i like zinan
zinan - the japanese name for second son. it has a certain ring to it, it's beautiful, and it somehow honors our first son, BUT, i'm concerned that it might be placing a heavier weight on our living son's shoulders. mainly, in that he isn't his brother.
what do you think? i'm sure that the child will have to at some point explain his name and at some point, he may have to explain that he has a dead brother, perhaps in concert with the name explaination.... is that too much for a little guy?
what do you think? i'm sure that the child will have to at some point explain his name and at some point, he may have to explain that he has a dead brother, perhaps in concert with the name explaination.... is that too much for a little guy?
posted by justinian at 8:35 AM
21 Comments:
would you name him that if hans had lived? i say let him be his own person, not in relation to his brother. save the symbolism for yourselves.
Middle name (or second, if using both your names) to be explained when he's older. Also putting it as a second name will recognize his birth order but not make the fact that he is second front-and-center.
Oh - is it Zee-nan or Zin-nan? English tells me the former, but it is Japanese and I know nothing of that language's pronunciations.
I'm not sure, Lorem, I've put that up on a few bb boards that I frequent that have both Japan-philes and linguists; hopefully they'll know.
With Johannes, we went with the less common spelling/pronunciation. Spoken, he was "Yo-han", like common Johan, not "Yo-han-us" or "Jo-han-us".
I don't know, I think if I were the second son or daughter, I would think the name was pretty cool. At first the explanation could be, "My parents wanted a different name." Who needs to give more explanation than that? But what a way to honor the fact that Hans DID exist...and BOTH these babies' existences are interwoven. It's just the way it is. You are different parents because Hans existed. You can't and shouldn't ignore that fact.
Hans probably won't be mentioned all that much in your house, as this little one is growing up. Why not have this as a way to honor him, and let his little brother know how much he is treasured and loved?
It doesn't mean second place, it means second born. Which is what Z will be.
And I LOVE the name. I don't even think Lucy is ALL that different, but people always ask if we named her after a grandparent or something. I like that it's different. If I see another Madyson or Conner I am going to throw myself off a bridge.
Oh, that's a bummer: we were thinking Madyson Conner as our first born daughters name.
I KNEW someone was going to come up with some smart-ass comment. ;) And I KNEW it would probably be you, J.
One other thing - it's not like you're going to have a freaking bulletin board up in your kitchen that says, "Zinan means second son." Most kids could care less what their name means, until they're older.
Lucy means "light". After all we went through with her we thought that was appropriate...she IS our light. "Lucita" means Little Light, but when we told people we liked that name, we realized it sounded like a hotel maid. I guess you always run the risk of people not liking the name. Other people said, "Oh, I have a dog named Lucy." Good for you. Her little name is Allison, who is my brother's wife, and one of the only people who told us we could make it through. We had so many people telling us she probably wasn't going to make it, and to basically give up. I will tell Lucy how much her aunt Allison loved her from the onset when she is old enough to understand. I think it's cool she bears her name.
I just think it's really cool you're putting so much thought into the name. Alot of parents don't - which is their choice...my husband was named after 2 brothers his mom had a crush on in high school... ;)
Ok I will quit cyber-stalking now.
J - what about Caedyn Tayler?
little* middle
oh, i thought we weren't going to reveal name preferences yet. ahem. i guess this is sort of a private world, but i wasn't expecting this post.
i love that the name incorporates a z, it's unique, it could pass as vaguely ethnically-appropriate to your last name, has a cool nickname (zin!), and yes, that it has meaning. i would think it was a cool name if hans had lived, too, so why shouldn't it be cool now?
it would be different to me if we picked a name that meant "re-do" or "make-up" or "correction" or "second best" or "consolation prize" or whatever else you can think of. but if z is a boy, he will be our second son. i want him to have a cool, unique and meaningful name. i think zinan fits that bill.
also, the name that was your choice as of dinner last night - we haven't even looked up that meaning yet. and the name that was my first choice means "salvation", which might be a worse meaning, in this case - that much more of a burden to bear. and the third other name - all kinds of bizarre references but no real meaning. i think those factors make "second son" look pretty damn good for a meaning!
oh, and one more thing - could you bring me home some oatmeal cookies?
um, don't get my panties into a bunch over analyzing the intention of my post here ... I'm thinking out loud!
Oatmeal cookies: soft or natural?
don't get *your* panties in a bunch??? did you raid my underwear drawer again???
i don't care what kind of cookies. thank you. :)
Orson might have gotten a name pertaining to "third." But we chose Orson because when he was born, that was him.
I also think Zinan is a very cool name but yes, i would not use it as a first name for fear that it would be too 'heavy' a burden. I like lorem's suggestion of using it as a middle name, though.
I think it's a great name, as a first or second name. Do what's best for you and your family, and forget what others think. I'm sure that Johannes' life will be celebrated and remembered in your family no matter what.
Your decision to name your child is 100% yours. Whatever you end up being comfortable with in the context of your own experience will be good and right.
Assvice: Keep it a secret... there are not enough good secrets in the world and this one is precious and yours at least for the time being.
I think it's a beautiful tribute and not a burden at all. I mean, come on, who really goes around obsessing over their name's meaning? I'll let you in on a secret...Claudia means "lame." Yup, lame, as in broken or hobbled (not shiny, metallic fabric). Look it up if you don't believe me. If I can make it through life just fine with a name that means lame, I don't possibly see how such a lovely tribute to Hans would be difficult for his brother.
Plus it gets points from me for being unique and distinctive. My $0.02.
You guys do realize you opened up a huge can of worms here, right? I think the definitive name should be kept a secret between the two of you for now.
Who's going to object when you present him with a certain name?
We're not sharing anything! This was me feeling out the name thing... seeing it in writing.
Ya's know, I really like the name Zydrunas as well. So, really, it could end up being anything.
I've got some feeback from a linguist page that I occasionally look at:
"If you are talking about the Japanese rapper Zinan, it is pronounced Ji-nan.
(There is no "zii" sound in standard Japanese. The romanisation "zi", which is not common these days, represents the sound usually tranliterated as "ji".)
Zinan (Ji-nan) is not a Japanese name. Jinan means "second son", which the singer says represents "no future" in a country where the first son is traditionally the heir."
and
"The romanisation of this guy's name is really retro.
Before the 2nd World War they experimented with a different romanisation system, one that wasn't a product of western scholars. The one the Japanese government came up with had z representing the j sound (in some cases). It also had h representing the f sound.
So Fuji, in that system, was written as Huzi.
Once they lost the war, this system was consigned to the gomibako of history, and Japan reverted to the more sensible alternatives."
Ji-nan, that's intersting. When I was a pup, I called myself 'Ji-Jin'.
oh, i can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, if z is a boy, his name will most definitely not be "zydrunas" - dream on, ji-jin.
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