Trisha writes:
I write to seek help with a name for a baby girl in a blended family. My partner and I are in the process of adopting a daughter from Japan. She is due February the 14th. (we aren’t looking for any holiday themed names!)
We currently have three children, Ingrid Eliza and Winona Alice (called Nona, quite exclusively), aged 5 and 3.5, my partner, Elizabeth’s daughters, and my son, Ezra Arthur, 7.
We have been all over the place in our name search, but currently, our short list includes Kirstie, Autumn, Ida, Matilde “Tillie,” Shea, Maya, Johanna, and Adele.
Except we don’t really *love* any of those names, and we also don’t see them falling into a certain “group,” so it is difficult to discover similar names that may be the one.
Another thing we’d really love is to give her a middle name that somehow includes her heritage. Japanese names are completely foreign to me, so we’re really just hoping for a name that sounds good with her first name.
Also, on a tangent, I really would like to somehow incorporate the name Katherine (it is very meaningful to me). I love it as a first name, but my partner isn’t too convinced. She is more open if we could call her by a more creative nickname, but we can’t seem to think of any, so if you know of any nice nicknames for Katherine, please do tell.
I know it’s a bit of a tall order, but I am hoping you will be able to help!
Katherines used to go by Kathy, but now mostly go by Kate. My favorite nicknames for it, though, are Kay and Kit: I think they have the sass of Kate, but with more vintage charm.
I too am unfamiliar with Japanese names. Will she come with her own name, which could used as her middle name? Or will you have any information about the city in which she was born? Or depending on how the adoption is being done, could someone in Japan help you by choosing a name for her, perhaps with a specific meaning?
I have a book called The Best Baby Names in the World, From Around the World (it looks like this version is the currently available one) that has a small section of Japanese names. It looks like there are a lot of good choices: names with pleasing meanings, and pleasing sounds to the U.S. ear. Just a few examples: Aiko (EYE-koh) means beloved; Chiyo (CHEE-yo) means eternal; Hana (HA-nah) means flower; Kana (KAH-nah) means beautiful or excellent; Kei (KAY) means happiness; Keiko (KAY-koh) means happy child; Sachi (SAH-chee) means blessed or lucky; Suki (SOO-kee) means loved one.
Here are some first name possibilities I think work well with the sibling group:
Adeline
Alice
Beatrix
Carys
Cecily
Cora
Iris
Pearl
Phoebe
Stella
I like Stella Kei J_____-F____. Or Iris Keiko J_____-F____. Or Phoebe Keiko J_____-F___. Or I like Katherine (Kit/Kay) Suki J_____-F___.
Congratulations! I love when parents want to use an adopted child’s given name or honour the child’s heritage. What about an “em-” name, like Emmelina Kate, that would give you the nickname Emi, a Japanese name meaning either “beautiful picture” or “beautiful blessing”? Or, since the modern form of Katherine means “pure,” you could choose a Japanese name that means the same. Jun and Kiyo both mean “pure,” and Kiyoko means “pure child.”
As for alternative nicknames for Katherine, I’ve heard Rin, Rina and Theri (like “terry”) before. Rin/Ren and Rina just happen to be Japanese names, too! Ren means “lotus” or “love,” Rin means “dignified” and Rina has several possible meanings, one being “jasmine.”
Kateri was the name of a venerated holy woman. She was part of the Mohawk tribe and her name was the Native American version of Catherine, a saint she admired. I think that it’s really pretty and a lovely nickname for C/Katherine.
I am unfamiliar with Japanese names, but I like some of the suggestions so far.
I suggest Trina as a nn for Katherine, although I know it as a nn for the slightly different Katarina. It could work though, Trina is cute. I also just saw that Trine is a girl’s name of Dutch and Greek origin meaning pure.
I think you have some great ones on your list; I especially like Mathilde, Maya and Adele.
I suggest:
Alice
Camille
Corinne
Muriel
Sadie
Good luck!
I’m a Catherine and my mother calls me Kitty. Kittie is a cute spelling variation. I also know Katherines who go by Kat, Kay, Katy, Kathy. The name I most commonly go by is a variation on Kate. I also have a friend Kathryn who goes by Chococat. You could also go with Katherine and call her Kei for short, combining a cute nickname with a japanese word.
As far as Katherine nicknames go I used to babysit a little girl that went by Kakie (pronounced khaki) as a nn for Katherine and was absolutely adorable.
I think using her existing Japanese name, if she has one, would be the best middle, but I do like the Kay/Kei coincidence as well, if you use Katherine.
From your list I like Matilde, Adele and Johanna.
How about Delia (similar to Adele) or Susannah? Sukey is sometimes a nickname and sounds like Suki. Also the end sounds like Hana.
Oh, and I wanted to say I liked the suggestion of Pearl, too.
Katka is also a common nickname for Katarina, but I think it could work for Katherine as well. Katja, Kay, or Katri could also work.
I think Maya sounds very well with your other children’s names.
What about Marina? Marina Shiori sounds lovely imo. Nora Mai?
Other versions of Katherine:
Caryn
Karina
Katrin
Would your partner be more accepting of Katerina or Katrina than Katherine? Would you still feel these names were as special?
How about Katia as a nickname (or used stand alone)?
From the others on your list I think Johanna and Adele go best with your other children’s names.
Best of luck with your adoption.
Kasia (pronounced Kasha) is the Polish nickname for Katherine, I believe. I really like it!
At the risk of sounding ignorant, I’m going to suggest Naomi. I think it’s used in Japan, although I’m seeing conflicting reports online, and I have lost touch with my Japanese friends, so I have no real point of reference. I think it goes well with the other siblings and is so cute.
I know an international family — mother from Japan, father Canadian — who have a darling little girl named Aya Elizabeth. I think Aya is beautiful and would work well in Canada and the US because of its similarity to Ava.
AYA
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 彩, 綾 (Japanese)
From Japanese 彩 “colour” or 綾 “design”.
I think there are many Japanese names — many of them rather short names — that would also work well for the first name, which you could pair with a longer English language middle name. Too, it may be that your baby’s original Japanese name will be a name you like, and keeping it as her first name could be very meaningful to her.
Here is a list of some names used in Japan:
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/jap.php
I have a Japanese friend whose name is Maysumie (possibly spelt a little differently!) and goes by May. A really lovely name I think!
I know several Japanese women named Mari (sounds like mah-ree, not Mary) which is a lovely name.
Megumi (Meh-GOO-mi) means blessing. I ALWAYS loved this name because it’s so sweet, and even if you aren’t religious a blessing has positive connotations.