As in most foreign language classes, the students at my school all have English names that are used in class. Most of them are normal English names - there are many Jacks, Johns, Daniels, Davids, Sallys, Janes, Amys, Rachels, etc. However, some of their names are decidedly non-English. And so I bring you my listing of the top non-traditional "English" names in my classrooms. I'm not sure how most of these students wound up with their names, but I'll give you my best guesses.
Dragon - There are actually two Dragons at my school, but I've only taught one so far. There is a popular Kpop star called G-Dragon, so that may be where these students got the name. However, we are in Asia, so maybe they really like Dragons or something. I don't know.
Shinee - as with Dragon, there is a Kpop star called Shinee, so I think that's where this name came from.
Smith - Smith was only at our school for a couple months, and all the foreign teachers questioned this name choice. None of us had ever heard of "Smith" as a first name before. But the student seemed determined to use the name, so "Smith" he was.
Cherry - I know there are some people named Cherry, but it's definitely not a popular name. It's kind of funny that this is one of the names Koreans picked up on instead of more common ones like Theresa or Katie or Monica.
Apple - We may have Gweneth Paltrow to blame for this one, since she named her child Apple, and I hear references to "the blonde girl from Ironman" not infrequently.
Moria - Pronounced just like the Dwarfs' kingdom that the Fellowship of the Ring was chased out of by a Balrog, I think this is an attempt at "Maria" that didn't quite make it. I was quickly corrected when I tried to pronounce it "Maria," though, so I don't know.
Monk/Munggu - This one makes me laugh. Originally, his name was Brad. He took a month off school and came back and wanted to change his name. His friends gave him the name "Munggu." There is some story behind this, but they never could explain it to me properly. Anyways, I conferred with his Korean teacher and we decided he would have to be called "Monk," since it is the closest English word to Munggu (even though "Monk" isn't actually an English name). He hated this, however, and every time I referred to him as Monk, he'd say, "I NOT MONK!!!!!" He's taken another vacation from school, so we'll see what he comes back as next time.
Wyverns - Wyverns is one of my favorite students. "Wyverns" is actually the name of his favorite Korean pro baseball team - the SK Wyverns. The Wyverns are one of Incheon's baseball teams, and they play at Munhak Stadium. Wyverns the student is an amusing middle schooler who is pretty good at English.
Tacos - I haven't actually taught Tacos yet, but all the English teachers agree he has one of the best names in the school. Who wouldn't love Tacos? Fun fact: Tacos is actually the younger brother of one of the Dragons.
Windy - I'm guessing this is from Wendy. But they pronounce it WINdy, and not WENdy, so I don't know.
Ace - Happily, this is an aptronym, because Ace is really good at English. Another one of my favorite students, he's about 8 and super cute. Because I'm a WWII buff, in my head, he has a great military career ahead of him as an ace pilot in the Air Force.
Tony Stark/Ironman - This has to be my favorite name at my school. Some days, he's Tony Stark, and other days, he's Ironman. Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm one of the few teachers in the world who gets to call on Ironman during class. ;) It does feel awkward when I have to call him at home, though. Every month, we do call tests with the students, and we call them on the phone at their houses. When I call, I have to ask for the student's name in English. Saying "Is Ironman available?" feels really, really weird.
Name spellings can be equally as random. I have LiNas, Leenas, TiNas, Rolas (Rora), Loras, Jinas, and a whole bunch of others I can't think of at the moment.
Then there are the gender mistakes because the names aren't actually English. There is a boy in one of my classes whose name is "Justine." He is definitely a very manly boy, so I kept striking off the "e," but it took a while to catch on. In one of my middle school classes, I have another manly boy named "Luise." I also have a girl named "Ray," and when I call roll, it throws me off every time.
Finally, there are the problems with common English names that the Koreans don't go for. When we get new students, the Koreans usually ask the foreign teachers to help pick out the English name if the kid didn't choose one already. I usually start out by asking if the kid has any favorite characters in movies, then devolve into rattling off names. Naturally, the names I think of first are the ones my friends have. One of my students choose "Shannon," which is one of my best friends' names, and not an uncommon name. Apparently the Koreans had never heard of this name before. They had a very hard time with it and wanted to change it to Sally, but I think the student stood firm with Shannon, because that's what is still on the roll sheet.
So, what's in a name in a Korean ESL classroom? Well, not always proper English. :P
