A Common Name

     My name is Jeehye, which means wisdom in Korean. When I was forced to go church in my childhood, I could hear my name so many times. People in the church loved the words Jeehye, not me, because my name is mentioned in the Bible a lot. I was uncomfortable in this situation since I was not religious, and I thought that I had a wrong name because I didn't think I had wisdom.

    Unlike church people were proud of my name, I didn't like my name that much. I have two older brothers, and when I was a little kid, I wanted to be like my brothers who were good at sports and computer games. However, I have never been good at those things. I thought this was because of my name that couldn't get the last syllable ho, which means tiger, and my brothers and other male cousins got. Sometimes, I wonder if my name was Jee-ho, I would have experienced different things.

    Moreover, there were always three or four students with the name Jeehye in my classes at school because my name was very common in my generation. There was only one girl who called my name every day. She had told me that when I smiled, I looked like the female actor named Jee-ho who was popular at that time as a neutral and cool character. After a while, the girl started coming to my church. 

    Many years later, my mother told me about a name that my great-grandfather was going to give me, and how she claimed not to give that name to her daughter. I was relieved that I didn't get the name. The name was Gaesoon which sounded terrible to me. It was very old-fashioned name that people would have made fun of me for my whole life. In addition, it sounds like a female slave name in Joseon Dynasty over 500 years ago. 

    Eventually, over the years, I have tried to think that I have a fine name. Even though my mother is still a devout Christian and hasn't given up on me going back to church, she gave me a fine name at least and she is the only one in my family who thinks I have wisdom. 

Nell or Nail?

 

        My first name is 諾騫，and my last name is 曹. As I was born in Hong Kong, my name includes three Chinese words, as all the typical Chinese name do. However, it seldom used in the English lessons in my previous educations, so another name which is Nell, has also been representing me.

        My Chinese name was gives by my parents, as our family’s name is 曹. Therefore, I just followed their name naturally. In terms of the character of my name, 諾, it can form a word in Chinese that means commitment and making promises. I guess my parents wanted me to be a person with sure virtue. In terms of my third name, 騫, it means flying. I am sure that they want to pursuit my dreams persistently, regardless of how hard the process would be, but to try my best to achieve the goals. However, I didn't like my Chinese name when I was young, because it sounded like a boy's name when read out loud, but I found it was special and unique when I grew up as I have never met anyone, who got the same name as me, which makes me be the one and only. People will not mix up my name with others.

        My nickname, Nell, was also given by my parents, and I didn't like it either when I was little. Surprisingly, I still haven't met anyone who has the same name as me. It gives me a feeling of being special. Nell sort of sounds like nail and snail, so these words come to my mind when people call me. Most importantly, I do think it reflects my personality somehow. Sometimes, when I walk slowly or do things slowly, reminds me of my name. So, maybe this is the reason I am named Nell. 

Behind My Name

 

            My name is “XueSong Zhi”. My grandfather gave this name to me when I was born. In addition, the meaning of my name is snow and pine. I really love my name because there is a special meaning behind it.

            First, I was born in the winter. My birthday is January 23rd, 2000. It was a very cold day in my hometown. Moreover, it was snowing when I was born. Therefore, my grandfather put snow in my name. The other reason is that snow is white, and it represents cleanliness and luck in Chinese culture. In addition, the other word in my name is pine, because there is a pine tree in my yard, and it is so beautiful. When the snow falls on the pine trees, it looks very beautiful. Therefore, my first name is the snow falling on the pine tree. I really love my name.

            In addition, my last name is also very special, because I have never met a person that has the same last name in my life. Only a few people have this last name. There is a history of my last name. Because I am a descendant of the Qing dynasty royal family, we have a special last name. That means only royal family members can use it. Therefore, I think my last name is very special.

            In sum, I really love my name, because it is not only has a special meaning but also sounds very cool.

