My Name: Annie

                                                     My name

        My name is Anh Phuong Nguyen. You can call me Annie. I was born in Saigon, Vietnam. Vietnam has bustling street life, beautiful scenery, and special culinary tradition I am slim and tall. My character can be honest, kind, generous, and friendly. My favorite hobbies are cooking, listening to music, shopping, and sometimes hanging out with my family and friends. I have a family of five, and we don't live together because I am studying abroad. I have a younger sister and a younger brother. My younger sister's name is Nhi, and she is living and studying in California. My brother's name is Manh, and he lives in Vietnam with my parents. My father is the director of the Thuan Thanh company, and my mother is the owner of a clothes shop. I am the oldest child, so I want to help my family build a strong business structure and operate more successfully. I decided to study at Harold Washington colleges and applied accounting. I prefer to study in the United States. prefer to study in the United States. Because the class size is quite small and there is more time to exchange with professors. There are many students from around the world at school, so it is easier to make friends and get help from each other. In brief, studying in the U.S offers me the chance to meet new people and while also preparing me to support my family's business. I'm very excited to learn, make new friends, and build a successful future.

                 

 

                                                                           Two in One

My name is Jaremi Flores. My father created my name from a combination of siblings. My older brother’s name is Jared, and my middle brother’s name is Emiliano. My father decided to put the three first letters together to create Jaremi. Honestly, I like my name for various reasons. The first is because it is not common in Spanish, and is a little bit funny. When Spanish speakers try to pronounce my name, it is hard and strange. On the other hand, sometimes it is not funny because when I came to the United States, many American speakers pronounced my name like Jeremi. In my mind, it sounds like a man’s name, but I understand because in English the pronunciation of the alphabet is very different. Another reason why I like my name is because my siblings and I are connected. I think that is very cute because they are my support and my happiness in my life. I remember when I was in Mexico days before changing countries, my father told me that the creation of my name was significant because my siblings and I had to always stay together. When he said that, I wanted to cry. At the same time, I felt peace in my heart because regardless of whatever the situation or distance, we have a strong bond, and I know perfectly well that they will always be there for me and I for them.

My name-Qianmin LI

 

                                                 Cheerful Replaces Restraint

             I like my Chinese name so much because my name is Qianmin Li 黎倩敏. It’s the name that my father gave me.  When I was growing up, some friends and teachers I met would say that my name is so nice when they heard it for the first time. Therefore, I like my name because it sounds good. When I was ten, I wondered what my name meant, so I went to ask my parents. They explained that in Chinese history and dictionary, Qian means pretty and happy and Min means smart and capable. Now I like my name not only for the beautiful sounds but also its unique meaning. My parents also told me Qianmin Li was not the first name they chose for me when I was born. My first name is Wenya Li which means action elegant and graceful behavior.  It's having the same meaning with Siwen in Chinese's. However, they thought that after this name, I would become constrained most of the time because in their opinion a name represents a person. They didn't want me to be careful because of my name and wanted me to be myself. Due to that, they also wanted me to be happy and be freedom more than constrained. Finally, they decided to give me the name Qianmin Li. I think my name has related to me all the time because I am a happy, beautify, an interesting woman every day. 

My Name - Pie

My Name

Mathematics

Many people get my name wrong, Pie, thinking it’s the same as the mathematical symbol “pi.” Which stands for the circle’s width to its circumference. People often think I’m really good at math because of this, but I’m not even close. I’ve never been good at math, and I’ve always thought it was funny that my nickname makes people think I am. My real name is Chawin, which means “smart” or “intelligent.” The meaning of the name is great, but I’ve never been sure how I felt about the name itself. 

As a child, people would always say my name wrong, calling me everything from “Shawin” to “Chowin” During school roll calls or when meeting new people, it got annoying. I started calling myself “Pie” after a while because it was easier and seemed more like a better fit for who I was, even though it caused some confusion. Both of my names came from my grandfather. He gave me the name Chawin because he wanted me to be smart, not just in school, but also in real life. Able to tell the difference between good and bad. Many times, he said that our name guides our path in life, and he thought that Chawin would help me make good decisions and be an honest person. I love this word, but I have a hard time pronouncing it, so I’ve decided to go with the name Pie, which feels more personal and less formal.

Me or my grandmother

                                                            Me or my grandmother

            Meriem , that is my name . It is the name I used to hate a long time ago because I used to believe  that it is an ugly name .  

           In my country Algeria , I met a lot of young women that had the same name as mine ,and that makes me feel like I am not special . My three siblings Sophia , Karimane amd Mohamed Ali have rarenames not like mine , that is what makes me blame my parents which is the most stupid thing I have ever done .

