Angelababy’s Name Has Undesirable Hidden Meaning?
Since marrying Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明), Angelababy’s (杨颖) career has been on a steady rise, with her name becoming known across much of Asia.
When Angelababy’s Chinese reality program Running Man <奔跑吧兄弟> achieved peak ratings, it invited acclaimed Hollywood stars Avengers: Infinity War actor Tom Hiddleston, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo, and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland onto the show as guest stars. On hearing the host introduce Angelababy, the three actors reacted with embarrassed smiles and shocked expressions, which viewers could not fathom.
The reason for their abashed reaction was later discovered – “Angelababy” is actually a moniker for nightclub performers and exotic dancers in their countries, so few would choose to use that English name.
Thereafter, Angelababy entered Hollywood and acted in Hitman: Agent 47 as well as Independence Day, which made netizens wonder what audiences at the film premieres and interviews had thought when she was introduced, with some commenting that she had “brought the shame overseas.”
Angelababy Explains Her Stage Name
The Shanghai native had arrived in Hong Kong at a young age, and managed to snag a hosting job for a local children’s program through some connections. When she realized that everyone at work were known by their English names, she decided to follow suit and gave herself the name “Baby.” Coincidentally, a new employee with the same name came in a few months later, prompting the actress to add “Angel” in front of the word to make it “Angelababy” so as to differentiate herself. According to her, this stage name meant “Angel Baby.”
Source: China Press
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
My family still calls me baby as I am petite ancestry am the only girl. However, only my immediate family members call me that as a nickname. No one else does and I would never use it as a stage name or official name.
@hetieshou meant to say “and “. The dot button needs to get fixed.
@hetieshou
Meant to say edit button.
Stupid every which way especially her explanation. Always hated that name
It is not a moniker for nightclub performers! I have a 23 yr old whom is called Sissybaby, and she is in college and has never been to a nightclub, much less work in one. I think JaneStars has an agenda and are defaming Angelababy.
@normabella hardly. Her name sounds like a porn star, everyone knows it lol. And your friend possibly will change her name pretty soon, the negative connotation is strong lol. Ppl might not say it to your face but they all know it lol. Seriously, how naive could you be! Think an old dude call you baby and see how you feel lol.
HK’ers are known for adopting weird english names. Not unlike equally kooky names adopted by some Hollywood celebs.
@msxie0714 Agree with this. But I think her name probably works in her favour now cos its memorable whether it’s perceived in a good or bad way.
Can’t imagine the suitability of her using the name as she grows older though.
@bizzybody
She probably wouldn’t care and will have rode off into the sunset with her millions of dollars by then…
I’m don’t particularly dislike or like her stage name Angelababy. It worked well for her and made her a household name. It’s a lot memorable than her actual Chinese name 楊穎 (Yeung Wing) Yang Ying or Ying Yang in the west.
@melody
The name saved her skin.If it wasn’t for this name, she would have just blended in with all the other unknown untalented actresses.
Haha…she gave herself the name ‘baby’. That’s even more pathetic than the name ‘Angelababy’. This only works in China where many aren’t familiar with the west.
@jimmyszeto Around the time Angelababy chose her stage name, other “hot” Hong Kong female celebrities were also nicknamed as “baby”, such as Linda Chung (Ka Yan BB by the media), Karena Ng (Raymond Lam called her BB), and other leng mos popular at the time.
Names have different cultural/ linguistic connotations, and it can be totally fine in one region of the world but can be offensive elsewhere. A good PR agent would have done all the checks before approving a stage name, but most only focus on the local market at the time.
Given Angelababy’s career is primarily in Asia, her name “baby” equates to a sweet/pretty girl so that has worked for her and made her name memorable. With 100 million followers on her Weibo, Angelababy is really big in China and has lots of commercial appeal.
@jayne
I think nicknames by those closest to us and the media is a lot different to purposely naming themselves *baby. It has worked very well for her so I probably can’t complain. She definitely would have been just the average celebrity that blended in amongst others if her name was just Angela. Like ‘the twins’, the name propelled them rather than their talent. There are more talented duos who are singer/songwriters who have come and gone….
@jimmyszeto
Thankfully, director Fruit Chan didn’t call himself Fruitbaby.Wasn’t there an aspiring HK actor named BabyJohn? never heard much about him since he got his 15 minutes of fame.
@msxie0714
BabyJohn got a lot of help from his name too. The problem is that it was never going to last because firstly the ‘baby’ name had already been used by Angelababy and he had below average looks. Still he gained some awareness from it…
What?!? This is a stupid article. Ok the Angelababy name may be a bit odd for western tastes but it is not a term for nightclub performers or exotic dancers. This article was obviously written by someone who actually has no real understanding of what really goes on here in North America. Serious eye roll. SMFH.
Ok yeah it’s obviously a STAGE name and not an everyday name like Angela. But it’s far from a porn star name. Maybe it’s weird as she gets older but like come on there are American artists with weirder names.
Although her stage name is Angelababy, everyone in China does call her Baby. Regardless, marrying HYM and using this stage name made her stood out
Whenever I think of the name “Baby,” I’m reminded of “Dirty Dancing.” I hated the name ever since lol. I think the name’s humiliating and patronizing. Most ppl probably don’t have that kind of intention when they decided on that name, but I’ve never liked it. As an affectionate title or nickname, it’s okay. But as an actual name, just no.
@coralie
I’m not sure why many are in denial. If the names containing ‘baby’ are regularly used in strip clubs or as porn star stage names, I wouldn’t be surprised at all….
well, given my experiences here in the west…. i think any association w/ the word “baby” is considered infantile, one does not exactly want to be portrayed as a weak, small, helpless baby. in the west, they want to be considered as a mature, grown adult to be taken seriously. a baby is the exact opposite. so porn star association or not, having the word “baby” in a stage name is quite embarrassing.
i would like to find a clip of this but couldn’t on youtube.
I say Angelababy should go on an American show and laugh when “The Weeknd” is introduced. She can say “Isn’t today Wednesday?”
Girl, I am not a fan of your name, but the way the Americans reacted was uncalled for. And I am a fan of the Marvel universe.