Moon

Moon

reference: Google

My name is Ching Yueh, in Chinese characters, it is 景月, The meaning of 景 is a view, and the the meaning of 月 is the moon. I like my name a lot because my name is very unique. IT is very difficult to find someone who has the same name as me in Taiwan. My name has an interesting background, my grand father found a fortune-teller to gain a name for me. In Taiwan, fortune teller is a common and professional job, someone to do a reading of the future for people. A lot of people will seek the help of a fortune teller when they encounter problems in life. I haven't asked my grandfather or the fortune teller why they chose this name for me. However, I believe they name 景月 for me because of a special reason. Maybe my name is deeply connected with my future. I didn't like my name when I was young because my name is too unique so teachers only can easily remember my name. When children got in trouble, the teacher always call my name. However, as I grow up and understood the meaning behind my name I started to like it. Finally, I am grateful my grandfather decided on this beautiful name for me. I will carry the name with me my whole life.

Chava

My name is Salvador, but my people call me Chava. There is a nickname back in Mexico for the people that are named Salvador which is chava. I don’t know the origin of this, but personally, I got used to it since I was 4. In Spanish, chava means young women. It's weird that people call us that.

Since I was little people have called me chava and it was rare when people called me by my name. When I was younger and I did mischief, professors or my parents called me Salvador to talk to me. So every time I hear Salvador, I feel serious and I can’t help to think that I did something stupid. 

I like my nickname but not my name. Sometimes I think that I am going to be someone important in life and my name isn’t that unique or weird. But when people call me chava, I forget these grandiose delusions and I focus on the present and on the people that surround me. 

I never thought of this, but I guess chava is the name that defines me. For me chava means humbleness and happiness and whenever people say it to me, I feel like myself.

Plain but Strong

When my mother was pregnant with me, she and my father thought about two names, one for a boy and one for a girl. They didn’t want to know my gender before I was born. They wanted to enjoy having a surprise on the due date.

The feeling I have about my name is mixed sometimes. It makes me feel plain because it is so easy to spell and pronounce, and it is so common. In different situations with people from different countries, they have told me “That’s my grandmother’s name”. It is funny but also it seems to me like a boring name. However, on the other hand, the same reasons that make my name so simple are the reasons why I like it, just because it is so practical. People almost never make mistakes spelling or pronouncing it. It’s also easy to remember and type.   

My name is functional, but the most significant part of the history of my name is the story of the women who inspired my parents to choose it. I am proud to have the same name as my great-great-grandmother and my grandmother because there were strong women. Who were independent, organized, kind, and community servers, even though they had difficult lives.

In the end, I wouldn't change my name. My parents have personal reasons for choosing it, and I respect their decision. For me it is common, but I admire the namesakes in my family.

                   

                                                                  SUNRISE 

My name is Sahar and this is the name that my mother and my grandmother
chose for me. I love my name, mostly because I really respect my mother. In addition, I feel blessed by the name that she chose for me as her first child.
When I was a little kid, she was always telling me the story behind my name. Every time she started with the story, I remember, I stared at her with a smile, and my heart melted with joy. 
She chose this name because I was born early in the morning, with the sunrise.
In Farsi, Sahar means sunrise, so that is why they gave me this name.
 Now, whenever I think about my name, I feel so delighted because it reminds me of all the beautiful memories of my mother’s story. Sometimes, when I get tired of doing something, I remind myself that I can be like the sun, which rises from the darkness of the night and gives light and hope to our lives. This motivates me not to give up and keep going in any situation.
Finally, I would like to say that it is important for people to love their name, be proud of it, and know that there are no ugly names in the world.

 

Batty Toure

                                                  My name 

My name is Batty, and my father chose this name for me. I was named after my grandmother’s sister. In Mali, a newborn is usually named after someone who is a part of their family because it is a sign of respect and love for the person that they will be named after.  In my case, most people will know which family I come from because Batty is a rare name from a very respected family. I really love my name, and I am glad that I inherited it from my grandmother’s big sister. She passed away  of old age the day after  her son's wedding 13 years ago, and it happened when I was still very young. She was a very kind person, and always made people feel comfortable around her. She always helped others when in need, no matter the circumstances. She brought happiness wherever she went, even when people were not in the mood, she made them happy. I am very glad that I was named after such a wonderful person. I wish that I had the opportunity to get to know her better.

Is my Name Special

 

               When I was a child, I hated being called Danna. I was that kind of girl who didn’t like her name. One day, I asked my mother why she gave me that name, and she just said because she like it. I asked her again to tell me the whole story about my name.

