A BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO CULTURES: May 2012

This past week, our students looked into the meanings of their names. We asked them to find the roots of the words, see if there was something special about that name, and then e-mail us their answers As a bonus, some students even looked into the meaning of their Chinese names to share with our Columbian friends. See what they wrote:

Willie

Name：Willie

Soures ：Germany

Meaning：Strong and powerful warrior or defender.

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Grace Li
Grace \g-ra-ce\ as a girl's name is pronounced grayce. It is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Grace is "favor; blessing". A virtue name referring to God'sgrace. Greek mythology: the Three Graces were goddesses of nature: Aglaia (brillance), Thalia (flowering), and Euphrosyne (joy). Actress and princess Grace Kelly; singer Grace Jones; choreographer Graciela Daniele.

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Jason Shih

The name was borne in Greek Mythology by Jason, the great Thessalian hero who led the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece.

The name is also found in the Bible, as the house of a man named Jason was used as a refuge by Paul and Silas.

The reason why my name is Jason: Match my Chinese name!

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Tanya Chen

The name Tanya is from Russian origin, and pronounced Tan-ya. It is generally used as a girl's name and falls into the royal title name category. The name is the short form of Tatiana, meaning 'worthy of praise', 'fairy queen', or princess, and was a popular name for the Tsar's daughter in Russia. The name is especially prominent within the English and Russian language as well as in Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and in Ancient Roman. It is sometimes combined in English with Latanya, and has several other spellings and versions: Russian: Tatyana, German and Finnish: Tanja, French: Tatienne, and in English: Tania and Tatianna. According to www.namestatistics.com it is the 237th most popular American name; information gathered from the US Census data. Famous people named Tanya include Tanya Dubnicoff, the Canadian track cyclist, Tanja Godina, the Slovenian backstroke swimmer, Tanya Hughes, the American high jumper, Tanya James, the British weather presenter, Tanya Tucker, the American country music singer, and Tanja Karpela, the Finnish poliician.

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Vivian Liu

Q: Where did it come from?

A: It came from Latin.

Q: What does it mean?

A: It means lively and powerful.

Q: What is special about it?

A: It’s very similar of my personality and I

like this name very much.

My Chinese name is Wei-Fang-Liu.

My mom and dad named me like that is mean

a friendly and pretty girl. And I prefer this

name because it’s really like me. Ha Ha!

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Cyril Liu

My name is Cyril. It comes from Kyrillos, which is derived from "Kyrios".
There is no girl who is named Cyril but me.
Cyril has 10 different ways to write it Cyril, Cirl, Cirillo, Cy, Cyrill, Cyrille, Cyrillus, Kiril, and Kyril.
Cyril means master lord, lord master, lord lordly, and saint name.
In Ukraine, January 18 is celebrated as a feast day for Cyril.
The name Cyril is honored as a saint day on the 14th of February Catholic forest Cyril.
Cyril is hide in the Bible.

My Chinese name is 劉淅兒.
劉(Liu)means AX , and kill.
淅(Hsi)means raining very loud, snowing very loud ,and typhoon.
兒(Er)means cute, children, and young.

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Tiffany

It is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Tiffany is "revelation of God". Variant of the Greek
Theophania. In many Variant countries, girls born on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, are given some form of this name.

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Erin Tsai -Ning Chang

Erin is an Irish girl name. It means Ireland or peace. My last name is Chang. It is the fourth most popular last name inTaiwan. Tsai-Ning is my Chinese name. Tsai means to collect or choose. Ning means to be peaceful, tranquil, and quiet. My parents choose this name for me because they want me to live a quiet and peaceful life.

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Katie Chen

In English, the name Katie means-pure. The name Katie originated as an Irish

name. The name Katie is most often used as a girl or female name.

My last name Chen was named after Gui Man. Gui Man was a solider to help Wu

Wang , the first king of the Zhou dynasty remain in power(1122 B.C.). Then, he

was given a region named Chen as a gift. After, his descendants started to use the

name Chen.

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Chi-An Tai

Chi-An was named by her grandfather. Following my Family tree, Chi-An's generation shall always have Chi in their name.

