Your opinion on these possible Chinese names

[Demonic_Duck]

Good good.

"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."

I mostly agree, but I think 海 and 光 are neutral as to the "source" of will. 荣 is very strongly something bestowed by another person or people - thinking of it as "honor" in the sense of an intrinsic quality would be mistaken. 祥 is luck in the sense of a lucky charm or good omen, so definitely extrinsic. 诚 is definitely intrinsic.

[陳德聰]

Okay my two cents:

 

Full disclosure, I like the meaning of 朱志诚 the most.

 

I think it's worth considering the actual sounds of the name as well.

 

朱志诚 while an otherwise perfectly normal name, I think the zh-zh-ch thing is a mouthful.

朱志海 I think is audibly the most bland of all the names.

 

The other three... I have no particular qualms. I would also consider how you feel about calling you kid 诚诚、祥祥、海海、荣荣、光光 etc. In this respect I think 光光 is the cutest haha.

[Flickserve]

@pegasus.

How traditional are your parents? Why don't your parents have a say on the name?

In fact, tradition wise, I don't think the mother in law has a say on the name.

Here are some things I noticed (I stand to be corrected):

Southern Chinese are much more likely to use three names.

The middle name (I.e. forename) is shared amongst brothers (definitely) and male cousins (depending on how close family relationships are).

The middle name is shared infrequently with female siblings.

The grandfather is usually given the role of naming his grandchild - if he wants. And I would probably say more so if it is a boy compared to a girl (cultural thing). In modern times, couples might choose the names themselves.

What I find rather strange is the mother-in-law's preference is given greater weighting than the grandfather. But you haven't mentioned your own father in this scenario.

You may want to choose a name based on the time of delivery. There are things like too much water or fire, or you need a certain number of strokes. I think this is more prevalent amongst HK and possibly Malaysian Chinese. For that you need to consult a Chinese almanac. Yes, that means a child remains nameless until the birth is registered.

[陳德聰]

I would say it is highly unlikely that they are superstitious enough about 五行 to be considering it, considering they have a variety including fire, water, and wood options suggested by the mother-in-law. What is more likely is that OP's wife's family has already gone through the trouble of seeking out likely both their 家谱 and a fortuneteller and these are the options they paid for. OP is the last person in the chain, likely because of a combo between wanting to respect his right to participate in the process but also mitigate the fact that his Chinese is not strong enough to really get a sense of all the names.

[Flickserve]

I would say it is highly unlikely that they are superstitious enough about 五行 to be considering it, considering they have a variety including fire, water, and wood options suggested by the mother-in-law. What is more likely is that OP's wife's family has already gone through the trouble of seeking out likely both their 家谱 and a fortuneteller and these are the options they paid for. OP is the last person in the chain, likely because of a combo between wanting to respect his right to participate in the process but also mitigate the fact that his Chinese is not strong enough to really get a sense of all the names.

agree with all points. What about the paternal grandfather's opinion? (Or did I miss something about this?)

[Demonic_Duck]

I assume OP is not of Chinese descent, hence the paternal grandfather has no opinion on the matter. Or perhaps the paternal grandfather gets to choose the English name (if he's lucky).

[skylee]

I suggest 朱承志.