不得不说这些名字太过雷人，换做是你能接受得了吗？
4
Proceed with Caution！
中文名衍生款英文名，可以但要慎重
在留学生群体中，难免有些学生会过于执著自己的英文名要与中文名有所关联。
美版知乎Quora网友Anonymous曾表示自己遇到一名叫诗婷的女生，“诗”代表诗情画意，“婷”寓意优美雅致。
诗婷非常满意自己的中文名，因此介绍自己的英文称呼时执意用了“拼音版”名字ShiTing。但尴尬的是，ShiTing的发音和英语单词Shiting过于相似。
看到这里，或许有的同学面对千奇百怪的英文名字已经笑到捧腹，或许也有同学的英文名不慎“中枪”陷入尴尬。
对于误伤的同学，先在这里先表达歉意。不过，很多数据表明，名字确实有一种魔力……
2
English names might boost your success
这些英文名或许更能帮你获得成功
比如，麻省理工学院每年的新生报告都会公布这届新生最常见的名字：
Class of 2028被录取最多的名字是Eric, Sopia；
Class of 2027是David, Daniel和Katherine；
Class of 2026则Alexander, Daniel, Emma, Isabella和Michael.
比如，普林斯顿大学曾对在校生的Facebook名字进行分析，结果发现，尽管在校本科生有2516个独特的名字，但重名率还是相当高的，十大最常见的名字分别是：Daniel, David, Andrew, Jack, William, Emily, Mathew, John, Katherin, Sophie.
其它藤校中，哈佛大学和达特茅斯学院最常见的名字是John，宾夕法尼亚大学、哥伦比亚大学和康奈尔大学都是Michael.
再比如，英国知名求职网站Adzuna曾利用自己强大的简历数据库，总结出一份《十大高薪男女版英文名》榜单，可供大家起名用作参考。
1，Ed：该榜单排名第一的男生英文名Ed，可以是Edwin、Edward、Edgar、Edison等名字缩写。
Ed这个名字具有Rich或happy的美好寓意。而这类名字持有者一年能挣到6万多英镑，可见比较招西方世界的财神偏爱。
对于留学生而言，起个包含Ed词根的名字，或许会今后申请奖学金有所帮助哦！
2，Bill：Bill这个名字，给人一种渴望成功，拥有敏锐的商业头脑的精英印象。很容易让我们联想到世界首富Bill·Gates（比尔·盖茨）。
另外，Bill是William的简称，含义为辉煌的声誉。这也让我们能够联想到美国总统Bill Clinton（比尔·克林顿）。
对于留学生而言，如果你渴望在未来取得商业成功，获得很好的声誉，不妨考虑下Bill这个名字。
3，Geoff：Geoff它起源于法语和古德语，可以是Geoffrey名字的缩写。外国人通常认为Geoff是可靠、高贵、勇敢的象征。
另外，这个名字在留学生中并不常见，不用担心会有撞名的尴尬场面出现。
其余的Bob, Mike, Dave等英文名吸金能力也非常可观，但唯一的缺点是过于复古，颇有种王建国、张翠花、李淑芬的既视感。
1，Liz：Liz这个名字当仁不让，成为吸金能力最强的女生英文名。
它是Elizabeth名字的缩写，寓意非常高雅，通常给人一种“高质量女性”的感觉。比如，英国女王的名字就是Elizabeth。
如果你是一名理想主义者，追求高品位的生活，可以采纳这个非常优雅的名字。
2，Jo：Jo则是Joanne, Josephine等名字的简写，本身含有“甜心”的美好寓意。
很多世界知名女性都采用这个名字，比如《哈利波特》的作者J.K.罗琳原名为Joanne Rowling；著名歌手Lady Gaga真名叫做Stefani Joanne......
3，Michelle：Michelle寓意“美丽”、“像神一样的人”。对于集美貌与智慧于一体的留学生而言，Michelle这个名字再适合不过了。
其余的Alexis, Philippa, Carolyn等女生名字大多都给人一种优雅、漂亮且自信的印象，也是非常值得选择的。
3
You can read the article here
欢迎阅读其他英文相关👇
Sourced from the World-
‘Hello, my name is Yes,’ and other English names in China
Any foreigner in China has their own list of odd English names they've come across.
