The futility of the English name game

A recent survey found that more and more Chinese people have English first names. But why is this? Many say having an English name makes life easier but is this necessarily true? When one person takes an English name, all his or her friends seem to follow suit.

It helps in conversation, they say, saving time because English names are easier to say than Chinese names.

Secondly, using English names is supposed to help improve personal relationships. Calling someone by their English name may evoke a feeling that relations between people are closer - or so the theory goes.

Thirdly, it's easier to sign your English name because Chinese characters involve more strokes of the pen than do English letters.

However, many people think using English names is inconvenient.

If you have a friend with a common English name - Peter, for example - you may discover a lot of others with the same name.