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Monday, June 24, 2013

A Rose by Another Korean Name

So the other day the Chinese production person had to tell me her American name cause someone called for her and I had no idea who they wanted. Since then I've been wondering about the two name thing or more to the point the three name thing Koreans have going on. Pete and I didn't talk about giving the baby a third name or a Korean name. We just didn't think of it for some reason but now I'm thinking of it. So being me I started doing some researching and asked around how this American and Asian name deal thing works.

For some reason it's a bit different for Korean versus Chinese since Chinese people pick an American name when they immigrant while Korean chose one from childhood. At least that's how I understood it. Anyway, depending on the document (passport, birth certificate, etc) and what there's doing ( working, going to school, etc) they can have either name being used. Now all that's a bit confusing for me in general so I decided to simplify this naming idea I'm twirling around.

I decided to just give the baby a Korean middle name. I already picked the first name and I plan on using the father's last name so that's the only place to add some extra Korean. So I did some research for Korean baby names books. Once again it seem I'm looking for the near impossible. It's amazing the different types of baby name book available...

- Jewish, Saints Names, Biblical Names, etc
- Spanish, Hispanic, etc
- Indian, Hindu, Muslim, etc
- African, African American, etc
- Irish, Celtic Names, etc
- Arabian
- New Age, 90's Names, Celebrity, Favorite Soap Opera's
- Melting Pot
- Chinese

All that but no Korean...I'm beginning to feel a bit of biasness on behalf of my little one. Still I found some books that has sections of Korean name so I gave those a browse thru. Sad to say they only had about 2 pages each of Korean names for boys and girl to chose from. When I compared that to the pages and pages of name from other cultures I felt a bit at odds. I was tempted to give the baby a Native American name since I saw some good ones but figured I had enough racial explaining to do later.

So armed with my four sheets of paper with Korean baby names I begin the interesting task of name choosing. At some point I will need the help of my Korean co-workers to help me correctly pronounce and fully understand the meaning behind any name I find appealing. I sure know how to over due some projects huh?