Last week I wrote that we had settled on a name. At the time we believed that picking our baby's name would simplify things, but apparently they're just getting more confusing. Here is the encyclopedic list of competing names, their origins, meanings, advocates, etc.
Sophie --Her name, given to her by Lisa and me.
Sophie Claire SiTian Stohler -- Her complete name, given to her by Lisa and me.
???? -- Her original name, given to her by her unknown Chinese birth parents. It could be anything, and even though she heard it for the first four months of her life, she and we will never know what it was.
Si Tian -- The name given to her at the orphanage. As discussed earlier, it means something to the effect of "sweetness," and it was the first name we as parents knew her by. "Si Tian" has advocates among our friends ("the hottest name this side of the Pecos Valley," one of them said), and we agree that it's a great one, but the difficulties for her in maintaining that name for a lifetime are just too much.
Sophie Claire -- Some family members are in favor of this Southernized version of her first two names together. I admit that there's a nice ring to it, but we settled on a single name, and that's what it will be.
The China Baby -- Our friends have a 2-year-old who gets excited talking our baby. She knows her name is Sophie, but she also calls her "A China Baby." Another family friend, Sibyl, has taken to calling her "The China Baby."
Poppy -- Lisa's pet name for our once-unknown child. As we first tried to get pregnant, Lisa imagined having a daughter with this name, so before we knew anything about Poppy, that's what we called her. When we couldn't find any "real" names that Poppy could be a nickname for (like Penelope), it was officially out of the running.
Mary -- Lisa's 5-year-old nephew decided to call her this. We don't know where it came from.
Chi-Chi -- Lisa's 79-year-old great uncle decided to call her this. We really don't know where it came from.
Sing-Song -- Part of a series of nicknames for other babies. Kika is King Kong; Popo is Ping Pong; so Sophie (or Si Tian) would be Sing Song. The concept was created by one member of the Sparling clan and recommended to us by another.
The Chairman, a.k.a. Chairman Mao -- Camille likes the thought of our sweet little Chinese blossom turning out to be a vicious ruler in the vein of Mao.
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Hey guys.. don't sweat the name too much - all of those you have listed are beautiful. Formal names and "nicknames" will inevitably stick.. I know many "James" that go by Jim; William as Bill; Margaret as Peggy (never understood this one); Katherine as Kate; Xi as Cindy. Besides occasional difficulty with the drivers license and trying to find in a corporate email directory, all goes well.... Whatever you guys decide on will be a distant memory when, a year from now, you'll be worried that all she chooses to eat is chicken nuggets and watermelon (and cookies, too!)
-Jason Herman
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