What's In a Name?

Names are complex things.  They are a source of identity and we learn to define ourselves by the name we are given.  So what is the meaning behind Safia Rose Yen-Kohl?  Hold on to your hats...here we go!


After completing her undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal, Ellen spent two and a half years serving in the Peace Corps in the West African country of Guinea.  While there, she became quite fond of the common name, Safiatou.  She made it a bit more succinct by shortening it to Safia.  Safia is Arabic in origin and means 'true friend.'


Rose, her middle name, is the name of Ellen's paternal great-grandmother.


And quite obviously, we have hyphenated our last names to produce the Frankenstein, conglomeration, Yen-Kohl.


Now wait a minute....we're not quite done yet.  Young Safia also has a Chinese name.  In one Chinese tradition, families consult the help of a "fortune teller" to help derive an appropriate and auspicious name.  The birthdate and birth-time of the father, mother, and baby-to-be-named are all taken under consideration.  Also, Chinese names are based on the number of pencil strokes used to write out the full name (For example, my family name, Yen, is written 顏 and has 18 strokes) and the total number of strokes in a name helps to determine how appropriate the name is.  After analyzing these components, a list of names are offered.  We were given five different choices for Safia's Chinese name, and we chose 顏詩穎 (Yen Shī Yǐng).  The first character, 顏 (Yen), is my family name.  The middle character, 詩 (Shī ), means 'poetry.'  The last character, 穎 (yǐng), means intellectual. 


So there you have it.  Safia Rose Yen-Kohl.  顏詩穎.


I have one more week left in my paternity leave from school.  Yesterday, we video chatted with my classroom so that my students could meet Safia.  It was hilarious and awesome.  I have great students.  It's going to be really hard to go back to work, but at least I know my students will welcome me back (see below).  

A message from one of my students