tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post3819557295114079004..comments2023-09-02T04:03:19.065-07:00Comments on Ms. Wojinski's Blog: For Journalists: What's in a Name?Natalie Wojinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06469461886276618615noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-27734667902893063132009-09-29T16:34:27.436-07:002009-09-29T16:34:27.436-07:00Chinese names are usually made up of three individ...Chinese names are usually made up of three individual Chinese character each with a particular meaning. Mine starts with our family name which is Chen and a two character given name, Wai Tung. I found out that my English name, Renee, means reborn which has no connect with my Chinese name. Nevertheless, the Wai means wisdom and intelligence, and Tung describes a bright, red, hot sun which symbolizes optimism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01934135504669074692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-76658221435309398522009-09-29T16:28:00.926-07:002009-09-29T16:28:00.926-07:00I think I am quite special because I have two name...I think I am quite special because I have two names, one in Chinese and one in English. I don't know why I am named Wendy, which is decided by my mom, but I search it in the Internet and it means white, fair and blessed from Gwengolden, a Welsh name. It is also came from Wendy in Peter Pan. My grandmother decided my chinese name, which is Chen Wai Pui, where Chen is my last name, Wai means intelligence and Pui means healthy and energetic. <br /> No one ever laugh at my name, so I don't exactly understand the feeling of being laughed at. But as a third person point of view, i think it is unfair to laugh at someone's name because it's different from our own. I don't think neither Temujin nor Mansa Musa are funny at all. Those who laughed at people's name are so naive. Names identify a person. With unique names, they allow us to identify you easily among a bunch of people. Your name shows your ancestor's life history and allows us to see who you are.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10834665234345652396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-28898726668320713692009-09-29T15:49:21.831-07:002009-09-29T15:49:21.831-07:00My name, Banpreet, was given to me by my uncle, wh...My name, Banpreet, was given to me by my uncle, who thought it was the <br />best name that would fit for me. However, I don't feel that way due to <br />the uncommonity of my name. Up to date I have never met another <br />banpreet. My name is also very cultural, which also makes it difficult <br />for many to pronounce. If I had a choice to change my name I would <br />because my name stands out, which I don't really want nor like.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12294290334823515704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-7747004930113684142009-09-29T13:23:35.693-07:002009-09-29T13:23:35.693-07:00Truthfully, I think my parents named me Jennifer b...Truthfully, I think my parents named me Jennifer because it's a common name, and they just liked the sound of it. Jennifer means "fair one, thoughtful, and smooth". My middle name, Ngoc, is Vietnamese and it means jade. Having Ngoc has a middle name has just been passed down through the family. <br /><br />For my first name, I think its pretty true for the thoughtful and fair part though (; But that's the story behind my name!Jennifer Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13204902162499668358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-91003577337501662362009-09-29T13:09:55.773-07:002009-09-29T13:09:55.773-07:00My name was combined from my parents'
names. T...My name was combined from my parents'<br />names. They took "gi" from Gina and "sel" from Anselmo. They added the "le" to make it a more "concrete name." Man, lot's of quotations. x]Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17839547111368299339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-35766640591398191342009-09-29T12:58:24.048-07:002009-09-29T12:58:24.048-07:00On my birth certificate, the name "Myron"...On my birth certificate, the name "Myron" means "sweet and perfumed" in Greek. It also says that my name was much more common in the 1950s, and is very rare now. However, my parents choose this name because they were having trouble translating my Chinese name. Symbolically, my Chinese name can be translated as "ahead of the crowd." Literally, it means the son of the Lam family who "is finished with his spanking."Myronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07184448961205440618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-31965418544591185962009-09-29T12:48:12.551-07:002009-09-29T12:48:12.551-07:00My parents chose the name Henry when they were wat...My parents chose the name Henry when they were watchign a documentary on Henry Ford. I guess they liked the name and just picked it. Henry is an old English name which roughly "ruler of self" or something like that. Since it's a really old name I have only met like two or three other people named Henry.Henry Hunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17840722276146295232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-58970950296626505992009-09-29T12:44:10.807-07:002009-09-29T12:44:10.807-07:00A friend once told me that Darlena means/comes fro...A friend once told me that Darlena means/comes from "darling" in Old English. I beg to differ. <br /><br />Anyway, my parents have several stories for how they named me; it's a different story every time I ask. One that I hear often is that my mom originally combined the name Lena with the word "darling". <br /><br />The funny thing is, my grandpa was the first one to name me, even before my mom. He named me Lenh (pronounced "leng"), which means "gentle soul" in Chinese. Everyone in my family calls me this, I rarely hear Darlena at home. <br /><br />Although I love both my Chinese and American names for their uniqueness, it annoys me when people mistake my name for Darlene or Darla. Those names sound so alien and incomplete to me. Also, it's very difficult finding Darlena on all those stupid personalized products that stores sell haha.