Your opinion on these possible Chinese names

[Pegasus]

Hello fellow Chinese-Forums members, 

 

I was wondering if I could ask the opinion of some native (or advanced) Chinese speakers here on Chinese-Forums regarding some Chinese names.

 

My wife and I are expecting a baby. I have a list of names to choose from and I was wondering if I could get your opinion on what sounds best. I am interested in a name that is suitable for a baby boy, but isn't childish sounding because I presume that he would keep his Chinese name throughout his life, and I know that if it were me, I wouldn't want a childish name as an adult. 

 

Here is the list of names (the first character is the surname/family name): 

朱志海

朱志榮 / 朱志荣

朱志光

朱志誠 / 朱志诚

朱志祥

 

What's your opinion? How would you rank these in order from best to worst? 

 

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. 

 

Cheers,

Pegasus

 

[889]

They're all acceptable names, but I like both the sound and simplicity of 朱志光. And those characters look so well together. Why force him to go through life writing a character like 誠?

[lips]

All are common, good names for a boy.  Not names that would grab attention.  Just common, normal, good names.

 

You obviously have decided on the second character and know the meanings of all the choices.  Have you thought about two-character names?

[889]

Three characters do work nicely if they think they might have more sons, and want to follow a traditional naming pattern.

[lips]

Actually, from a calligraphy point of view, 光 is difficult to write *well*.  诚 or 誠, although having more strokes, are easier to write well.  And the 心 in 志 is hard to write well also.  IMHO only.

[889]

But 光 lends itself to some flair!

[Lu]

I'm partial to 朱志海, the 海 makes it depart a bit from just a summing up of hoped-for virtues. But that's really just my opinion, all the names look nice.

 

I know someone with 騰 in his name and when he had a baby he made sure the kid's name didn't have that many strokes. But I think in this list, all the names are fine in that respect, even 诚 is really not that bad. My Chinese name has a very large number of strokes (which I'm perfectly happy with, but I got it as an adult, that makes a difference) and it's not especially difficult to calligraph nicely. As others mentioned, 心 is much harder.

 

Three characters do work nicely if they think they might have more sons, and want to follow a traditional naming pattern.

Or daughters, why not.

[Shelley]

I presume that he would keep his Chinese name throughout his life,

 

I learnt that what happens is babies don't get a name until they are a month old then they are given a "baby name" something doubled up.

 

When they start school they get a school name, something a little more grown up.

 

Then at the age of 15/16 they choose their own adult name taking into consideration family names and traditions.

[Lu]

Shelly, I think that was in pre-modern times. These days babies get a name shortly after they are born, and generally they keep it their entire life. Unless they change it at some point, which is not uncommon. In the beginning, babies are often called by a cute nickname (as often happens in the West as well), but they already have their official, real name.

[Shelley]

Pre-modern times hmm yes probably, my teacher was pre-modern

 

But as you say they do have baby names - nicknames and it is not uncommon to change it later in life if they want.

 

So it is still a flexible thing, which was the point I was trying to put across so the OP didn't feel it would be written in stone if later they had reason to change it.

[Christy]

My order from best to better: 

朱志誠 / 朱志诚 (诚 means honesty, that's why I like it most.)

朱志祥

朱志榮 / 朱志荣

朱志海

朱志光

[Demonic_Duck]

I don't like 祥 or 荣 as last characters after 志, they seem a bit like afterthoughts.

I like the versions with 光 and 诚.

[lips]

Another thought:

 

荣/榮 and 诚/誠 are different in simplified/traditional script, whereas the other characters are the same in both scripts.  Having a name the same in both scripts is a little more convenient if you use it in different parts of the world.

[skylee]

I think the names are too common.

[Pegasus]

@skylee: Thank you. I really value your opinion. (I have always loved and appreciated your posts on Chinese Forums over the years.) However, let's assume that I am limited to only these options: 朱志海, 朱志榮, 朱志光, 朱志誠, and 朱志祥. How would you rank these in order from best to worst? And, if I could additionally trouble you, what is your opinion on each one of the names? 

