What’s in a name? A lot! It can tell you about your family, culture and personality. This is why many Asian families focus on giving their children names that are meaningful to them. In this blog post, we will share six stories of parents who have given their son an Asian name.
“I am a first generation Korean American and so were both of my parents. Growing up, I was always called ‘John’ by most people at school or work but when we would go to Korea for vacation, everyone there knew me as Soonim.” – John Choi
“My name is Wang Shaojun. It sounds like the white tiger in Chinese opera. My father gave it to me because he wanted his son’s name to be really strong.” – Wang Shao Jun
“We do not have any specific meaning behind our children’s names; they are just Chinese New Year themed with animal traits that represent what personality we want them to develop over time.” – Joe Chen
“I’m a second generation Korean American. I am also known as John but my name is Joongho.” – Jonghyuk Choi
“My son’s first name is Jin and his middle name is Yongseok. It means gold, which reflects the color of our skin.” – Jongchul Park
“I have two sons with Japanese names: Shino (meaning ‘forest’) and Yuki (‘snow’). Those were both given to me by my husband who was born in Japan.” – Kayoko Suzuki