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07522803152984278251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-28803961938449339182009-09-29T12:41:58.945-07:002009-09-29T12:41:58.945-07:00Similar to other Asian parents in this world, my p...Similar to other Asian parents in this world, my parents wanted a boy to carry on the family last name "Man" for generations after. Unfortunately for them, I came out to be a girl. From what my dad said, my name, along with my sister's name, was picked out by a fortune teller. I was not surprised as I knew my dad was extremely superstitious and traditional, so of course he would want a name that would be "lucky" for his daughters.<br /><br />Honestly, I'm not completely in love with my name. "Fiona" is a pretty uncommon name, as I do not know anyone else with the same name as me, but I wish I could have a more unique name; perhaps a more Asian-sounding name. <br /><br />However, I'm still happy with my name. Apparently, it is derived from the Gaelic origin meaning "fair, white, and beautiful." It is quite hilarious as I can be somewhat pale, due to my Chinese origin, but I am surely not "white," as proven with my coin-slot eyes, black hair, and abnormally large and round head. My name is also pronounced in many humorous ways, such as Fee-on-ah, Fee-oh-nah, Fy-on-ah, and even Fee-on-a-man (if you include my last name). Although some people enjoy referring me as the ogre, "Princess Fiona", in which I personally feel it is not nice to judge by names, I am still grateful to have a name that means "beautiful." (:Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02820049995966493840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-19435675659807773712009-09-29T12:39:22.290-07:002009-09-29T12:39:22.290-07:00It turns out my mother decided to name me after th...It turns out my mother decided to name me after the Soap Opera actress, Haley, from "All My Children." I'm assuming this sudden impulse came to her as she sat watching this gothic chick one winterty afternoon, possibly with a pickle in her right hand and the other rubbing her bulging belly. Although the story is not as "epic," traditional or unique as I imagined, I'm actually quite satisfied with my name. The final decision was between Shannon, Haley and BRITTANY. Oh, how I dread this name. No offense to the name Brittany, or those who have this name, but people have said for eternity that I resemble a girl named Brittany; it's probably because I'm white. The story of my life. <br /><br />And not to mention, my last name "Knoblauch" has a rather interesting story behind it. First off, it means "garlic" in German. Secondly, as a little boy, my grandpa didn't necessarily know who his biological father was, so he simply took the name of the man who was in his life. It's still a mystery as to whom my grandpa's biological dad is, and whether or not I'm German.Haley K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12020432273593715713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-7328151016950659022009-09-29T12:33:07.236-07:002009-09-29T12:33:07.236-07:00Well..before I was born my mom picked out two name...Well..before I was born my mom picked out two names for me. The first was Emeel, which she fell in love with.( I have know idea why, that is the ugliest name in the world). The second name she picked was Donovan, I believed she found it in a book and really liked it. She liked it because it was different and not a typical African American name. So when I came out, my mom and dad took a look at me and said, "thats a Donovan." I am so glad i didn't get the God awful name of Emeel. That was terrible. So Donovan means strong warrior, yup that pretty cool huh? Anyways, I think it's ok to laugh at people's names but not in a disrespectful way. I laugh at the name Mandave all the time..MAN..DAVE..haha and thats my bestfriend so it's ok to laugh sometimes but in an appropriate manner.Donniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13717143972093172698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-73244347841571415432009-09-29T12:32:35.163-07:002009-09-29T12:32:35.163-07:00My parents named me Ernest after a movie. After i ...My parents named me Ernest after a movie. After i became baptized, my first name for some odd reason became Joseph. The name Joseph is not on my birth certificate, but it is my first name everywhere else. Therefore Joseph is my first name and my middle name is Ernest. My last name, Widjaja, is an extremely common last name in Indonesia. It is considered the "Wong" Indonesia. Widjaja can also be spelled as Widjaya.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18232239875271755396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-27726632965243280682009-09-29T11:54:47.407-07:002009-09-29T11:54:47.407-07:00In my family, my brothers and I have names in the ...In my family, my brothers and I have names in the Bible: Daniel, Joseph, Enoch, and Elim. My dad wanted me to have a special name, something with meaning since I was his only daughter. So he chose Elim, meaning a place of sweet water.<br /><br />Originally I took pride in my name when I was little, but soon disliked it when teachers had a difficult time pronouncing it, which caused other students to laugh. My name has been pronounced so many different ways like Elm and Eleem. I've been even called Emily.