My Name

A Soft and Strong Tree

My name is Xiaorong Huang, and it was the name that my grandfather gave me.

In Chinese, my name has a special meaning. “晓”, means the first sight of sunrise, and “榕”, means a big tree. I guessed my grandfather wanted me to be a soft person like the sunshine, but as strong as a big tree.

        I am the only child in my family, but I have many younger cousins. Due to the tradition in China, all my younger cousins need to follow my first name with “Xiao”, so it makes my name more meaningful. My youngest cousin is “晓莹”. Her name means the glittering firefly, and I think that’s a lovely name. Because our names are similar, which makes our relationship closer and let others know that she is my family member.

I love my name because it includes many best wishes from my family, it reminds me that I need to be the kind of person that my family wants me to be, and it gives me the power to improve myself.

After I came to Chicago, people around me called me by my English name, Natalie. Apart from calling my family members in China every time, I haven’t heard anyone call my Chinese name for a long time. I miss my hometown, and the people who would call my Chinese name in China.