 

@lips: Thank you for your thoughts and opinions. "Have you thought about two-character names?" Actually, no, I haven't. I'm not good enough with Chinese to come up with Chinese names on my own. In fact, the names I have on my list for consideration were given to me by my mother-in-law. I'm supposed to pick one from the list. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not free to come up with my own names, but, again, I don't feel that my Chinese is good enough for that. The baby that my wife is having will be the first born in his generation, although my wife's brothers and sister will probably be attempting to have their own first babies in the next year or in the next several years. I think there might be a tradition in my wife's family for the siblings and cousins, of the same sex (or is it just the boys?) and in the same generation, to have the same middle character of a three character name. However, I have no idea how 志 was chosen. And, I'm not sure that if I chose a different middle character, whether or not my future son's future cousins would be given 志 for their middle character (which would result in my son being the only one among his potential male cousins with a different middle character), or if they would adopt the same middle character I ended up choosing for my son.

 

By the way, I wonder how prevalent this tradition is of having the siblings or cousins within the same generation have the same middle character in their name. And, is it just for boys or is this done for girls too? In the case of me and my two younger brothers, although our official, legal names are American names, we also have unofficial Chinese names that are only used by our grandparents. And, in the case of me and my two younger brothers, the three of us all have the same middle character in our Chinese names. (I don't have any sisters. And, I'm not sure about my cousins.) Can anyone tell me more about this custom or tradition? Is it a real thing? 

 

@Demonic_Duck: Thank you for your thoughts and opinions. I appreciate it. 

 

@Christy: Thank you for your feedback too. I appreciate your ranking of the names. 

 

@Shelley: Thank you for your feedback, thoughts, and opinions too. I appreciate it. 

 

@Lu: Thank you for your feedback, thoughts, and opinions. 

 

@889: Thank you for your feedback, thoughts, and opinions too. 

 

 

I look forward to any other thoughts and opinions anyone has. Thank you very much.  

 

Cheers, 

Pegasus 

[889]

Well, that changes everything.

Given you yourself have no strong preference and given the moderate importance of keeping your mother-in-law content, just ask your wife which one her mother thinks would be best for your first-born son. And be ready to use up the rest of the names as your family grows.

[lips]

More food for thoughts if you still want to pick one yourself:

 

志 means aspiration.

1.  荣 means glory.

2.  光 means light, or bright, although here ti probably comes from 光荣, glory ( and both characters are made into choices).  By itself, 志光, if a meaning has to be given, can mean "bright aspiration".

3.  祥 means propitious.

4.  诚/誠 means honesty. 志诚/誠 can be read as "honest aspiration".

5.  海 means sea.  志海 can be read as "aspiration as big as the sea".

 

1 and 2 are bestowed by someone else.

3 is something you hope for (bestowed by the heavens?).

4 and 5 are about the character within the person.

[Pegasus]

@889: Thank you for your advice, but I would still like to have a part in picking my son's name. 

 

@lips: Thank you. That is really helpful. Yes, I do still want to pick one myself. I knew/learned some of the characters already, and for the ones that I didn't know, I have looked them up in a dictionary. However, it is still really helpful to hear another person's interpretation of the characters and what they might mean in combination with 志 and in the context of a person's name. Also, what you wrote about "1 and 2 being bestowed by someone else. 3 is something you hope for (bestowed by the heavens). 4 & 5 are about the character within the person." That gives me additional things to think about. I'm really not sure what to think about those aspects yet. I will be thinking about it. Again, thank you very much. 

 

Cheers, 

Pegasus 

 

[Demonic_Duck]

Being chosen by the mother in law is a great reason to go with one or other of them. Especially as you (and presumably your wife too) don't have the Chinese level to come up with alternatives yourselves, might seem a bit insulting to her name-choosing abilities if you go to some other source.

[Pegasus]

@Demonic_Duck: Thank you for your thoughts. I'm not planning to go with some other source. I'm planning to select one from the list my mother-in-law gave me. I'm just asking for thoughts and opinions in order to help me pick one. 

 

Thank you and cheers, 

Pegasus