<br /><br />Aside the mispronunciation, the only good thing about my name is that...well, how many other "Elim's" have you encountered?Indep_Elim_Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10794026230777352806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-50223360753733347692009-09-29T08:12:27.828-07:002009-09-29T08:12:27.828-07:00My grandpa came up with my name: Yueming. In Chine...My grandpa came up with my name: Yueming. In Chinese, my first name is actually two characters, "yue" and "ming". Because "yue" is mostly referred to when speaking about the moon, many people are confused when I say that the "yue" in my name roughly translates to pearl. Like English, this is one of the uncommon homonyms in Chinese. It is so unusual that the government's computer didn't even have it registered in its word bank when I first went to get my birth certificate. So why did my grandpa have to pick such a "weird" name? <br /><br />Both my parents are named "Jie" but the two words are written differently. My grandpa took the two similar parts of their name and took them out, combining the two different parts together to make "yue" and that's how I became named Yueming. The "ming" part kind of just tagged along. :]Yueming Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04866760496872504993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-45869521937052872152009-09-29T08:01:57.461-07:002009-09-29T08:01:57.461-07:00My name was originally supposed to be Michael, aft...My name was originally supposed to be Michael, after my father, because they were positive they were having a son instead of a daughter, but when they went to the check up, the doctor said, "The baby is a girl." They still loved the name Michael and were seriously considering naming me Michaela, but my grandmother said it was too masculine and instead decided to break it up into two names, Carla Michelle. My parents both fell in love, since it did have a hint of "Michael" in it. <br /><br />Quick fact: My name means "womanly."Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08133379607112621233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-32852323257530270612009-09-29T07:55:09.542-07:002009-09-29T07:55:09.542-07:00Still to this day my parents fight about who thoug...Still to this day my parents fight about who thought of my name first, my Dad says that he did and Mom say that she made it first. However, they told me that my name means calm and peace, which is true, but I researched it more and my name, Sarina Curtis, is actually derived from an arabic word that mean calm and peacful, it also derived from Latin serenus meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". I did some reseach in class today and found out that name also means: <br /><br />The meaning of the name Sarina is Princess, One Who Laughs<br />The origin of the name Sarina is Hebrew<br />Notes: From the name SaraAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03147916784000826943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-35102249251062036232009-09-29T07:51:07.538-07:002009-09-29T07:51:07.538-07:00I was originally going to be named Brittany, but w...I was originally going to be named Brittany, but when my mom and dad were in a store they heard the name Savanna and fell in love with it. My name means a grassy plain, which is ironic because lions live there and I am a leo, plus they are my favorite animals. I have never really liked my name, people can't pronounce it right and I don't think it is a right fit for me.Savannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06667870281860260772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-23927417228184943832009-09-28T22:45:35.513-07:002009-09-28T22:45:35.513-07:00My mom wanted to name me Brittany, but my dad like...My mom wanted to name me Brittany, but my dad liked the name Ashley. There was no meaning behind either. My mom won, haha. As for my middle name, Kiyoko, it is a little more interesting. It is a combination of my grandmothers' names on both sides of the family. My paternal grandmother's first name is Kiyo, and my Bachan's first name is Kiyono. Thus, my parents decided to give me the Japanese middle name, Kiyoko. "Kiyo" means pure, and "ko" means child!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01798457740784066473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-76180706617843771872009-09-28T22:22:56.582-07:002009-09-28T22:22:56.582-07:00Actually I don't know why I was called Wai Hin...Actually I don't know why I was called Wai Hin. But I remembered my father had told me that when I was born, he brought me to see the feng shui master. That fortune teller said that I didn’t have enough "fire" in my life. So my father called me Wai Hin because there's got a fire in the word “Wai” in Chinese. But I think maybe the fortune teller was wrong because my mother always says I am easily to be angry, so maybe I have a lot of of “fire” not don't have enough "fire".Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14642792944033352301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-88626092706424535492009-09-28T21:58:24.069-07:002009-09-28T21:58:24.069-07:00I asked my parents about where my name derived fro...I asked my parents about where my name derived from, yet before i even asked, I always thought it derived from the famous phrase "Smart Alec" or was just a unique name that was better than the common Alexander or Alex. My mom named me Alec because she thought it flowed really well with my last name; and she thought Alex was an ugly name and was too common. And so it goes that my first name was actually summoned in spite of my dad's favorite actors, Alec Baldwin (from a long list of his favorite war movies) and Alec Guinness, who played the old Obi Wan character in Star Wars. After searching for my name, i found it to be originated from a list of cultures: the British, Scottish, English and Greek. It means "helper and defender of mankind". Afterall, I still remember when I entered first grade and people always called me Alex, so I kind of went with that name but i never liked it. I soon became annoyed of people calling me the wrong name so i corrected them. What i find interesting is that i have never encountered another person named Alec and i think Alec is a different unique name.