My brother's wife from Korea has decided to change her legal name in the US to something more Americanized. She said the reason was she never liked her name much and Americans tended to struggle with it. Her current name is apparently a very traditional, less common, Korean name that begins with a B, and it is a bit masculine and heavy in sound. Her last name, which is very common in Korea is
Kim.
She said she'd prefer to continue to go by a name that started with B, although unfortunately there aren't many common English B names to choose from and was leaning toward Brie. I gave her a list of practical B names and then tried to at least steer her towards choosing a full name for Brie, which would give her a more professional optional that would flow better with
Kim. My family all decided she does not look like a
Brianna (which is also much more feminine than her current name), and she didn't care for it. I suggested
Sabrina, but in the end she settled on
Brielle Kim nn Brie.
I'm aware many may not be fans of
Brielle, given its trendiness factor. But personally I think, given her situation, it's a decent name that will serve her well. It may not be the most traditional name, but she already has a traditional Korean birth name that her family and close friends will continue to use.
Brielle is also a name of several cities/towns, which does technically make it more timeless imo. The common elaboration of -elle seems like a pretty natural variant of
Brianna, that should also help it age better, even if it is on the trendier side. WDYT?