non japanese with a japanese name?

Actually, my full name is Roberutsu Erifu Kurairu in japanese.
I hate the name Rob that is what my father goes by. I have heard people from Asia adopting western nicknames so I figured I would just do the same to make life easier.

To be quite honest I never really liked my name, because I am named after my father that is another reason I do not want to go by Rob. It would be nice to have a different name.

How common of a name is SHINO?

Shino is commonly known as a female's first name with an old-fashioned tone.

Btw, Kazuma's nickname is Kazu, if you happen to be interested.

Uco,

Its not that I am crazy about Japan I just have a great respect for Japan. I like the name Kazuma just, because the way it sounds and thank you for telling me Kazuma's nickname is Kazu. I actually forgot that a woman at work named her son Rayden and both of them are not Japanese.

alright , so you want to know if its ok for a non nihonjin to have a japanese name, of course. before i moved to japan i had this very common name of Jennifer, i got it changed when i moved there permantly. to Kaori. most people don't care especially in the big cities. i also met this fellow hakujin who had a first name of olga and her family name was yoshizumi, and she looked more white than me, im 3rd generation chinese but it does't really reflect what i look like. so i say go for it. if you really think about it . a name is something that should be important to you, not anyone else , if your happy with a japanese name then do it :) im happy with the results:)

Go for it, if you really want to. But if you want to hear an honest opinion, I personally think a bit negatively towards people who have absolutely no ties to Japan in their heritage to have Japanese names. I also think the same about fully Japanese kids born and raised in Japan having very western names. I don't think there is anything wrong with "Robaato" (trust me, it doesn't sound bad at all for Japanese people) but if you really hate it, I think it is better if you choose another western name before you choose a Japanese name.

well see shimaki , you think too much of the pure blood thinking, think of the name Mia or Ken, if you think those names are acceptable to both , why can't a ''japanese'' name be acceptable to someone who isn't blood tied , think of all those people out there that name their kid serenity, or coco, or apple.. its the same thing as a japanese name , but in a different form of language. so if someone wants to be named autumn, why not just get Aki? or spring to haru?

im sure plenty of people know about William Adams the sailor who came to japan a long time ago and became a well respected japanese person. even a respected samurai.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_%28sailor%29 so hey i say let people be what they want to be :)

I know him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hideo_Levy

Hey Kaori.B, I didn't say you had to be pure-blood to have a Japanese name. That's a bit ridiculous. But without having any ties to Japan (either ancestral or naturalized), getting a Japanese name just feels like such a "wannabe" to me. The same thing with Japanese parents in Japan who name their kids something like "Elizabeth". Names like "Mia" or "Ken" actually exist in both culture. Don't see how that leads to getting a name that you have absolutely no ties to that culture. I am just letting people know that there are some people like me who feel this way about the matter. (But yes, whatever makes you happy.)

shimaki-san, how can you tell if one has or hasn't any ties to Japan, what if a person feels that it is right for him to have a Japanese name? In my case I�fm 100% Caucasian, yet I speak Japanese JLPT 1 (I studied), and may be will live in Japan, I'm a designer and I just couldn't put my real name on my works, it doesn't suite, so I choose my new name. It's been three years from now and even my European friends call me Ori, so why not? It is really only about what I think, yet I love Japan deeply!

Its not about what you feel, its the perception others might have. If you don't care, then who cares what other people think and why ask then?

If a Japanese person wants to name themselves Winston Churchill, I don't care, if they like the UK and UK culture and history, hell they can do it. But there will always be people who are lingering "why", they might not say it to you directly etc, but there's always that stigma.

Frankly I DONT CARE, but I'm saying you'll always have that stigma over your head.

i will agree to shimaki's comment about if your not A. japanese tied, or B. naturalized , or trying to naturalize.. then having a japanese name isn't really ok i guess. because i think it would be odd to have someone who lives in lets say america and picks a japanese name but doesn't ever move to japan to live , thats a little odd. so in one sense i think shimaki is right. but for all of us naturalizing citizens of japan :) its ok :)

The most well known foreigner with a Japanese name these days (apart from sumo wrestlers) is Arudou Debito. He is (was?) an American who took up Japanese citizenship and now campaigns for the rights of foreigners in Japan.

He has an extensive website where he also describes the issues around changing his name (originally David Aldwinckle) if you are interested- the address is www.debito.org

He is a Japanese citizen (renounced US citizenship as required by Japanese law), and when you become a Japanese citizen you have to adopt a Japanese name, all he did was do a transliteration of his english name.

So his case is not a very good example for someone who isn't a a Japanese national, and certainly not a case where someone totally changed their name.