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[Opinions] Re: name for adopted Chinese baby
I quite like all of the names. I think I like Sonia or Josephine best, but any would be fantastic. If you don't feel sure about Naomi, I'd strike it of the list, you have other options.I don't mean to labour the point, but I agree with Array, Adelle and others that it is completely unnecessary to map names onto ethnicity. I actually found your question a little offensive. My ex was Chinese and called Vincent, he never had any problem with that or wanted to go by his Chinese name (his mn). I never noticed a reaction of surprise when he told people his name. I have Asian friends who have adopted a Western name, for example Mike rather than Myung. I have another friend who never uses his western name (his fn on birth certificate). This is a rather long way of saying I don't think she will have too much of a problem having a western fn and I don't think anyone is going to be surprised.
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Sorry, I didn't want to offend anyone. I know that most Chinese-Americans have western first names - but, they usually have Chinese last names too. Personally, I never make any assumptions these days about who is behind a particular name, but many people do. And like it or not, studies have found that names are a particular issue for adult transracial adoptees. Quite a large percentage of the adult Korean adoptees have gone back to their original Korean names, either legally, or just for use among other Koreans.Take a look at this blog entry...
http://twicetherice.wordpress.com/2007/01/23/finding-our-own-names/
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My ex wasn't Chinese-American. He was an ethnically Chinese Malaysian citizen. The link you provided was interesting. I can't comment on what it feels like to be an adoptee. However I think if you retain your daughter's Chinese name as a middle name and give her a western name too, she can choose which name she would like to use.
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