<br /><br />As for my middle name, Jonathan, my mom also thought it was a kind and gentle name that flowed. More importantly, my last name, Murillo, is Spanish. However, from what i see, all most Filipinos have Spanish last names because i think it has to do with the Spanish conquering of the Philippine Islands during the time when Europe expanded to West into Austrailia, and the Pacific Islands. Thus, when the Spanish married Filipino women, it can be said this is where our ancestry derives from.alechttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04296147952525863694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-59560227914541047102009-09-28T21:23:29.130-07:002009-09-28T21:23:29.130-07:00It was entirely my dads decision to name me Stepha...It was entirely my dads decision to name me Stephanie. It was Stephen if I was a boy, or Stephanie if I was a girl. It is of the Greek origin, and is defined as crown or garland. <br /><br />I used to think my name was uncommon, which made me think it was a wierd name, but I've grown to like it. It's easy to pronounce and becoming more common nowadays.<br /><br />I have no idea why or how my dad came up with my middle name!Stephanie Chanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10079500937220599365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-33917193051981361762009-09-28T18:38:04.937-07:002009-09-28T18:38:04.937-07:00My Mother named me after a little girl on the plan...My Mother named me after a little girl on the plane that she had to look after since she was flying alone. My Mom use to work at the airport and she was on the flight to France. The little girl who sat quietly drawing was named Rachelle. It's a French name but it comes from Hebrew meaning sheep and it makes sense since I'm born in 1991 the year of the ram :]Rachelle Lanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01910621148220968949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-81129420613514880542009-09-28T18:21:32.467-07:002009-09-28T18:21:32.467-07:00ok well apparantly my family is very religious, ev...ok well apparantly my family is very religious, even when it comes to picking names. In my religion, (I'm Sikh), the parents usually go to the Gurdwara (place of worship, basically like a temple) and the priest or preacher or whatever you like to call it, opens the Guru Granth Sahib (the bible)and the first letter they see is what the name is supposed to start with. With me, it just happened to land on "S" so my name was supposed to start with an "S", but the name itself was chosen by my mother. After the first letter was chosen, my mom got to decide what my name would be, and she just happened to really like the name "Simaran" so this is what she named me. My name means "meditating" and when people are reciting the Granth Sahib, this is called Simaran. I really liked my name because it was unique and it sounds pretty, and even though many others have the same name, mine is different becasue it is spelled differently (there is a extra "a", it is really supposed to be Simran) and i don't know if my mom did it intentionally or accidentally, but i'm happy. And as far as mispronouncing goes, almost everyone says my name wrong, many call me Sim-a-ron, Sim-arun, and many substitute teacher don't even attempt to say my name because it is so complicated, (my entire name is Simaranjeet Bhatia, but i prefer Simaran) And laughing at someone's name is ok, but if the person goes overboard and makes fun of the name, than this just shows how immature that person is.simaranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17404747930759675407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-7720724328637616422009-09-28T17:40:19.357-07:002009-09-28T17:40:19.357-07:00It is not appropriate to mock anyone's name be...It is not appropriate to mock anyone's name because to someone else, your name might sound weird too. Although extremely quotidian, my name was derived from a name of a protagonist from a book my mother read in high school. Also, Christopher was my father's first choice for a son's name becuase of its religious meaning, "Cross bearer (Jesus Christ)" in Greek. I have grown accustomed to my name, although I would probably prefer a more unique name, but then again, who is to say that any given name shall not be preferable over a different name when thought of in context of name giving, which only creates a loop of uncertainty.Chris Habashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07289208783381599054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12008182.post-68387542927897765902009-09-28T15:43:00.888-07:002009-09-28T15:43:00.888-07:00Unlike many, I wasn't named after anyone. In f...Unlike many, I wasn't named after anyone. In fact, my name was originally supposed to be Olivia. My father, with his accent, however, couldn't pronounce it. They ultimately decided to go with Stephanie for no particular reason. My name means "crowned one," albeit I observe no ounce of royalty in me.Stephanie Nyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11678589553264027545noreply@blogger.com