          One day , I was sitting with my family including my grandparents , and they started talking about my name . I felt something in my heart like happiness when I heard that my father named me Meriem after his mother because he used to be close to her. When he was young , he promised her to give her name to his first child and it was me . 

           Now I would say I am proud of being Meriem even if it is not a rare name , but I am special.

           I think what makes the person special is not the name but the story behind it or even after it . I am trying to give my name the best story that I could ever tell.

My name - Alan Castaneda

Noble

    My name is Alan Eduardo Castaneda Garcia. Originally my name was going to be Alan Alejandro, but my mother decided it was going to be Eduardo after I was born. The name, Alan, means someone loyal and noble. At least that is what I remember, and I think it represents me very well as a person because I’m the most loyal and generous person with the people I care for. Although I don’t know my second name’s meaning, Eduardo, to me means the creative part that is behind Alan. I have always enjoyed making art since I was a child. I used to draw while listening to music. Music is what I love the most. I started making music not so long ago and I like to think that Eduardo is the creative part of me, and Alan is delivering the idea. When I was a kid, I hated the name Eduardo. I used to think it sounded strange, and that it was too long. Saying Alan it was quicker. Lately I’m starting to like it and making it a part of me.   

Mystery

I would like to talk about my first name and my middle name. I will talk about my middle name first because it is my preferred name. Barthe has a French pronunciation, and I like it because my father chose it. However, he did not give me the meaning he told me when I was fourteen, he will give me the meaning when I become older Now, I am almost nineteen but he hasn’t told me anything I suppose I’m not big enough or I’m always going to be a baby in his eyes. This doesn’t matter because I’m still in love with my name even if some peoples make fun of.

My first name Adjalande also has a French pronunciation, and it has the last four letters of my mother’s name Mirlande the four first letters my godmother gives to me. I like it because it is hard to pronounce. Every person calls me differently and sometimes I make jokes about it, also I think is special, and I like the fact that nobody else has this name. I not sure, but I never heard it anywhere else. These are the reasons I like my names.

My name----Dawson

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

My name----Dawson (Weichen Zhang)

The kingly power of My Name

Naming is an important part for every Chinese person, and Chinese names are always meaningful for my name.

My father spent a lot of time thinking about a good name for me. The first characters are Wei Chen(维宸). Wei in Chinese means keeping, and Chen means the king of the empire. In other words, my first name means to keep the position of the king. I love this name because it shows the love from my parents. My last name comes from my father, so there is no special meaning. Put another way, Zhang is a big surname in China, and a lot of people have this last name

In conclusion, names are important for everyone regardless of where people are from. I am curious about how parents in other countries name their children. For myself, I choose Dawson as my English name because my father’s English name is David. The English name Dawson originates from an English surname that uses the suffix-son, indicating that the person’s father was named David. Therefore, Dawson can be interpreted as the son of David.

My name -- Yaen Mei

Yaen Mei

ESLINTG 100

September 13, 2024

My Precious

       My name is Yaen Mei. In Chinese, it has three characters. My first name 雅恩 means elegant and thankful, and my last name 梅 is one kind of flower, which is plum blossom. I got my name from my father's sister. In fact, my parents chose a lot of names for me before I was born. However, they were not really satisfied on these earlier names. They decided to get some advice from my aunt after their discussion. She picked two characters from the dictionary. Although my father's sister said she just thought that these two characters were pronounced conveniently, I think these two characters must be the best wishes from my parents to me. They hope that I can be a grateful, polite person in my future life. Honestly, I can't guarantee that I show all the characteristics every time, but I really appreciate that I have this name. If you ask me to change my name, I would say no. Because my name only represents me, it is unique and precious.

My name - Solee Kim

Solee Kim

ESLINTG 100 CE

September 2, 2024

Sol like a Sun

                  I love my name, Sol. My official name is Solee Kim. In Korean, it has three letters, but most people call me just sol to make it simple. My parents named me. Sol means clean, clear, and blue in Korean. My name is easy to pronounce and remember by other people. When I meet new people, I love to introduce my name. Apparently, Sol means sun in spanish. It has a similar meaning compared to Sol in Korean. I like both of them. A Mexican friend used to call me My Sun. I was impressed with it when I heard it for the first time. My name could have other beautiful meanings in other languages.

