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Old 06-14-2009, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Macao
16,284 posts, read 42,954,513 times
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For a daughter, how does 'Xia' sound?

I'm white, wife is Asian (not Chinese).

We both like the name quite a bit. Xia means 'glow of sunrise' in Mandarin Chinese.

However, I know the U.S. is becoming more and more multicultural with many different names. But wondering if 'Xia' is a bit too difficult for English speakers with how to pronounce it, etc.

Other than that, we both like the name quite a bit.

Still, I'm a bit curious to hear other's opinions on it.
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:31 AM
 
1,091 posts, read 3,583,771 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
For a daughter, how does 'Xia' sound?

I'm white, wife is Asian (not Chinese).

We both like the name quite a bit. Xia means 'glow of sunrise' in Mandarin Chinese.

However, I know the U.S. is becoming more and more multicultural with many different names. But wondering if 'Xia' is a bit too difficult for English speakers with how to pronounce it, etc.

Other than that, we both like the name quite a bit.

Still, I'm a bit curious to hear other's opinions on it.
I went to school with a girl named Xenia (pronounced "Zinnia").
She was also half-asian, half-white (don't know the specific nationalities of her parents; I believe her dad was Swedish or Norwegian or something).
She was a smart, pretty, and confident girl, and her name suited her.

I don't know the mandarin pronunciation of "Xia".
Whatever it is, if it's too difficult, I imagine that English-speakers will pronounce it "Zia".
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:32 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
546 posts, read 1,673,443 times
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Is it pronounced like Zeeah?

I enjoy names that are unique and not too far out. I think it's a beautiful name. We've got out third boy showing up any day now and chose Soren. I was wondering how most people would take it as I had never heard the name before, but so far everyone loves it.

I say go with it
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Old 06-14-2009, 09:58 AM
 
5,747 posts, read 12,008,849 times
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Love it! Names that end with "a" are very popular right now, so, if it's pronounced "Zia" (rather than "Sha") it will be just different enough without going too far.
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Old 06-14-2009, 10:42 AM
 
4,253 posts, read 9,418,041 times
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My daughter's middle name is Xenia - should have spelled it the correct Russian way, Ksenia, because people do say it Zeenia. I say it K-seh-nee-ah. The English tongue finds it hard to say two letters, K and S, together like "KS", they tend to say "Ehgzeenia". So if you plan to pronounce Xia as "Kseeah", it will slide into "Zeeah" or "Ehgzeeah".
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Old 06-14-2009, 11:16 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,066,170 times
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She will have to spend her life pronouncing and spelling her name for everyone-as long as you are ok with that and don't get all bent out of shape when people mispronounce or misspell it. There was a girl in our kids' old school named Xia-blond hair/blue eyed little girl. She is about 9 or 10 now.
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Old 06-14-2009, 11:21 AM
 
5,747 posts, read 12,008,849 times
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I had a really unusual surname growing up, so I spent a lot of time spelling my name for others. It didn't bother me at all, since I thought it was thoughtful of people to take the time to make sure they had it right.

Quote:
My daughter's middle name is Xenia.
I grew up near the town of Xenia, Ohio, and we pronounced it "zeen-yah."
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:14 PM
 
4,253 posts, read 9,418,041 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by formercalifornian View Post
I grew up near the town of Xenia, Ohio, and we pronounced it "zeen-yah."
I learned about the English pronunciation of "Xenia" after my daughter's name was already written in the Department of Vital Statistics lol. Had I known (and not as if my dh hadn't warned me) I'd've spelled it Ksenia - at least it would've given people a pause before saying it. Not going to change now!

Off-the-topic: USA has amazing town names - Moscow, Paris, Bagdad, Rome, Denmark, Cuba, Typo, Metropolis, Gay, Hell (I am from Hell?)

Weird U.S. Town Names
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Old 06-14-2009, 12:33 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
546 posts, read 1,673,443 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nuala View Post
Off-the-topic: USA has amazing town names - Moscow, Paris, Bagdad, Rome, Denmark, Cuba, Typo, Metropolis, Gay, Hell (I am from Hell?)

Weird U.S. Town Names
Not to hijack, but I remember driving in CA once and passing a sign for a town called Los Banyos. It still makes me chuckle.

please return to your normal parenting thread
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Old 06-14-2009, 02:15 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
2,109 posts, read 3,281,791 times
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How do you pronounce Xia? Is is "Zee-ah" or "shee-ah" (as my daughter thinks it's pronounced, similar to her asian friends last name which starts with an X)?

This will be a common questions asked of her , but either way it's pronounced, it's a pretty name.
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