Chi-An means inspiration and peace. The name Chi-An is special because it can be used to name both boys and girls.

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Cheney Lee

Where did it come from? // Origns of the clean Cheney is surname connected to Clean Sutherland of the Scottish Highlands.
What does it mean? // My Chines name CHAE EUN is pronounciation similar Cheney.

What is special about it?
// The Cheney surname is 46th Vice President of the United States
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Angel Low

Where it came from : It came from a

Spanish baby girl name.

What does it mean : A messenger of god.

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Cheng-Cian Li

Cheng-Cian is translated by the pronunciation of my Chinese name. It doesn't have a meaning in English.
But in Chinese,"Cheng" means "to continue" and "to hold". "Cian" means gentle,modest, virtue and soft.

"Li" is a kind of plum tree. My parents wish I can follow the virtue from my family. So they gave me this name.

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Hao-sen Hsu

My first name is Hao-Sen. It is the translation of my Chinese name, and it has no meaning by itself.

My Chinese name is 許皓森. My dad gave me this name. Hsu is my family name and Hao-Sen is my first name.

Hao in Chinese means “bright” or “white”, and Sen means “forest”.

So Hao-Sen together means “bright forest”.

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Jing-Yu

My first name Jing-Yu was conbined by two Chinese words.Jing[靖]
literly means pacify and peace.Yu[宇] literly means space and
universe.Li[李] literly means plum.Li is the fourth populer name in
Chinese society.My parents named it to wish I have a peacefull mind

and with vision.

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Wesley

Gender: Boy

Origin: English

Meaning: Western meadow

More information: Historically, Wesley was used in memory of the founders of the Methodist Church, John and Charles Wesley. At first, it was principally used by Methodists, but it has since spread to general use.

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Mira Hirotani

The name “Mira” means the name of a big star from a winter Cetus constellation (also known as

the Whale), which changes luminosity from time to time. I like my name because it's different and

people think it's beautiful. Since my father is an astronomer, exactly speaking an astrophysicist, my

parents named us with star names. Thus, my sister’s name is “Lyra”, which is a Latin word (lyre) for

the Greek harp, which turns up in the mythologies of ancient Greece and is a heavenly instrument

invented by the Greek God Hermes.

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Ethan Wang

Ethan - In English and Hebrew , the name Ethan means- Strong, Firm, and Impetuous. The name Ethan was originated in Hebrew.

The last name ' Wang "means- the symbol of power to use the character to express the meaning of king.

' we can see that's large, axe-shaped weapon in ancient times. The king always use it to rule over a country and his people at the first time, so we called the king : 王

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Hebe

About the her name Hebe, it comes from an ancient Greek Godness of youth, the daughter of Zeus and Hera.

And her Chinese name “宇涵”

“宇” is pronounced as “Yu”, means as “universe”.

“涵” is pronounced as “Han, means ”cultivated and self-restraint”

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Mollie Yung-Chih Cheng

The name ''Mollie'' comes from Irish and Latin.The meaning of ''Mollie'' means ''Star Of The Sea.'' You can spell the name ''Mollie'' in 5 different ways:Molly, Mollee, Molli,
Molley, and Mollie but ''Mollie''and''Molly''are the most popular ones.The name ''Mollie'' is often a girl's name. My name is a part of my mom's name ''Lilian''and my dad's name ''Morris.''(I am named after nobody.)

In Mandarin Chinese,"Yung-Chih" means ''Chanting.''

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Geetika Aisa

Geetika is an Indian name. In English, the name Geetika means - "little song". The name Geetika is originated as a Sanskrit name. The name Geetika is used in Hindi speaking countries. According to the Numerological Meaning of Geetika, people with this name tend to be very logical thinkers. It is very important for them to have a rigid routine. Many of their actions are quite calculated and thought out. Professionally, they can be successful as an Administrator, team player, or small business owner.

The Aisa is a female name of Hungarian origin. It means - "lip" (in Hungarian: "ajak"). Synonym name: Ajsa. Recommended namedays: April 25., November 15.

