The Chinese Name Debate

The Chinese name of my new born baby girl would be a challenging one. She wouldn’t have a Chinese surname, since Stuart doesn’t have a Chinese surname. We would have a Chinese name as her middle name.

We decided on a name that would have a character of my name too, mainly for it to have some sort of significance since she will be adopting her father’s family name. In Western cultures, it is common for children to adopt their mother’s maiden name as their middle name, so I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I believe it has something to do with the mother living through her children even when she passes.

Of course this did not sit well with my maternal family, many of my aunties and my mother’s friends. In Chinese custom, it is said to be bad omen for a daughter to adopt the Chinese name, as it is “bad to have a daughter stepping on top of her mother”.

I find it difficult for such a thought to have even cross anyone’s mind. It’s almost a very negative thought really, and it is the kind of superstitious belief that I do not intend to carry onto my children. But one lesson is certain, you don’t throw away something significant to you just to please a bunch of old people.