Finding a transliteration of my name

[paaads]

Hello everyone! Recently I decided to find myself a Chinese name. I am learning Mandarin, although I am still at a very beginner stage. Coincidentally, I don’t like my actual name very much, so I’m always looking for other things to call myself 233. 

 

I had first chosen 裒潦 (póulǎo), which I had interpreted to mean “collecting rainwater”, because (a) it kinda sounds like my name (Paula) and (b) I do collect rainwater sometimes, I love rain. However, I’m not sure that translation is accurate and I’m worried about it not being a proper name fit for usage. Please help me!

 

Since I was doubting that first option, I had also thought of 培莲 (péilián), which doesn’t sound as similar to my name, but has a beautiful meaning (“to cultivate lotuses”).

 

Thoughts? Are they both okay, or is one better than the other? 

 

ps: my name means ‘the small one’ in latin. I am, coincidentally, a short person. Maybe I should find something to match that meaning? I really wanted my Chinese name to sound similar, but I’d rather have a name that makes sense and doesn’t sound weird for natives. 

[sanchuan]

Two characters came to mind as I read your post (not a native speaker, mind you, so just chiming in to play along): 

 

苞霖 Bāolín

 

- it sounds like your name, but it's a nice variation thereof (it's closer to French Pauline, as the "b" in Mandarin is unvoiced and all but indistinguishable from French "p");

- it's got a graphic hint at the notion of containing (包) rain (雨);

- it's nice and feminine, what with all the references to natural greenery (艹, 林).

 

Otherwise I would keep playing around with 培莲 which (to me) looks better than 裒潦, because 裒 is a rarely used character, "póu" sounds a bit too hard, and 潦 makes me think of a downpour (as well as the similar sounding and equally ominous 涝). 

 

Again, just my tuppence worth... Usual pinch-&-salt warnings apply.

[abcdefg]

On 1/30/2023 at 5:08 AM, paaads said:

I really wanted my Chinese name to sound similar, but I’d rather have a name that makes sense and doesn’t sound weird for natives. 

 

I would politely suggest not trying to find a Chinese name that sounds similar to your English name. Just find a Chinese name that can stand on its own merits. You have correctly identified the paramount importance of it "making sense" as a name and not sounding weird or ridiculous to native speakers. That's really all that counts. 

 

If you plan to travel extensively in China or live there for a while, you might find you want to revise your chosen Chinese name after using it on a daily basis during a "trial run." If you find it always causes consternation or elicits a laugh or is not easily understandable, you can change it. 

 

Choosing a Chinese name is not something that is pressing. If you are in the very early stages of learning the language, as you imply, there is no harm in waiting. Having a Chinese name becomes useful when interacting frequently with Chinese people. If you are not at that stage, then it's just an idle game. Something with no point. 

[calibre2001]

寶玲 for Pauline, Paula. This is a simple and very common name. And the 玲 screams a female name

 

霖 is commonly used in male names