So, those of you who know me well, know that a name is very important to me! We had Taryn Joy picked for our daughter at least 3 years ago. I usually don't pick a name according to the meaning. I always check to see if it means something horrible (ex: Satan's Spawn...LOL)...but, if it doesn't (and mine haven't) then I go with what I like-providing the hubby agrees with it! The boys first names have decent, but not important meanings...ahhh, but their middle names have great meaning! This is also the case with Taryn Joy (at least we are consistant!).
Thus, the issue of Taryns Chinese name...to keep it, or not to keep it...this has been the question! After checking Chinese name websites with no luck...one of my favorite sites-Rumor Queen- gave great, and fairly easy, advice on getting the meaning of your daughters Chinese name. The Chinese read their names backwards from ours...so mine would appear as Feck Michelle Rebecca...interesting fact huh!
Taryn's Chinese name is...Zhang Zheng Ben...so Ben is her 1st name and Zheng is her middle name. The last name is chosen according to what Provence or social welfare institute the baby was found in...so, not as important as far as her birth certificate goes!
What I was wanting to do was, of course, give her the name we chose Taryn Joy (Joy after my mother! Taryn...just cuz' we liked it!) and then give her a third name as her given Chinese name. Confused yet?? Hang with me people cuz' I need your advice!
Ben means: go to, towards, run fast
Zheng (pronounced "Jung" with a soft "u") means: Just right, correct, straight
I like both of these. It is Awesome to know her name means "just right" after all of the worrying we have done!
So, my question to the masses is...use both-Taryn Joy Zheng Ben?
Use one-Taryn Joy Ben? or Taryn Joy Zheng? Or, just give up and start over with a whole new name...(just kiddin', not gonna happen!).
The question has been presented...now please give me your answers! If I was really computer savvy I would get a poll chart going...but I will just use the comments section and tally up!
BTW...have I mentioned SHE IS GORGEOUS yet??? Hmmmm, just checkin'!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
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Hi Steve & Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI'm TB from RQ's site, and wanted to say a hearty congratulations on your beautiful new daughter! She is absolutely darling.
About the name (feel free to disregard, since I'm not your friend) -- personally, I wouldn't break up her name, I'd use both Zheng and Ben, either like "ZhengBen" or "Zhengben" as a 2nd middle name. I was told, by a native Chinese speaker, that dropping one of the names would be like dropping the "rett" and only keeping the "Gar" of your son's name. While you might call your son "Gar" as a nickname, you want his full name to be used by most other folks (Garrett is a cool name, BTW).
Our daughters (both adopted from China) each have a western first name, western middle name, and their Chinese names (Guoguo and Jiaojiao) and, of course, our last name. They have their CNs if they want them later, they're on the girls' birth certificates and CoC's, but they can be ignored if our daughter's want to ignore them also.
There it is, my two cents... (And it's worth at least twice that!)
Congratulations again. I'm sure Wesley & Garrett are thrilled to finally know who their little sister is!
First of all I thought I was "princess T", but I guess that could've all just been in my own head!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for you BTW!!
I personally like the sound the best with both of her Chinese names.Taryn Joy Zheng Ben Feck.
Love ya Sista!
Tina E
Just stopping over from RQ...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your daughter! She is beautiful.
I say that if you like all the names then use them all. Both my boys have very long names...one has 3 middle names! I think Taryn Joy Zheng Ben has a nice ring to it.
My vote is for one not on the list...
ReplyDeleteTaryn Joy ZhengBen! (Chinese name pushed together)
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI love Taryn Joy Zheng!
Blessings on your China trip to bring your new daughter home!
Diana (Ruby Mei 5/8/07 Nanchang)
Hmmm...I don't know. They all sound great together. I think I would go with Taryn Joy Zheng...but you can't go wrong either way. And yes...she is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! :)
ReplyDeletei vote for Taryn Joy Zheng for sure!Cuz in China Ben(奔) is not a female name generally,and my first name is Zheng as well!it really sounds beautiful in Chinese,and not mention the wonderful meaning of it!i think it's a perfect name for a fabulous girl like Taryn.^-^
ReplyDeleteYou can also choose to combine ZhengBen into one word with the "b" in Ben capitalized. I chose to keep both of my daughter's Chinese names as they combined to have a singular meaning that I found important to keep for her. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteWe loved our Mia's Chinese name (Guan Yun Zhu)and my husband was really attached to Mia Grace soooo......her name is Mia Grace YunZhu Welford. We joined her first and middle chinese name together so she'll ONLY have four names. We will let her pick which middle name she wants to use or she can vary it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations.....you have many, many joys awaiting.
