FWIW, if I met an Asian guy with a WASPy name like John Adams I would think either he is adopted or changed his name/identity, which might send me negative signals such as duplicity, cunning, and cowardice.
Lots of Asian Americans are adopted, or are mixed European/Asians. European male / Asian female pairings (which would lead to a European last name) are about three times as common as European female / Asian male pairings.
In general, first name assimilation is seen positively by most Americans I know, and has been very common in the Asian American community, both for first-generation immigrants and their descendants. (Last name assimilation is less common, but I think still seen positively.)
Of the Eastern Asian grad students I know, it is common to adopt a Western first name (especially if they’re Chinese; the transliteration from Chinese to English was clearly not designed by an English-speaker, as Chowchew can attest).
Lots of Asian Americans are adopted, or are mixed European/Asians. European male / Asian female pairings (which would lead to a European last name) are about three times as common as European female / Asian male pairings.
In general, first name assimilation is seen positively by most Americans I know, and has been very common in the Asian American community, both for first-generation immigrants and their descendants. (Last name assimilation is less common, but I think still seen positively.)
Of the Eastern Asian grad students I know, it is common to adopt a Western first name (especially if they’re Chinese; the transliteration from Chinese to English was clearly not designed by an English-speaker, as Chowchew can attest).