What's in a Name?
Does a name merely exist because of the sound, or does it have a meaning that goes beyond the mechanics of language?
We've asked the students of the Spring 2003 Level Two Academic Writing and Grammar class in the Intensive English Program at UCA to write about their names. Find out what the names mean, how the students got them, and what they feel about the most personal of words.
Debby Wen Hui Yang, Taiwan.
Maja Kovacev, Serbia and Montenegro.
Sanja Stankovic, Serbia and Montenegro.
Nobuko Sato, Japan.
Number 37 for Longevity.
By Debby Wen Hui Yang
My name is Wen Hui Yang, and it is not easy to pronounce. My last name, Yang, indicates my family name. It passes from generation to generation. I don't know who the first person with this last name was because it was a hundred years ago, so my last name is my forefathers' heritage.
The name's correct strokes of Chinese characters is 37. The number means that there is smooth going and longevity in my life. A different number of strokes has a different meaning, but I don't believe it.
My first name is Wen Hui. My first name is very common in Taiwan. Like the last president's wife and my neighbor, we have the same first name.
My uncle named me. My family calls me Mou-Hoi, but I don't like my name very much because it sounds like crab in Taiwanese. I don't want to be a food. Now I have a new name in the United States, which is Debby. It sounds like a little girl, so I prefer my English name, but I still keep my full name.
—î (Yang) ö© (Wen) »Ý (Hui)
13 + 12 + 12 = 37
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Written in the Stars!
By Maja Kovacev
My name is Maja and I am from Serbia and Montenegro. I am not sure what my name means or where it is from.
Maja is a Russian name, but my mother told me a long time ago it is an African woman and she was so beautiful that people called her the "Goddess of Beauty." Also she was the "Goddess of Cheerfulness and Happiness." Maybe because of that, I always have a smile on my face.
I think that your name tells more about you. My parents wanted to give me a strong and hard name without some nicknames. My name is a strong and short name.
Many boys told me that I have a pretty name, but I think that my name is common. I never want to change my name because I think this name is fateful for me. People in my country think that your name is written in the stars!!!
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A Dream that Will Never Change.
By Sanja Stankovic
When I was born in Novi Sad my parents couldn't decide on my first name. They had different opinions about how they should name me.
My parents considered several things. First, my name is common in my country. Second, my first and last name have some sort of balance. They go well together. Finally, both names begin with letter S.
My mother wanted to name me Visnja, but my father was against it. Visnja in my language means cherry. They couldn't come to an agreement about my first name. My mother wanted to give me my grandmother's name, Zagorka, and my father his mother's name, Jelisaveta. This was impossible because my mother didn't like Jelisaveta and my father didn't like Zagorka. They agreed on Sanja.
Sanja means dreams. They say that my name suits me. I was always sleeping when I was younger. This name is definitly for me. I like my name and I'll never change it.
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To Be a Sweetheart.
By Nobuko Sato
My name is Nobuko Sato, and I come from Japan. When my mother gave birth, my father was on the ship, not at home, so someone sent that news to my father by telegraph. They didn't decide on my name, but my father had a list of candidates. When he chose my name Nobuko, he checked the number of strokes and meanings that it has in Chinese. They wished that I would be a sweetheart and a helpful person. Then he chose Nobuko from the list.
My grandmother always said a name should be helpful for people. It is your mission and your destiny. I'm not always a sweetheart and a helpful person, but I know my name's meaning, and I like my name. I try to be a sweetheart and helpful all the time.