There's Dell, who fixes computers. Tomorrow was a job applicant. A quick tally by friends also includes Cabbage, Box, DreamJazz, Nothing, Eat and Fancy Go-Go.
Names say a lot about us when we get to choose them for ourselves.
Yes is an actor. He said he chose that name on the spur of the moment at a party.
"I went to my American friend's party and he asked me, 'Oh, what's your name?'" Yes recounted. "I said, 'Shi Zhi.' And he says 'Shieie Jieu?' And I say, 'Yeah, something like that.'"
The Chinese word shi means be, or is. It's also used as an affirmation, like saying, "Yes." As a family name, it's pretty uncommon in China.
So at the party, Shi told his American friend: "The Shi is like Yes!" He's been Yes ever since. He kept it, he said, because it's funny and positive.
Young Chinese people often adopt English-language names to help out their foreign friends who struggle with the tones in Mandarin. It's like offering safe passage across a linguistic minefield.
But that's not to say that all Chinese people embrace the idea of using English names. Gao Jian, a professor at the English department of Shanghai International Studies University, said he went by James with foreign friends until about 10 years ago. Today he refuses to use it, preferring his Chinese name.
"Sometimes we have a chat about some students," he said. "My colleague will say, 'Rose told me… ' or, 'Jack told me… ' I say, 'Who's Rose? Who's Jack?' I don't know their English names. I hate that frankly."
Gao said Chinese students started using English names in the 1990s, when China was opening its doors to the world. They saw English as their ticket to a good job, perhaps with a multinational company, and they were proud of their English proficiency.
But Gao said attitudes are changing. More and more of his students are adopting names that sound like their given names in Chinese, or else have a similar meaning– like Shi becoming Yes. Gao attributed the switch to a deepening sense of national identity that takes pride in China's linguistic heritage.
Others take their names from classic novels, hip-hop artists, movies or even fairytales.
Liu Shu Wen, also known as Cinderella, is a marketing executive at a car company. The rags-to-riches motif seems especially fitting in a country that's just come through a 30-year economic growing spurt. But for this Cinderella, it's more about character.
"I think Cinderella has a very strong heart, even in a very high pressure (situation) from her evil mother and her sisters," she said. "I think I can be like her, have a strong heart inside."
There are some pretty normal names going around too, although they sometimes have unexpected origins. Yong Wei is a microbiologist. His English name is Tom.
"I picked it back when I was in middle school and that's one of the few English characters I knew from a cartoon-Tom and Jerry," he said.
Tom, of course, is the cat in the MGM animated series. That seemed like a unique choice. Then, separately, I met Jerry.
"For one thing, I have small eyes. [That] makes me like Jerry in the cartoon," Jerry said. "And for another thing, Jerry is always the naughty one, but always, you know, who wins the battle, every time."
Jerry studied English and American literature at college. He had a classmate who went down a completely different road and named himself Nixon. President Richard Nixon might conjure memories of Watergate at home. But in China, he's remembered for helping to normalize relations between China and the United States.
"My teachers back in college, they always wanted us to be the bridges between China and the western countries," Jerry said. "So he's a guy with a lot of ambition and passion for cross-cultural communication."
Jerry said he's noticed a new trend. He's coming across more westerners who are making a big effort to learn Chinese. For example, a Dutch colleague recently made a point of learning, and remembering, Jerry's Chinese name.
"When he really asked me about my Chinese name I was kind of surprised. My second thought was, 'It's a very cool thing, and it's equal,'" Jerry said.
Initially, Jerry adopted an English name because he wanted to look outwards, and help build a bridge to the West. But now, he says, more and more westerners are coming to China, and meeting him halfway.
今日互动话题
你是怎么起的英文名字呢？你的英文名有哪些美好寓意呢？评论区留言讨论一下吧！
本文系授权发布，By 棕榈君，From 棕榈大道本科申请，微信号: palmdrive _ undergrad，棕榈大道：创立于硅谷的高端教育咨询机构，致力于为学生打造最具个性化的成长及申请方案。被家长和学生称为“有温度有情怀的机构”，是「名校录取」+「真实成长」双保障教育的践行者。未经授权不得转载！
