The new kid in the house is already 5 months old. It is a pity that his little bits and pieces have not been properly logged due to my commitment in other rather less important businesses.

Long before he was born, my mon-in-law has already hinted that she would like to name him using 骏, 旭, 熹 or 曦. She especially like the word 骏, which means a good/handsome horse. Err….my kid a horse!? Nah, joking, it is actually a nice word, signifying the handsome/sturdiness of a horse, but that word never appeal to me. It was actually on my ban list before she suggested it.

We almost used 旭 or 熹, which sound really nice and cool. However, we decided upon 燊 in the end, because being a boy, we would really like to see a stronger character in him, not anything weaker like the morning sun. Blazing, fiery and passionate as in the word 燊 are some traits we would like to see in him, though I think 燊 sound rather boring. And with the character 磊, I hope it will constantly remind us to raise him into a person of integrity and principle.

With 3 fire (燊) and 3 stones (磊) in his names, many people had asked me if we have consulted a geomancer. No, we didn’t. I am quite against it, because it gives me great satisfaction to find a name I like, and I don’t want a stranger to find some weird Chinese characters and tell me to use those characters just because their strokes will bring the kid (or the family) health, wealth…blah blah blah. I would jump if he wants me to create a new Chinese character by changing or adding a radical to an existing word. Thanks, we have enough hanzi, no need to invent another additional one for the promise of good life.

However, my mom-in-law got a little worry when told of the name. She thought it has too many fire and earth and might do harm to the boy. Too elemental I guess. She consulted her shifu and gave us the consent after the shifu told her that name is exactly what the kid needs, as he lack fire and earth! Well, even if they didn’t approve the name, it would be too late to change, we have already had that name registered in his birth certificate, and we like it very much.

Whatever hassle we have gone through to name him, we call him 弟弟 (didi) in the end. He is fated to be that darling little brother ever so dear.