Katri
adoptingmia.blogspot.com
I like all of it Taryn Joy Zheng Ben....beautiful like her.
ReplyDeleteHow about Taryn Ben Joy? Would that translate to Taryn Run toward Joy?
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca! Taryn is beautiful. It's so hard to pick just the right name. I found a great site that you type in the pinyin and then look at the character that represents that in your daughter's name. Click on that character and it will give you the exact definition. The site is http://www.instantspeakchinese.com/dictionary/hanzi.cfm?hexValue=6625
ReplyDeleteGood luck and safe travels (hopefully very soon!)
She will likely have a nickname using the name Ben, maybe Ben Ben. Silas' Chinese name was Dang Xu Tuan. They called him Tuan Tuan. Since that was the name he was familiar with we named him Silas Charles Tuan. In China we called him Tuan Tuan and eventually switched to Silas Tuan. I still call him Silas Tuan a lot. I think it is really special to use a part of their Chinese name - it is where their lives began.
ReplyDeleteDon't get hung up on using her first name if it doesn't sound right with her new American name. Keep one or the other, not both. My son from Vietnam had a beautiful name but his Vietnamese first name isn't a nice word in this country and would have gotten teased horribly in school so instead we chose to keep his middle name as his second middle name. It sounds beautiful together.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with whatever you decide to do. It isn't easy. I know.
Congratulations...your new daughter is beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteAbout the name, we were told never to break it up but, of course, that is up to you. Zheng Ben really is her two character first name (not really like a first and middle American name...more like a generational name and a given name that create the meaning). To use only one changes the original meaning. I use both characters and combined them for my daughters as often is done. You could do Taryn Joy Zhengben, Taryn Joy Zheng-Ben, or Taryn Joy ZhenBen (I did it bumpy case like this for my girls as many do, but was told by Chinese friends that either of the first two examples is really the right way to do it...but I didn't know better).
Good luck deciding and have a great time preparing to bring her home.
The name game can be such a struggle. We have 5 year old from China and waiting for #2, this is how we handled it. I felt it was important to keep her Chinese name but also wanted to give her a first and middle name. So we combined her chinese name together and gave her two middle names.
ReplyDeleteHer name is Chloe Elizabeth YunQiu!
Your daughter is beautiful and I am sure you and your family will pick what will work best her!
How cool is our God? To provide names that so describe who your little angel will be! I think you should use all of them. Jung because she really is just right, and Ben because she will be going to, running fast to God her whole life! You really don't have to mention how beautiful she is--it is really obvious!!!!
ReplyDeleteRhonda
Hello. A friend from RQ here. Your baby is gorgeous, and I know after waiting so long it must seem unreal to finally see her face.
ReplyDeleteFWIW and since you asked, our son's name was given to us as Dang Wen Feng, but everyone at the orphanage called him Wenfeng (it did appear as one name in some instances on paperwork) so I'm not sure of the order of the first and middle name.
That said, they both are beautiful. Ben would be such a fun name for a girl. We used Jake's Chinese name as his middle name. It was just an option allowing him to retake his Chinese name if desired and still have it on legal documents. We called him Wenfeng a lot in his province (it just seemed to fit as everything was Chinese) but afterward started calling him Jakevmore and more when we hit Guangzhou and America (again, just seemed to fit.) I like using the Zheng or Ben as another middle name, but you may wait and find out what the orphanage or foster home called her - as she will know that as her name to this point in life - and it may give you more options!
In China, often the middle name and first name are combined- all four of my children were called by both when spoken to. So how about Taryn Joy Zhengben?
ReplyDeleteShe is absolutely adorable, by the way. Speedy tavels to you!
