The Naming Decision - Thank you, Mina Shum!

You might have guessed it. Once we found out that we were having a girl, the next big assignment was naming our daughter. There were so many pretty and nice names out there, it was really really hard to decide and agree with everyone...even between Burke and I, we had so many "disagreements," we often had to put a time-out and remind ourselves that this is supposed to be a happy dilemma .......and that ultimately, I needed to be in a happy state for the sake of the little girl inside of my tummy :) One of the biggest contender was Olivia. We really liked this name as we thought it was classy and cute but also had weight. However, we found out that we were not the only ones that thought this way, and the name had to be eliminated in our options as we really didn't want her to be in a class with many other girls of the same name (this name made it to the top 5 baby girl names for last 5+ years). Then there was Julia, which we liked, but it somehow wasn't 100% convincing...And then there was Gia, which we thought was cute, but also didn't receive much positive feedback.

Meanwhile, Burke and I was aware that our little girl would also have Korean and Chinese names. Not legally, but as grandparents from both side of the family would speak either Korean or Chinese, we thought that it would be nice to have a name that roots to our culture. We both thought that it would be actually nice to have one name that would serve this purpose.

As I was googling "successful Chinese Canadians" (yes, I know...you are now judging me) in hopes of getting any inspirations, we actually came across the name, Mina. It was actually really funny, as the lady by the name Mina also had the last name Shum! I learned that she was an independent film maker that won several awards, and she's from my hometown (or province), BC! Mina Shum sounded so...perfect! It was difficult to find first names that were compatible phonetically with the last name that started with "Sh-" (...try Vanessa Shum), but Mina worked! We felt that the name sounded cute, pretty yet smart and strong. So, we finally made the decision to name our daughter Mina.

We were happy to find out that Mina sounded English, but also was somehow linked to Chinese and Korean names. It turns out that Mina was also a Korean name as well (민아), and in a way, it also felt meaningful, as it had part of my mom's maiden name - Min (민). As for Chinese name, Burke's parents named our daughter Ming-ah: 娥 名, which meant distinguished, fame and beautiful. They also mentioned that there are some celebrities with this name. We do really hope that Mina grows up to be a distinguished, wise and beautiful woman.... now I understand why parents name their children with all the nicest meanings attached to the name - to wish great things and happy blessings for their children (like my parents named me, bright accomplishment...although I still feel like I have yet to show them that I can live by this name..sigh). Anyways, I also learned that the name, Mina is quite international. Did you know that Mina in German means love?

This post is getting a bit long. Just to wrap up, we named our daughter Mina Kimberley Shum, which incorporated part of my last name (Kim!) in her middle name. I also thought Kimberley added some traditional-ness, weight and classic feel to the name. Anyways, thank you Mina Shum! :D We do not know if our daughter will become a filmmaker, but we do sincerely hope that she gets to do what she really loves to do in the future.