After reading through Dantea’s anime thread, I was thinking about some of my favorite anime characters and it dawned upon me just how exotic and pretty [name_f]Asian[/name_f] names can be. Sometimes, I like to use them for naming various characters I draw, but now I need some fresh ideas.
What are your favorites? I know the ones I listed are all Japanese and girl names, but you can list other [name_f]Asian[/name_f] names for both/either gender as well
You realize that [name_f]Asia[/name_f] is the largest continent in the world, right? So are you looking for Thai names? Israeli names? Pakistani names? [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names? Mongolian names? Are you interested in names from Turkey, Siberia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Laos, Korea, or Papua [name_m]New[/name_m] Guinea? [name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_f]Russia[/name_f]? (You know, the biggest country ever.)
[name_f]Asia[/name_f] contains 60% of the world’s population. Please don’t reduce a complex and heterogeneous part of the planet to a handful of cultures that you’ve only been exposed to through cartoons.
yeeeeeah we all know [name_f]Asian[/name_f] means Asians - Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean etcs - those that are ethnically [name_f]Asian[/name_f].
Russians, Indians, & all the Middle [name_f]East[/name_f] are three totally different races.
And I’m a part of that 60%, thank you very much. I guess just giving a list of some of your favorite names from a variety of those cultures and just saying where they’re from isn’t enough information to make an actual list and move on. Since you want me to be specific, let’s go with the most well known of the [name_f]Asian[/name_f] cultures: [name_f]China[/name_f], Japan, Korea, etc. You know, counties the average person thinks of when they hear “[name_f]Asian[/name_f]”.
You’re just digging that hole even deeper, aren’t you?
I mean, SERIOUSLY? “Most well known”? “Countries the average person thinks of”? SERIOUSLY? You’re generalizing and essentializing so hard it makes my head hurt. The countries I think of when I hear “[name_f]Asia[/name_f]” are all the countries I listed above because they are all countries in [name_f]Asia[/name_f]. I don’t know about you, but I’d say Afghanistan is pretty well-known given that we waged a fairly recent war there. It’s also kind of hard to tune into the news without hearing about [name_m]Israel[/name_m]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] saying.
Also, LOL@ “yeeeeeah we all know [name_f]Asian[/name_f] means Asians - Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean etcs”. Yes, “[name_f]Asian[/name_f] means Asians”! Because that isn’t a completely ridiculous and unhelpful tautology! Also, would you mind defining “ethnically [name_f]Asian[/name_f]” for me? I would love to hear that.
[name_f]Every[/name_f] post I see from you is you on your dang soapbox talking down on everyone and sounding like you’re all high and mighty. If you want to educate people you can do it without being a pompous brat.
anyways, I’m going to stick to The eastern [name_f]Asian[/name_f] countries
female-
[name_f]Miki[/name_f]- what we call my daughter
Airi
[name_f]Aya[/name_f]
[name_f]Mai[/name_f]
[name_f]Rin[/name_f]
Eun [name_f]Hye[/name_f]
[name_f]Mei[/name_f] [name_f]Lin[/name_f]
[name_u]Min[/name_u] Li
I’ve been meaning to say something for a while now, but I decided to let it go. I feel like I have to say something now, because it feels like you just seek out certain threads to cause trouble @augusta_lee. It’s true that some of the posts were culturally insensitive, but you are not helping anyone by responding in that way. Pretty much any post where you mention more than just a list of names, you are saying something negative and hurtful. Ignoring you seems to work all right for me, but it does get tiring.
In answer to the OP: I think it is great that you are more interested in [name_f]Asian[/name_f] cultures because of anime. Does it really matter how you gain an interest in something, as long as you are interested? And isn’t it unfair to shortchange “cartoons” in Japanese culture, if you’re so interested in the cultural integrity? I took an elective course in high school called [name_f]Asian[/name_f] Studies, where we studied the history of culture of [name_f]Asia[/name_f], focusing on [name_f]China[/name_f], Japan, and Korea.
Some of my favorite names come from the Japanese culture (I’ll focus on boys, since you do not have many):
Takashi/Takeshi
Shou/Shouta
[name_m]Hiroshi[/name_m]
[name_m]Kenji[/name_m]
[name_m]Ken[/name_m]'ichi (ok, so this is because of Matsuyama, the actor. If you haven’t seen any of his films, I recommend them!)
Satsuya
Kaoru (unisex)
Thanks for the support everyone; I really didn’t mean to cause all the fuss. I just used ‘[name_f]Asian[/name_f]’ in general to get a variety of countries represented, instead of just one or two countries. Anyhoo, I’m half Chinese, so I’ve always been interested in the Eastern [name_f]Asian[/name_f] countries, and anime just opened my eyes to Japanese culture since I live in [name_u]America[/name_u].
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one noticing this. I’ve been wanting to say something for over a month now, but I just couldn’t put my thoughts into the right words. Thank you dovah, and mclola, for doing that on this thread.
As for the actual question, anime’s what got me interested in the Japanese culture as well, and most of my favorite [name_f]Asian[/name_f] names are Japanese.
for girls:
[name_f]Rin[/name_f]
[name_f]Aya[/name_f]
[name_f]Chihiro[/name_f]
Miyuki
Saya
I am so done with the racism on this site. First the “name the plantation owner’s daughter!” thread, now this? Not to mention the ongoing posts about [name_m]Cohen[/name_m] and [name_f]India[/name_f]. It truly boggles my mind that such hugely hurtful, deeply problematic stereotypes are being perpetuated – and that only a handful of people care or are willing to speak up about it. If you’re being racist, I will tell you that you’re being racist. If you’re being sexist, I will tell you that you’re being sexist. Calling out ignorance is the only way to correct it. Period.
I’ve also been active on this site for two years. Check my post and comment history. Obviously I’ve contributed pretty extensively beyond pointing out “cultural insensitivity” (is that what we’re calling racism these days?) and providing long lists of names for posters who, uh, request long lists of names. Y’all n00bs?
I somewhat agree with your original comment @augusta_lee, it doesn’t help to stereotype, and it would have been better to ask specifically for South [name_f]East[/name_f]/Eastern names rather than being so general. However the intent of this topic wasn’t to discriminate, or be hurtful (just a misguided generalisation). There is no need to attack the original poster about this. You can call out ignorance without being condescending.
You have contributed to the site, and a lot of it has been constructive and well thought out. I agree with you most of the time. But I feel this time you have gone too far.
In most cases I am calling it “cultural insensitivity”, or perhaps I should call in “cultural ignorance”. I am familiar with two of the threads you referenced above, and the majority of those who responded simply did not understand the issue. It comes from never being taught. I’m not saying that’s a free pass to say whatever you want, but the superior tone you tend to take in your responses is hardly any better. Are you better than they are because you were able to go to school? It’s not the argument you make, it’s the way you make it.
I fail to see what is racist in this thread. That’s really pushing it. I get tired of people not understanding the term “[name_f]Asian[/name_f]” in the way they mean it excludes my husband’s and son’s culture and is very dismissive of south Asians, but that is not racism. You are calling out people for being ignorant when it is you who sounds ignorant. To use the term racism in connection with cultural ignorance is just…offensive to people who live under the yolk of true racism.
Now I will get off my own soapbox and go play elsewhere:-)
