<p>My legal name is different from my English name (I'm Asian). My teachers know me by my English name, so I was wondering... when I ask a teacher to write a letter of recommendation for me, should I have them use my legal name throughout the letter every time they needed to refer to me by name, or would using my English name be ok? Anyone have any ideas/experiences with this?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Use whatever name you’re applying to the college with.</p>
<p>Have them do what people do with acronyms: in the first usage, give your legal name with your English name following in parentheses. After that they can just use your English name.</p>
<p>^
This. While it’s important to have your legal name in there somewhere for clarity, they’re talking about you as they know you and thus should use the name you go by.</p>
<p>Also, there’s a “preferred name” field on most applications where you can enter your English name, which will also help clear up any potential confusion.</p>