Laining is Lenning’s Chinese name.
Knowledge expansion:
Choosing an English name that matches the pronunciation of the Chinese name is one of the most commonly used English naming methods for many Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities, employees of foreign-funded enterprises and overseas Chinese. Specifically, choosing an English name based on the pronunciation of the Chinese name can be subdivided into: choosing an English name based on the pronunciation of the entire name, based on the pronunciation of one of the characters, and based on similar homophonic methods.
English names can facilitate communication with others. Imagine if two friends meet each other, would it be better to call each other by their first names or by their English names. So its first benefit is that it is as convenient as a nickname.
The English name is something we can use if we want to travel, study abroad or even immigrate abroad in the future. And if you have the habit of using your own foreign name at home, then when you are abroad I can now introduce myself fluently to others.
The English name means that even if we don’t plan to go abroad, we will still live at home. There are opportunities to use that. There are now many foreign-funded enterprises and Sino-foreign joint ventures everywhere. Our schools have also invited some foreign teachers, or some foreign friends who have come to China to work hard, to communicate with them. We can all use our English names when doing so.
Some people are called by their surname a lot, so they give them an English name that is homophonic to their surname. But such an English name alone is called Shang Ke, and it is unnatural when used in full name, such as: Shawn, Xiao, Zhong Qi, Jone, Zhong, Zhou Xun, Joe, Zhou, An Xin, Anne, An.
One problem is that English names are too common, such as: Henry, Jane, John, Mary. This is just like naming foreigners Zhao Zhiwei, Wang Xiaogang, and Chen Xiaoping, which feels far-fetched. Although there are no certain rules for choosing a name, the feeling you give is very important.
Generally speaking, people from non-English speaking countries may change their names when they arrive in the United States, but they do not change their surnames. This is related to family honor and, in the future, genetics. So no matter how difficult your last name is to pronounce, stick to it.