Steve and Rebecca
ReplyDeleteWe kept both given names of our chinese daughters!
Emily Jane Xiang Yao family name
and Alice Sandra Min Shu Family name
I have seen families and on Chinese paper work sometimes the 2 given names are joined! so Min Shu would be Minshu We felt it was important to keep as much of her history as possible!
Just our thoughts good luck in deciding!
Hugs Ruth
PS Emily corrects all her documents at 5 to include all her names so it is important to her! I am married to a one name man!LOL
Hi! My advice is to never separate the two carachters in a Chinese name. It's like dividing an American name into two and just keeping half of it. Like calling someone who's called "Melissa" just Mel or Issa. Which would kinda work, but still ruins the name she had first, right? The most common way the Chinese handle this is to write their Chinese name as one. So your daughter would be Zhengben. You can also write ZhenBen (not as common). When you use it as one singel name it doesn't feel so long to add two other names. That's what I would do! And I totally agree, she IS beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteHey there! Congrats on the referral and the joy joy you guys have right now! she looks sooo sweet. i don't usually post, but the name thing was a connundrum for us as well.
ReplyDeleteHere's another Chinese name detail to help you: quite often the two first names are combined and not spaced apart like our referrals. So her name could also be Zhengben! Sometimes the nannies will take the 1st name and repeat it for the child's pet name: Ben-Ben.
Hope this helps! Good luck on the wait - it feels long, but you'll be there in no time!
Christina
Taryn really is quite gorgeous! Congratulations! You don't know me at all, but for what it is worth, I would say go with Taryn Joy ZhengBen. First, you will be glad you preserved the name for her. Second, the two names together really do make one thought. Third, Ben is also a name used frequently in America, but it is used for boys.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 little ones from China -- Elliana Terryl XiuXia and Wesley Scott WenLiang. We are waiting for a 3rd little one & will use both of her names, as well. Even though it makes for a long name, I love it!
Again, congratulations! May you travel VERY soon.
Thanks for the message on my blog! Your daughter is beautiful!
ReplyDeletethe second two characters normally go together as a single name, so if it is on the paperwork as "Zhang Zheng Ben", then the name she would be called by would be "Zheng Ben" or sometimes "benben". (Not always, but sometimes people use the second half of the first name repeated as a nickname). So my reccomendation would be to use "zhengben" but link it as a single word. In this way, you can still use Taryn Joy and just have a second middle name: Taryn Joy Zhengben.
It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl!
Good luck with your decision!
Kelli
Taryn Joy ZhengBen is what I vote for. Our DD's Chinese name was Ru Yan and so her 2nd middle name is RuYan. FYI Congrats on your beautiful daughter.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your referral!! We put our daughters name together. Instead of Li Kun, we made it LiKun. Good luck! I am sure whatever you decide will be great!
ReplyDeleteI like both names together and love the meaning together, to "Run Fast towards your little Just Right". Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI am chinese. I suggest that you keep both the "first" and "middle" name. Contrary to what americans think, in china there is no such thing as a middle name. When a person has three characters in a name, the first character is the last name and the two left are combined to make a first name. Thus, the last two characters Zheng Ben is her name. This is similiar to american names such as "Mary Ellen" or "Mary Jane". You wouldn't say her name is Mary and middle name is Ellen right?
ReplyDeleteOur family has had much trouble with our chinese "middle" names being cut from important documents. From a chinese point of few, to keep a chinese name really is much better to keep the two characters together.
Congrats! We are the parents of a Zhangshu Princess as well. Zhang Xiu Jin came home in April 2006. She is now Catherine Anne XiuJin, age 3. Please come join our yahoo group!
ReplyDeleteDonna
First off, Congrats on your new baby girl! I came over from RQ and here is how we handled our daughters name(s). For two years she was Alison Grace (Chinese name here). Her name was Nan Hui Yu so we thought Alison Grace HuiYu. Well, in China we discovered that Joy was a much better fit for her and her nannies called her YuYu. So her name is now and forever Alison Joy YuYu. Don't fret, when you hold her your heart will let you know.
ReplyDeleteTami