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Grace Li

Grace has 27 variant forms: Engracia, Eugracia, Gracee, Gracella, Gracelynn, Gracelynne, Gracey, Gracia, Graciana, Gracie, Graciela, Graciella,Gracielle, Gracija, Gracina, Gracious, Grata, Gratia, Gratiana, Gratiela, Gratiella, Grayce, Grazia, Graziella, Grazina, Graziosa and Grazyna.

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Ethan Peng

Ethan means firmness, long-lived.Ethan comes from Hebrew. It is special because it is one of the most popular names in America.

Peng is Chinese for a place in China. it is 35 most popular names in Taiwan.

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Elton Lee

Elton \e-lton, el-ton\ as a boy's name is pronounced EL-ten. It is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Elton is "Ella's town". Place name from Englandand transferred use of the surname.

Lee \lee\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Lee), is pronounced lee. It is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Lee is "pasture or meadow".

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William

1Q:Where did it come from???

1A:It is from Old German.

2Q:What does it mean???

2A:It is of origin, and the meaning of William is "will helmet, protection".

3Q:What is special about it???

3A:

(1)William \wi(l)-liam\ as a boy's name is pronounced WIL-yum.

(2)For a long time after the Norman conquest in AD 1066, three out of four English boys were given some form of the conqueror's name,

William.

(3)Short forms and variants came into being with a common basic meaning of "will", "determined", or "resolute".

(4)William has remained a royal name in the UK for nearly one thousand years.

(5)The firstborn son of the current Prince of Wales is named William.

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Eason

In Irish,the name Eason means- protector, great one.

The name Eason orginated as an Irish name.

The name Eason is most often used as a boy name or male name.

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Ajay Liu
The meaning of my first name, Ajay, is invincible, unbeatable, or unconquerable. Here are some more meanings found at the website search -
1. Almighty, conquers all where ever he goes;
2. It means the collection of victory;
3. It means who can never be defeated.
My Chinese name is very close to the pronunciation of Ajay, and that's why it was picked by my dad. No special meaning of my Chinese name, but my Chinese middle name is same as my brother's. It's my family's tradition.
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Jonathan Francis Yen
Jonathan means a gift from God. It is a male given name from a Hebrew word meaning " God Gave".
Francis is a male given name from an Old French word meaning " Frenchman". It is also my grandfather's name, after St. Francis. My dad told me that he attended St. Francis Xavier's College in Shanghai.
Yen. (嚴). Our family name.
嚴傑夫 is my Chinese name.
Yen is a family name. My dad, sister and I have that character at the beginning of our names. It means "strict."
傑: My parents wanted this character to start with the J sound in pinyin (jie2) since my name Jonathan starts with J.
夫: my middle name Francis starts with F. 夫, the character starts with the sound F in pinyin (fu1).
傑夫. This means " outstanding person."
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Allyson Chi-Shuan Young
My first name "Allyson" means noble kind of the noble sort.
It means to have courage, generosity, or honor. Just like a knight in shining armor.
My name starts with A to match with my Mommy Anny and my sister Ashley.
My Chinese name "Chi" means angelica, like an angel and "Shuan" means jade.
Young means poplar, that's a kind of tree.
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Fanny Chih Min Chao
In English :Fanny as a girl's name is It is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Fanny
is "from France". My English teacher in kindergarten named it for me !

