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Baby Names
Moxie-lani and Esmund
If we have a girl, we are strongly thinking about Moxie. We are from Hawaii, so we want to add Lani (a shortened version of Leilani) in there. I like it because I kind of feel like any daughter of mine should come with a warning label! 
If we have a boy, we are leaning towards Esmund, which is similar to my husband's name. It has a good strong sound to it, a nice meaning, and I can't think of any mean nicknames for it. lol
Either gender will have a Chinese middle name picked out by my MIL. I want her to feel included (but not enough to give her the first name), and we want her to help teach our kids Chinese. It is common in my husband's family for kids to have American and Chinese names, and they switch languages depending on which name they're being called.
Thoughts?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Moxie-lani and Esmund
This. I like Lani fine, but not Moxie as a name.
All this. Moxie-lani sounds like a hot mess.
A hot mess? That is a new one... Lol.
Not totally convinced on adding the Lani, so thanks for your input. Luckily, we have time to mull this over.
Not a fan at all.
Leilani is such a BEAUTIFUL name, I'd absolutely just go with it.
Edmund is already in the family, and we wanted something close but not identical, hence Esmund.
DH wants the Hawaiian name in there, but every third kid here is named Leilani - and he hates the nickname Lei. I am thinking maybe just Moxie then. It is becoming more common, and while a little cutesy, at least it isn't generic. Lol.
Mind you, she will not be made fun of here.. Princess, Special, and Abcede are common. People are very accepting in the islands, for better or for worse. Ha haha!
Thank you for those who took the time to give constructive feedback! I know that is more difficult and takes more time. It was helpful!
i do like the idea of the girl being able to choose between her FN and MN, so that was a very excellent idea! I can work something out when I present the idea to MIL, I am sure. I haven't even told MIL that we are expecting yet, but I can try to push for an easy Chinese MN. Something simple, like Lin, maybe. I will just remind her that the baby will be both races, and Mommy needs to pronounce it correctly. I still cannot say my husband's Chinese name right... Ha ha ha!
Thank you, macchiato. That was a good idea.
When I hear the name Moxie, all I think about is those ugly barbie-like dolls that my daughter likes ... the Moxie girls. I think it's a terrible name IMO ....
Esmund is very different too and definitely NMS. Sorry!
Emma Kate - born 10.16.03 @ 29 weeks, weighed 1lb 13oz and 13.5" long.
TTC #3
Yeah, Lin or Mei or something like that.
My Chinese pronunciation is pretty decent but I have trouble with the "r" sounds and some of the "u" sounds.
This exactly.
Moxie is not a terrible name, a terrible name is Phonebook. With the way the world is by the time Moxie grows up no one will be thinking twice about if her name is too cutesy for her to be a lawyer or a doctor or a ad executive. Just think of all the "crazy" named kids that came out of the 60s, they're all doing just fine.
Plus with a name like Moxie, I bet she'll be a spitfire and will do just fine.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Amberrjade. You must be a really nice person in the "real world."
Updates: I AM keeping Moxie, but probably dropping Lani. I love Mocchiato's ideas of Mei and Lin, and might suggest that to my DH.
PP (forgot the name) - Esmund is pronounced with an S, not a Z, but the Z sound is interesting. I'm not sure it's our style, but thank you for pointing that possibility out.
Oh, and to answer someone's question as to why I'm crazy enough to ask my MIL to name the child's MN: I was severely abused my entire life. Even after I married and left home, my first MIL was unkind to say the least. I divorced and remarried, and this MIL is so wonderful. It would have been easy for her to resent me -- a white girl stealing her Chinese son -- and as a bonus, I'm a broke teacher with an insane family. Instead, she has been extremely kind to me. She gave me all the family heirloom jewelry when I married my DH (whereas my family refused to attend the wedding); paid our down payment, even came over while recovering from an injury to help me paint the new house. We don't always see eye to eye, but she is the first "mother" I've ever had, and I want to share my joy with her. I think asking her to help us name the first baby in this new generation will make her feel loved and honored.
I still dislike Moxie, but what a wonderful reason to honor her in that way. She sounds like a great MIL, you're lucky!
My thoughts as well. I like Leilani. Moxie also reminds me of Moxie CrimeFighter a weird celebrity baby name, I'd think that you're a big Penn Jillette fan.
All of this!
Rainbow Surprise Baby due 05/26/2017
But way to be judgy.
Uhm. Your story about your MIL almost made me cry. Excellent reason. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Congratulations on finding good people after going through all that.
I really don't like "smoosh" names where two names are combined into one like Moxi-lani. Sorry.
I think this is a case where a double middle name makes sense. It sounds like it is important for you to honor both your Hawaiian and Chinese heritage, which I totally respect, so why not do Moxie Leilani ChineseName LastName. Moxie is a little nick-namish for my personal taste, but otherwise I really like it.
The only other suggestion I can think of is to find a less common Hawaiian name and use it as the first name (if you're willing to consider something other than Moxie).
Good luck with your decision!