Tell Us About Your Name!
Licensing |
Discover Nikkei presented a photo activity at the Japanese American National Museum’s Target Free Family Saturdays: Imagination Storytime event on June 14, 2014. Visitors had their photos taken and were asked to share a story about their names.
The activity was presented in conjunction with the Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João? stories project.
Check out their responses in this album.
Slides in this album |
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Gary Tsutomu OnoI was born 1940 in San Francisco house. A mid-wife helped my mother, the house (a flat) was over my grandfather's Japanese confectionary store named BENKYODO. My mother & father named me as above TSUTOMU means "Studious" & Benkyo means study. Ben[k]yodo & the house was on GEARY Street, but my parents thought GARY …
Gary Tsutomu Ono |
Lady Constance of BlackwaterIn the old days, the aristocracy wasn’t always kind to regular people. In the various countries, my ancestors were from. For charity I was able to purchase a “ladyship” in Britain. In memory of my ancestors, I plan to be “friendly” aristocracy. My family names are: Sumi, Ezra (a … |
Gervaise Wein Louix Areola-LiuAs her mom, I have always liked boy names for girls. My first name is of French origin, Givenchy so I choosed: GERVAISE - a saint in France - French origin name WEIN - my husband's name is WEN CHIN & tie likes wine. LOIIX
Gervaise Wein Louix Areola-Liu |
Cathy Haruka UechiMy parents arrived in Los Angeles from Okinawa in the ‘70s. They never became fluent in English but when my mother, a hairstylist, had a client named, “Cathy” she fell in love with it. My mother said she simply liked how it sounded. My Japanese name is “Haruka” (春香). “Haru” …
Cathy Haruka Uechi |
Ryan S. Taketomo 竹友I was given my first name because my father wanted an assertive name that could not end in “-y.” He thought such a name would sound immature. My maternal grandmother chose my middle name from the kanji that means “one that never gives up.” The Taketomo family has endured …
Ryan S. Taketomo 竹友 |
Helen Hatsuye Ota大田 = Ota I’m told that my Auntie gave me my first name, Helen, but I don’t know why she chose that name. I should find out! My middle name loosely means “first born.” I’m the oldest of three, though I admit I feel …
Helen Hatsuye Ota |
Yasuhiro Osako安: Yasu I was told by a Chinese man that this kanji is made up of a “roof” 宀 with the character of “woman” 女 This means “one woman under a roof,” which can represent a sense of safety or peace of mind. 大 迫: Osako is a big valley.
Yasuhiro Osako |
CharlienMy name is a hybrid of my parents’ names. My father was “Charles” and my mother, who is Vietnamese American, is named, “Lien.” *There’s no one else with my name but I can never get an email account with my first name – apparently, there’s a lot of Charlies … |
Leo Antonio DominguezLeo is my full first name. I was named after my great uncle Leovardo. Antonio came from the same uncle because he used to talk to my mother when she was young over the phone using the pseudonym, “Tony Anthony.”
Leo Antonio Dominguez |
Cindy "Villaseñor"Villa = House I’ve tried researching where my name originated. We’ve discovered that my ancestors were either landowners (“master of the house”) or servants. Cindy is a family name. My original name was Katherine but my father scratched it off my birth certificate and changed it to …
Cindy "Villaseñor" |
June Murakami MagsaysayMy birth name is June Murakami. When my mother was pregnant with my sister, Dr. Shigekawa told her that she was going to have a “healthy baby boy.” When my mother became pregnant again, Dr. Shigekawa assured her that this time she was sure that I would be a “healthy … |
MichelangeloMy master, Splinter, named my brothers and I after Renaissance painters. I did the Sistine Chapel and many other amazing works. Nowadays, we fight the evil foot clan from the sewers of NYC. Cowabunga!!!
Michelangelo |
Hello! My name is....What’s in a name? Share a story about your own (or someone else’s) Nikkei name or nickname. Check out the submission guidelines: 5dn.org/names. Deadline to submit: October 31, 2014 at 6 p.m. (PST).
Hello! My name is.... |