Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tvc15]

I favor the term "English name" when choosing a name for little 순아 or 수진. A co-worker uses "English nickname," which sounds wrong to me.

One dictionary defines "nickname" as "a silly name" and another as "an informal, often humorous, name for a person that is connected with their real name, their personality or appearance, or with sth they have done."

Your thoughts? Which do you use?

[Rory_Calhoun27]

They're both right? Not like it's a legal name change.... just something to go by in school.

I remember in high school Spanish class, being "Senor Smith" or "Esteban" depending on the teacher. Now if I had it to do over again, I'd have gone with "El Torro Grande," but only in the class with the really good lookin' cheerleader.

[Young FRANKenstein]

The answer is irrelevant since I don't use them anyway.

[moosehead]

most of them aren't even E anyway, they are german, irish, spanish, jewish etc. - I love asking my students if their parents are one of the above groups when they say their name is Rosa, Eric, Isaac, Monica, etc.

but they aren't really nicknames since so many kids pick their own and change them on a whim

[Korussian]

I think a necessary condition for getting a nickname is having a real name (in the language in which the nickname applies) first.

Thus:

Hye Jin = Korean Name

Jinny = English Name

Jin-tastic = English Nickname

[nate2008]