                 In general, Korean names have three letters. Most Koreans like to use the same letter of the letters of their children's' first name similarly like Eun Ji Kim, Eun Bi Kim, and Eun Su Kim. Both of my parents even have similar names with their siblings. However, my siblings and I have totally different names. I have two sisters Dan Bi Kim and Seul Ki Kim. My sisters and I are content with our different names. I feel that we have our own identity, and we are independent people from our names.

My Name - ShanShan Li

 The Number Three and Shanshan 

My name is Shanshan Li. Shanshan is my first name. Li is my last name. The Chinese characters of my name are 李姗姗. In Chinese tradition, my last name is the same as my family’s. When it comes to my name, it's interesting. Here is a story about how I got my name. I was only about three pounds when I was born. Shan is pronounced like the number three in Chinese. Many Chinese names are reduplicate because they sound cute and are easy to remember. For these reasons, my family gave me this meaningful and beautiful name. At first, I didn't like my name very much. It is very popular in China, and there is even a celebrity named Shanshan. Therefore, many people have the same name as me, and I really want to have a unique name. Now, I have learned to accept this name. I don't think about changing my name now. When my family and friends call me Shanshan, I can feel so much love. If I change my name, I wouldn’t be me anymore. 

My Name - Yanfang Huang

A Vexing Name

          There are many women named Yanfang艳芳in Guangdong, China, and I am one of them. In Chinese, there are two characters in this name. They are Yan艳 and Fang芳. Yan means colorful and beautiful, and Fang means fragrant. Most parents hoped their daughters look pretty, so they named them Yanfang. I dislike my name because it is too popular in my hometown. When I was in junior high school, my classmates called me Yanfang Mei who was a famous singer in Hong Kong. I didn’t like it when they called me that because I thought she and I were two different individuals. When I was in high school, there was a girl who had the same name as me, so the guard who was in school always sent the wrong packages to us. He always confused us. In the company I worked for in China before I came to the U.S., one of my colleagues was also named Yanfang. Other colleagues were also confused about us. One day, a colleague in HR asked me to attend a meeting that she was supposed to attend. Sometimes, I feel that my name annoys me. I prefer something special and different. Although I don’t like my name, I have never thought about changing it. It was the first gift my parents gave me after I was born. 

My name - Haobin Ruan

 

Haobin Ruan

September 1, 2024

ESL 100-CE

                                                                    Best Wishes

          Everyone’s name has a special meaning that also includes their family’s best wishes. My name is Haobin Ruan.  I inherited my last name from my father’s family. As many Chinese, we have a pedigree of a clan, it introduces where we are from. The Chinese character for Ruan is 阮. That is a Chinese ancient country’s name, but local people used it to make the last name. The Chinese character for Ruan has another meaning like a musical instruments PIPE. Hao Chinese character is 皓. Hao means the first bright light appearing in the world when the sun rises. When I asked my parents why my name has 皓, they said they hoped me would become strong and energetic. Bin is 彬. This was written by my grandmother. In my grandmother’s time, she and her friend didn’t have a good educational environment. They lived in their hometown and worked on the farm. Therefore, my grandmother hoped I can be a person with good culture and good manners. She loves to call my nickname BinBin because it sounds like safety in Chinese. I like my name because each character includes my family’s best wishes.

My Name - Soukeyna Niang

 

House of Paradise

A name is usually something that represents a person by their personality or behavior. People may think about changing their name or adding something to it because they do not like it. Should we be proud of our name or hate it?

I like my name Soukeyna because it is an Arabic and Muslim name. I got it from my father who named me after his older sister. She was the one who was taking care of him when he was a child because their mom could not take care of his siblings. My aunt, who is the first child, had to be a mother for all of her nine siblings. He never forgot that and wanted to thank her by giving her name to his child. In Islam, only a father has the responsibility to name a child unless the mother asks permission. Also, in my country, Senegal, the oldest assume that if someone named a child after somebody, the child will take or have at least eight personalities of that person. Most of the time, it is true. Maybe it is because we believe that. I have never met my father’s sister, she passed away three years before I was born. Apparently, she was a sweet and kind person, and my grandmother used to tell me I like to sing when I do the dishes just like her. My name means well-being and house of paradise. For this reason, I share this name with another cousin in my family, same name and last name. I also have a name on my mother’s side, but it is not on my papers because it is just cultural. The name is Majha and means "chance" in my mother’s language, bambara.

I would never change my name because I am proud of it even though I did not have the opportunity to meet my namesake. It may be very difficult for some people to pronounce it, but it is always a pleasure to help and say the meaning of my name. I am more than happy to share it with others.

My Name - Jennifer Rodríguez

Behind the Names