 When she was pregnant, she had a complicated pregnancy. The doctors said that she had to be on bed resting until my birth. As a result, she had months of sleeping and watching TV during her whole pregnancy. She used to watch a famous soap opera while she was pregnant. I don’t remember the name, but the main actress was Danna Garcia.My mother did research about the actress’ name, and she figured out that her name means sweet and kind. She was convinced that her daughter would have the same characteristics. She wanted me to be special as the actress. 

Now that I am older, I can say that my personality has some similarities related with the name. Besides, a few years later my mom investigated more, and she figured out that Danna also means justice, strongness and braveness. We realized that I have been like that at some point of my life. There have been some occasions where I have been brave, stronger or defending someone from injustice situations. 

Eventually, I started to appreciate my name. When I learned what represents my name in my life. I have grown up being sweet, kind, brave and strong. I also believe that God put my name on my mother’s heart. My mom never was wrong about my name and the person I would become. Now, I am thankful about my name and what it represents to my life.

Hope

                                                                             Hope

My name is Thuan Hao, but many people call me Daniel. I am from Viet Nam. I like my Vietnamese name. My parents gave this name to me. My father based it on my date and time of birth to create my name. Hao means full of life, brave, smart, and sunshine. These cover all of my parents' hopes for me. When I was in middle school and high school in Viet Nam, my friends used to make a joke about my name because Hao sounded similar to oysters. They always called me fried oysters or oyster sauce. However, I did not really care because I like and appreciate my name. If someone wants to pronounce my Vietnamese name, they can try to say how. It is quite similar. The reason why I chose Daniel is because it has the similar meaning as Hao which also means full of life, smart and sunshine. I want to keep my parents' hope. In addition, another reason  I chose Daniel is because of my mother. She has an accent so she can not pronounce English names correctly. In Viet Nam, when I chose my English name and asked her to pronounce my name, she pronounced it so funny which became a joke to my brother when he heard it. Daniel is the only name which not only has similar meaning to my Vietnamese name, but also my mother can pronounce it almost correctly and easily. I like my name and appreciate what my parents hope about me.

                            

A difficult name to write

 

A difficult name to write

My name is Weitao Li. It is my official name, which was given to me by my father. When I was young, I did not like it because it is too hard to write for a young person. My name has too many strokes. Every time we had to write our name in class, it always took me a long time. Everyone finished their name and began to work, but I was always a minute or two behind. I asked my father many times to make my name change my name to something easier to write, but every time I asked, he refused my request without any reasons.

When I got older, I realized my name wasn’t bad at all. There are many of meanings for each character of my name. Wei means powerful and famous. Tao means I can speak a lot without a break, and Li is my family name. It is a common family name in China since the beginning of Chinese culture. During the Tang Dynasty, event the emperor of Tang Dynasty used Li as their family name. The name was chosen by my parents. It is not only a simple name, but also a hope was given by my parents.

To know my name more, so I have searched my name on the internet for several times. I found out there are some famous people have the same name and one of them is a PhD student studying Microelectronics. I am pound of it. I hope I can be like them someday.

 Seonghae Kim

01/26/2022

Behind My Name

Everyone has their own stories behind their name, depending on the time period, area, religion, and society’s value, the stories can differ. Like everyone else, I have my own story of when I was about to be named Seonghae Kim, the characters in Korean are 김성해. 

At that time, when I was in my mother’s womb, there was not a single machine to detect the fetus's gender. My parents wished I was a boy, but unfortunately, I happened to be a girl not the boy that they desperately wanted me to be. Here is one question you might want to ask. Why was knowing my gender so important for my parents? I was born and raised under a patriarchal and very conservative culture where women’s social status was much lower than men's. On September 20th, 1995, I was born in a small village in North Korea. Back in the day, the womanly beauty of society was submissiveness, so women were taught strictly by their parents to be kind, obedient to their husbands and all other men. In addition, women have generally named something like spring, flower, summer, and other similar names. However, unlike others, my name was like a boy’s name. 

My father named me in hopes I became a strong and independent woman. He believed that one’s name was very important because it led to their character. I was told by my grandmother that people around my father advised him not to give me such a strong name, but sure enough, he insisted. Whether or not my name is from his own intentionality or his consciousness, I have been grateful to my father for naming me Seonghae Kim because he did not want me to be conventional, but instead, he wanted me to be strong enough to be myself.