Girl Names: Do These Mean What I Think They Do?

[LookingForAName]

Hi all!

 

I’m moving to China soon and want a culturally sensitive name, as I’ve found that mine is nearly impossible for my Chinese friends to pronounce. I’ve researched Chinese naming practices and created a few names I think sound and look nice, as well as hold meaning— most of them pertaining to nature. However, as I’m not a native speaker, I’m not entirely sure these names mean what I think they mean (or even if they would be suitable for a girl, as it’s hard for me to distinguish which characters are interpreted as masculine/feminine/unisex.) 

 

So, do the names below mean what I think they mean, and would they be suitable for a girl? They can be unisex names, just not overwhelmingly masculine. Additionally, do any of the following names stick out as exceptionally odd, or would they sound nice to native speakers? Thanks in advance! 

 

For reference, I’ve chosen to use a close friend’s surname, 雷 (Léi). 

 

蔼苞 (Ǎibāo): lush bud

蔼林 (Ǎilín): lush forest

蔼薇 (Ǎiwēi): lush fern 

娇薇 (Jiaowēi): dainty, lovely fern

林薇 (Línwēi): forest fern

飒始 (Sàshǐ): sound of the wind [signals a] beginning

随飒 (Suísà): follow the sound of the wind

芽薇 (Yáwēi): sprout[ing] fern

忆飒 (Yèsà): recall, evoke the sound of the wind

珍苞 (Zhēnbāo): precious, rare bud 

自在 (Zìzài): comfortable, free, unrestrained

 

 

[Shelley]

My advice wait till you get to China, you don't say why you are going but maybe a teacher, fellow student or work college can help.

 

Its so much better if it is done by someone who knows you , even if only a bit.

 

It may be that a transliteration of your name would work. Maybe people will find your name easier to say than you think.

I hope your time in China goes well.

 

[Publius]

雷蔼薇 and 雷蔼林 are fine.

雷自在 is great... for a kung fu master in a wuxia novel.

Others not so good. Some characters, people just don't use them in names.

Since you seem very partial to buds and sprouts, have you considered 雷蕾?

[imron]

7 hours ago, LookingForAName said:

I’ve chosen to use a close friend’s surname, 雷 (Léi). 

Does your close friend mind?  I don't know how much you've consulted with them on this, but some Chinese people take surnames quite seriously and if you've just decided to take their surname, some people might see it similar to you saying "oh hey, I'm now a member of your family".

[hy]

Anything with forest will sound funny? 

 

芽薇 should sound better if it's 薇芽

[889]

Suggest you take into account the ease of writing out the name and the inherent attractiveness and balance of the characters viewed together. Do you really want to spend most of your time in China writing out 雷蔼薇?

 

Also remember that in speech you'll commonly use the "a"-as-in-apple approach to "spell-out" your name. So make sure your name can be easily spelled out that way.

 

[Lu]

2 hours ago, 889 said:

Also remember that in speech you'll commonly use the "a"-as-in-apple approach to "spell-out" your name. So make sure your name can be easily spelled out that way.

This is not really a problem for one's own name, I think. You need to learn to spell it only once and then you can just rattle that off every time it's needed. I have no problem spelling my own name (I can spell my surname in three different ways if anyone is interested), even though I'm rubbish at understanding other people's spelling anything.

 

I agree with Publius that 雷蔼薇 and 雷蔼林 are nice and 雷自在 is not a good idea at all. And 雷蕾 works too, especially if you were born in the 1980s or 1990s, when such names started to be in fashion. Although personally I find 雷蕾 a bit too cutesy.