陈 姿 颖

As with most traditional parents, we took to choosing a good Chinese name for Saige, with the help of a geomancer. For those of us who are uninitiated, it is believed that each child is born with what is known as a 'ba zi' which tells us his or her fortune/luck when born. As with all fortunes, there are ups and downs with all future paths. However, with the right name, one can give the child a good chance of "counteracting" the negatives post-birth, without going against the nature of the child at birth.

Which parent wouldn't want to give his child the best?

Before we go to Saige's Chinese name, it is worth mentioning how Eve and I thought of Saige's English name. It had first started with "Paige" as both of us liked the name. As it turns out, when Eve Googled further, she came across Saige - which meant "to be healthy and have "wisdom" in doing the right things". We both liked that so much since we always wanted these for our kids, that we settled on it very quickly. btw, this was before we knew that our number 2 is a girl - and even before we had number 2 :)

Anyway, back to the Chinese name, we had been advised, based on Saige's time of birth, that she would be better off using not the same middle name that Faith (陈诗 颖) had. When we told our family this, Terence, my younger brother suggested then to make the third character the same. This was something new to me. But according to Eve, it is actually quite common to have folks having the same third name. As such, I asked again for advise, now based on having the same third character. This time round, we were given the option of 陈 姿 颖.

姿 beauty; disposition; looks; appearance

颖 clever; gifted

When I saw the name, I thought the name was meaningful not only in that it would emphasise the feminity and beauty of Saige, but also fitting since she was our second daughter (次 女).

For our friends who are non-Mandarin speakers, here are other words with 姿...


姿
zī
beauty / disposition / looks / appearance


姿貌
zī mào
( n. )
a woman's looks

姿媚
zī mèi
( adj. )
charming, enchanting

姿容
zī róng
looks / appearance


姿色
zī sè
good looking


姿势
zī shì
posture / position


姿首
zī shǒu
( n. )
(of women) a pretty face and beautiful hair

姿态
zī tài
attitude / posture / stance