What's in a name?

My daughter will have four names. Yes, four. I know that's a mouthful... but let me explain. She will have a first and middle name as well as my last name. It's a common practice for adoptive parents to keep some variation of their child's Chinese name to incorporate into their western name. Not all new adoptive parents choose to do this, but quite a few do.

My daughter will have a name given to her at the orphanage. Since this is probably just about the only thing that she will take from China, I want to keep this link to her past. So her name will be

Mia Renee' (Chinese name)
(and my last name... which for the sake of privacy I won't post)

Mia is Italian in origin and means "mine". Now I know I'm not Italian but I love this name. And I thought the meaning was very appropriate since I'll be solo parenting. She will be all mine! It's pronounced Mee-ya. Like the actress Mia Farrow.

Renee' is my sister's middle name. My sister and I are very close. In fact, I would say that she is probably my best friend. She's planning to travel to China with me, even though it will be difficult to be away from her family and her job. I can't imagine going through this experience without her. I can't wait for our children to grow up together.

Now I just hope that my daughter's Chinese name will be something that will flow well with the rest. I won't know what it is until I get my referral. Then I will have a few weeks before I travel to China to practice saying it in my sternest voice without getting tongue tied for those moments of mischief.... which hopefully will be few and far between.