Ask Lemmy

Cliff Clavin approves.

It's good 👍. People might assume it's short for Clifford.

Depends what variety of Cliff you are:

Meh, I'm on the edge with that one.

USA perspective: I have a relative with that name (short for Clifford) who died in the ‘60s. Good name. Not common any more but ready for a fashionable comeback.

It’s an old style name, short for Clifford or Clifton. Sounds direct and manly, not common today amongst young people. However, Cliff sounds cool! It is “classic,” like someone else said. It would be memorable to others for sure. :)

This guy

I like to use the real name of people, because that is more personal, after all, parents have given their children names for a reason. But perhaps that is simply a European thing, many Chinese people simply adopt another name, perhaps given names do not have so much meaning in China?

Lol I was born in China and now a naturalized US Citizen and I still have the "Pinyin Name" as my legal name... I just never felt like any "English-language name" fits me... cuz they all gives off the "vibe" of being a ABC (American-Born Chinese) and that feels so "phony" to me.

I'd say just embrace your real name...

(I mean usually how it works is that: you just "Anglicanize" it a bit and drop the tones when people ask "how do you pronounce it")

That is a great name. It is a classic “manly man” name.

It's a bit old fashioned and I'll admit, I do associate it with a big red dog from some children's books. That said, I like it and I think it's really cool when folks' English names are uncommon

Older folks might think you're making a reference to Cliff Richard, a guy who is quite famous here, so expect that to come up every now and then.

Lots of people really don't like the guy, or think he's a bit cringe-worthy, but others regard him fondly.

Anyway, like yourself, Cliff isn't his real name, but most people know him by it.

Do with this knowledge what you will.

It sounds American and mid-20th-century. If that’s the vibe you’re going for, great.

It sounds very butch 🤣

No, it's a cool name though - short and snappy ;)

I approve.

I think it's a really good choice of name 👍

It's rare in England (from my experience) but we recognise all American names from TV and literature so, being slightly American, I think it comes across as a cool one while not seeming unusual.

My grandfather (2nd generation polish immigrant) used to hate having to correct people on how to speak and pronounce our family name and decided to change it to something more “Americanized”. It took me a while to understand why until I spent 40 years having to correct people on the spelling and pronunciation of the Americanized version.

Then, two of my kids turned out to be genderqueer and they both chose new first names for themselves. It was them that I realized that choosing your own name is a powerful thing and you should be proud of forming your own identity. So, ignore everyone who questions choosing your own name. It is a good thing!

As for Cliff, I like it! It sounds good and it’s a name you hear a lot. Stick with it if you also like it!

I like it, but speaking perfectly honestly, I've never seen an Asian named Cliff

It's fine, but it's mandatory that you start playing the bass

I would choose something that at least has some resemblance to your real name. I've always found it awkward when somebody tells me that their name is, for example, "Liang but call me Peter". I'd rather call you Liang. Or Larry? Something related to your name somehow.

To me, it's not really any different than anyone else choosing a nickname and it would be kind of weird if my name was Sean and I decided that everybody should call me Vladimir.

But maybe Cliff does have some resemblance to yours, and I may have had more interaction with Chinese people than your average westerner has.

I used to work with a guy named Cliff. He was a really swell fellow. Sounds like a good name to me.

My sister-in-law is Chinese. Her name is Lu Dong, but, here in the states, she is called Grace.

Although I think it’s a lovely name, I prefer to call her by her real name. So does she

I also, personally, dislike names that are also things. In English, a cliff is defined as a steep rock face, especially facing the sea. Personally, I would, at least, choose a different name than that one.

No native anglophone, but hearing "Cliff" I immediately think "Cliff Stoll", so you are good with me! :-)

Its a fine name.

Right away I think of Cliff Clavin from Cheers.

Is anyone saying it's a great name actually in the UK? Because in the UK people will think it's a rather odd and old-fashioned name (and not in a retro way).