Some time ago, I posted a name post which got me "tomorrow-ed" and triggered the most number of comments ever. That was my early days of blogging when I still went under the nick of "shakespeareheroine", where I explained the usage of this monicker in here.
So now, someone asked me how did "juphelia" came about? Actually it is my own creation - a combination of my favourite Shakespearean characters of Juliet, Ophelia and Celia. Personally, I think it is a very good-sounding name. Perhaps I will name my daughter this in the future.
Whereupon, the same person then asked, what about if I have a son? What will I name him? I have not really decided, although I did think of a few nice-sounding names. So he then suggested the Shakespearean heroes of the same - Romeo, Hamlet and Orlando, and combined it to become "Omelet". I cringed when I heard that! Corny sense of humour some people have! That is no way to name anyone's son!
This came about when I was reflecting on the names which my nephews and nieces have. During my grandparents' time, their names were very simple. Chinese names of one syllable, easy to pronounce and write. My parents' time saw a change in Chinese names, where the names have some special meanings like "flower" or "jade" or "pearl" or "strong" or "healthy". They adopted their own English names.
In fact, among the men, there are names with the meanings of "always number one", "pillar of the country", "country's creme de la creme" and "smart and alert" to name a few. The women have names with the meanings of "golden swallow", "golden pearl" and "golden lotus" to name a few.
My cousins and I have rather unique names, supposedly to be beautiful and poetic in the Chinese language. Yet now, when it comes to the next generation, all of them go by English names. The grandchildren of my dad's sister have names like Timothy, Nicholas, Rachel, Kimberly, Keagan, Keith, Jessica, Johnathan, Joshua and Andrea.
Those of my dad's brother have names like Colin, Vince and Celine. And now, my newest nephew and niece is called Tristan (will he have a sister called Isolde then?) and Emily Maia. Pretty fanciful! As parents, I think it is hard to give a name to your child, because if you give something that does not sound "right", the poor child will be at the butt of cruel and merciless jokes all during his / her childhood. I should know!
For me, I like my name better now than in the past. But if I ever want to change a name, it will be to something really poetic, beautiful and at the same time, means something sweet. A difficult choice actually. It is just as well my name sticks for now, otherwise I may end up calling myself something totally horrendous!
So now, someone asked me how did "juphelia" came about? Actually it is my own creation - a combination of my favourite Shakespearean characters of Juliet, Ophelia and Celia. Personally, I think it is a very good-sounding name. Perhaps I will name my daughter this in the future.
Whereupon, the same person then asked, what about if I have a son? What will I name him? I have not really decided, although I did think of a few nice-sounding names. So he then suggested the Shakespearean heroes of the same - Romeo, Hamlet and Orlando, and combined it to become "Omelet". I cringed when I heard that! Corny sense of humour some people have! That is no way to name anyone's son!
This came about when I was reflecting on the names which my nephews and nieces have. During my grandparents' time, their names were very simple. Chinese names of one syllable, easy to pronounce and write. My parents' time saw a change in Chinese names, where the names have some special meanings like "flower" or "jade" or "pearl" or "strong" or "healthy". They adopted their own English names.
In fact, among the men, there are names with the meanings of "always number one", "pillar of the country", "country's creme de la creme" and "smart and alert" to name a few. The women have names with the meanings of "golden swallow", "golden pearl" and "golden lotus" to name a few.
My cousins and I have rather unique names, supposedly to be beautiful and poetic in the Chinese language. Yet now, when it comes to the next generation, all of them go by English names. The grandchildren of my dad's sister have names like Timothy, Nicholas, Rachel, Kimberly, Keagan, Keith, Jessica, Johnathan, Joshua and Andrea.
Those of my dad's brother have names like Colin, Vince and Celine. And now, my newest nephew and niece is called Tristan (will he have a sister called Isolde then?) and Emily Maia. Pretty fanciful! As parents, I think it is hard to give a name to your child, because if you give something that does not sound "right", the poor child will be at the butt of cruel and merciless jokes all during his / her childhood. I should know!
For me, I like my name better now than in the past. But if I ever want to change a name, it will be to something really poetic, beautiful and at the same time, means something sweet. A difficult choice actually. It is just as well my name sticks for now, otherwise I may end up calling myself something totally horrendous!
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