Romanizing a non English name

[Namethatbaby]

My friend, who is from a non native English speaking country queried as to the romanization and Englishness of her nephew's name. Her nephew's first name when romanized is LeeAnn which is fairly feminine, so her and her sister are looking for a better way of romanizing the name. As R and L are interchangeable in her native language, they are considering Rian or Rean - sounding like Reeun? However the name ends up being written, it will be the official English spelling and on his passport.
I did point out that many may read it as Ryan, but that is a small concern. A bigger concern is that he will be called Durian at school and her sister plans on keeping the kid stink free, which we had a good laugh over.
What do you all think? Which spelling is better and does the name come across as a normal English name? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

What about Liam? Sounds pretty close to LeeAnn.

You are right that Rian will be pronounced Ryan. English speakers will pronounce Rean as a monophthong, ‘reen’.

Depending on their heritage could they spell it Li An or Lian?

PS Will they be living in the U.K.?

Some of my friends from university had the same issue and couldn't find a version thry liked so they picked an English name for when they were in the UK.
I've noticed some of our students do the same for school. They have a preferred name which is whatever name they decided at at home.

It's usual to choose a completely different English name. Would they consider this? Once the name is Romanized it loses its meaning anyway. Also, names are used very differently in other cultures so it just feels more appropriate to not use the given name when speaking in English.

Li An

Yes people choose a different English name to go by - but not on their passport!

Lee?

Either Li-An, or add a further 'English' name - on the same patter n as say Anson Chan Fang On-sang, or Bruce Lee Jun-Fan, though in UK you might have to put the current first name in the middle, as forms generally don't let you put any given name after the surname.

Liam (or William) or Leon would be the nearest homophones.

I'd go for Leon, or something completely different.

You are right that Leanne or Rianne is going to sound like a girls name in the UK. Unless you change it to a similar sounding boys name Ryan or Liam as suggested I think the easiest would be to call him Lee with An as a separate middle name, then at school and things he could just be known as Lee but at home by his full name.

I'd go with Liam, or 2 separate names so Lee An. Those from a culture who understand the names will instinctively use both, and the Brits will be ok with just Lee.
Or, something completely different, but warning - it takes time to hear your new name if it doesnt start with the same sound. Is the boy old enough to voice an opinion?

Rian is a fairly popular Irish boys name in Ireland and isn’t confused with the less popular Ryan here.

Thank you all so much for your responses. I have shown my friend the thread and just discussed your thoughts.
In the native language, L in Lee is not pronounced, and even sometimes written as just an 'I'. So that leaves the option of romanizing the name as Ian by dropping the L on paper, which sounds much simpler and natural.
Baby is from a medical professional family who, considering my friend, will probably get sent to study abroad at some point in his life, or may even move to an English speaking country. So, getting it right would matter I guess.
Will update on what is decided. Thanks all

Ian sounds good to. There is also an Iain spelling. Pronounced the same.

The Durian thing is very unlikely to be an issue in the UK!

I’m curious to know what the name is before being changed?

Baby is a few months old, so has no say. My friend mentioned the 'Irishness' of Rian actually Inkspellme. Mmm. Much to discuss.

if the L isnt pronounced, then what about Ian or Iain

Buffalo The name is in two characters unlike our English alphabet. It sounds like and therefore would be romanized as Lee & Ann - Leeann.

Oh I see. Interesting! Liam or Ian make sense then.

Leon, Leo, Ryan . . . Or something completely different.

Leo(n) means lion so I would see if the parents like this meaning or not too.

I know a female Rhianne so that may cause the same problems as Leanne. Would they go for Leon? It's probably the closest.

Is it a Korean/Chinese family? I'd say 'Yi An' would be the best possibility. But there's nothing wrong with 'Li An' either, when it's separated out, it doesn't sound like Leanne.

For those suggesting just taking an English name...for many, it's really dehumanising and disrespectful of their culture to do that. No one expects white people to take on Asian names so why do we expect it the other way round? That might have been the trend before, but we live in a connected world now: I'm sure we can get over the fact that some names sound different to ours/like the different sex's name etc.

""I grew up in a very small town in Massachusetts, and it goes without saying that there weren't many Nigerian families in that town, and a lot of people couldn't say Uzoamaka," she explains. "I came home from school one day, and I said to my mother ... 'Mommy, can you call me Zoe?' " Aduba thought it was close enough to her real name but wouldn't make people tongue-tied. Her mother wasn't having it. "Without skipping a beat, she said, 'If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky, and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, then they can learn to say Uzoamaka.' And we never discussed it again." - uzo aduba from oitnb

Also, if it's on the passport, at least in Korea there is a limited number of ways you're allowed to romanise it. I don't know about other countries, but when we got our daughter's passport (Korean father), we had to spell it the way they wanted it, even though it is really ugly.

I'm not a fan of making leaps like calling a kid whose name is Ri An "Ryan'. Those aren't the same and it is confusing for the child.

We just gave my daughter a Korean name and an English middle name that is totally different, so that if she feels more comfortable using that abroad, she can (her choice). But she is only referred to by her Korean name.

Yes Hisaishi, it is Korean. The thing with Ri An as some have said, is that it is a legit Irish name. I now wonder if in reality an English/Welsh/Scottish person would say Ryan when seeing Rian. Would they not clock on?! I think my friend thinks Rian is best on the passport, but baby can choose between Ian and Rian in future for use amongst his peers as they are both appropriate spellings. I don't know what will happen at the passport office. I hope there won't be any trouble.

Thanks so much for your input everyone. It was all taken on board. Much appreciated.

P.s. Just a little bit of extra info for those who helped, before I sign off.

Turns out LeeAnn in Korean means 'to govern wisely'. And Rian means 'king'. Happy coincidence?!

Thanks again to all