What's in a name

You know... these little girls we bring home from China and become a part of our family instantaneously, sure end up with a lot of names! They come with a Chinese name and then we go and change it on them to something a little more North American (easier to pronounce). Sometimes we keep part of their Chinese name as an homage to their roots. Then some of us have a nickname (or several) for them.

So at the end of the day, our daughters' names look like this:



(Chinese name)


Guang Yun Xia (Chinese name in pinyin pronounced Guang Yun Shia)
Alexia Yun Xia Angeli Farrell (complete North American name)
Alexia (usual name)
Yun Xia (name we used in China)
Xia Xia (nickname since arriving home and common Chinese nickname)
Mei Mei (pre-China nickname)
Thing 2 (Cara-Li's choice of nickname based on 'Cat in the Hat')
Dumpling (our cutsy nickname)




(Chinese name)

Qin Li Cui (Chinese name in pinyin pronounced Chin Li Tsway)
Cara-Li Cui Angeli Farrell (complete North American name)
Cara-Li (usual name)
Li Cui ( name we used in China)
Cui Cui (new nickname since this trip to China)
Jie Jie (pre-China nickname)
Thing 1 (Cara-Li's choice of nickname based on 'Cat in the Hat')
Spring Roll (our cutsy nickname)

How these girls know what to answer to! And believe me, they do!