Why I named her Miracle
Monday, March 26th, 2007Many asked why I name my child “Miracle”. Was it something which happened during the pregnancy or during the birth process that made me name her Miracle? Some of you don’t even consider miracle as a proper name.
As a Chinese, my wife and I are Christian. Thus, you can call me as Christian Chinese, but the very core of me is still a Chinese.
For this reason, I will still retain the Chinese name for my child and will educate her in Chinese as she grows.
The name I gave her reflects my Chinese ethnicity. Her surname follows after my family. Her name is Xin Yan. In full, her name is Leong Xin Yan. This is her Chinese name, the official name in her birth certificate.
Although her name is Leong Xin Yan, the real meaning of her name is “the heart’s expression” or “speech of the heart”. To many of us, it makes more sense to call her Xin Yan rather than calling her “heart’s expression”.
I also gave the name Miracle. This reflects my belief and my faith as a Christian. I do not regard Miracle as a Christian name as most of you would agree that it is not a name at all. I will not regard it as her English name because we are Chinese.
Why would we want an English name? Is it because we are influence by Christianity which was brought forth by the Westerners? Are we being westernized by our belief in Christendom?
What if I am a Muslim Chinese? Would I have named my child as Fatimah Leong? I don’t think so. What would happen if I live in Japan?
Just as her Chinese name carries a significant in meaning, I also wish to give her a name which has significance as a Christian. I did not give her an English name like Monica or a Japanese name like Michiko. I also did not give her a Christian name like Jesus or John which is found in the Bible.
I gave her a name that reflects Christ – miracle. Just as her Chinese name gives direct meaning in Chinese, I gave her a name that gives direct meaning in Christ.
Therefore, Miracle is not an English name nor was it a Christian name. It is a name that reflects Christ. Just as we have names like Grace, Hope, Faith, Destiny and Joy, Miracle is a name which reflects God’s work of Miracle in my life and it’s my prayer that my child will experience even greater miracle in her life as she grow to know God personally.