In Chinese:
Chih, a kind of purplish fungus symbolizing nobility
Min, Rapid and flexible: quick. Sensitive. Sharp.
Chao,( Shaw sound meaning: brisk walking) with the original meaning [quickly〗
The ancient name of the country (a) the Warring States era; (b) the Western Jin
Dynasty, the end of the Huns, Jie tribe has established in the north.
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Kohei Watanabe
Kohei , kohei meaning , definition of kohei , what is kohei - The messiah born on 2012 who resurrects Japan. The coming of the messiah is foretold by a religious leader, Deguchi Wanisaburou.
Some examples : On 2012, Japan will once sink, but the island will be reconstructed by Kohei.
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Yazhu Heidi HsuThe name "Heidi" is a German girl's name, short form of Adelaide or Adelheid, which means "noble and kind".
In Mandarin Chinese, the surname "Hsu" literally means "making a promise", and is composed of 2 characters that mean "speech" and "noon", respectively. The given name "Yazhu" consists of 2 characters that mean "elegant" and "an ancient stringed instrument", respectively. I was named after the main character in a 1974 animation series, "Heidi, Girl of the Alps". As for my Chinese name, my parents like the meanings of my given name and the combination of the numbers of strokes matches the time when I was born according to Chinese fortune-telling.
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Ryan Hsu
The name Ryan means both little king and king.
The name Ryan comes from Ireland.
My mom and dad like American Idol's host Ryan so much.They named me Ryan.
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Joyce Chen
The name “Joyce” derived from the Old French Masculine name Josse which
derived from the Latin name Iudocus the Latinized form of the Breton name Judoc
meaning "lord". The name became rare after the 14th century but later revived as a
female name which derived from the Middle English joise meaning "rejoice".
“Chen” is a Chinese surname, and also a Hebrew word meaning “loveliness”,
or “grace”, which is also a common given name and surname
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Maxine Tseng
Maxine is a Latin name. It means the greatest. It was not popular in 2010.
Maxine can be spelled as Maxene.
Maxine is usually used as a girl's name.
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Elliot Jerng
"Elliot"- Hebrew name
In English, the name Elliot means-Jehova is God (My Lord is God)
The name Elliot originated as a Hebrew name. It also spelled Eliot, Elliott, Eliott, and Elyot.
Although the given name was historically given to males, females named Elliott have seen an increase in recent years.
"鄭京昇" - Chinese name
京昇 is the giving name. It was giving by my paternal Grandfather. They are pronounced as "jing shung".
京 (jing) means city and or sun. 昇 (shung) means rising sun. Combining these two characters, my giving name 京昇 means-the rising sun of the city.
The number 8 symbols prosperity in Chinese culture. Therefore, my Grandfather picked these two characters- 京昇, which all conduct with 8 strokes.
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Evan Yang
My English name of Evan is originated from Welsh. It means “young warrior” or “God is gracious”. Evan is a very popular first name for men in the USA in the top 50 list. It is a boy’s name, but occasionally it could be a girl’s name.
My Chinese name is Bor-Jing. In Chinese, our name’s meaning goes by each word. Bor means a lake or a traveler. Jing means an attractive shiny jade appearance. My grandfather gave me that name. He wants me to have an open mind to see the world like a world traveler and to have a shiny life like a jade.
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Karen Tsung
My name means pure and beautiful. Also, in Japan my name means love and cute. My name "Karen" is from Danish, Armenian. Something special about my name was that it was one of the top ten names for girls. born in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. That's all I have to say about my name!!
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Mina Min-Yun Liu
The name "Mina" comes from the Ancient Greece and Egypt means weight and currency units.

"Min" in Chinese means sky."Yun" means diverse.
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Liang Velma Hall
The name Velma comes from the English word which means determined protector. Why I was named Velma is because my dad's mom was named that. Liang, in Chinese means bright ,happiness, and kindness. Why I had this name is because my mom chose this name. She chose this name because she wants me to have happiness and kindness.
Hall is my family name and it is a Scottish Irish name that begun in 1090 A.D. meaning kind and forgiving. It is the 26 most popular name U.S.A.
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April Lauren Ieong
April comes from the Latin, Aprillus and means 'to open up' or to 'open up to the sun' like blooming flowers. Since April is part of the beautiful spring, it refers to the opening of flowers in the month of April.
Lauren is Latin in origin. It means the laurel tree which stands for honor and victory. In classical times,a crown made from leaves of the bay laurel was given to heroes or victors.
Ieong means poplar tree in Chinese.
April's Chinese name Han-Qi :
涵 (han) to contain
綺 (qi) means beautiful, gorgeous
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Kimberly Yong
"Kimberly" comes from original English which mean "wood from the royal forest ".
My family name"Yong" is inherited from ancestor long time ago.
Willie
Soures ：Germany
Meaning：Strong and powerful warrior or defender.

A BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO CULTURES

Pages

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Colombian Postcards Sighted!

Monday, May 28, 2012

IBSH Family Trees

IBSH Recipes (Mostly Taiwanese)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Learn Mandarin Chinese!

IBSH - Go, go, postcards!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Sunday, May 6, 2012

What's in a name? (IBSH)