My Name Essay

 Aung Paing Soe Hein

January 29, 2025

ESL 100

Meaning

              Having a meaning for a name is important. Some people might think that it is not a big deal to give someone a name. However, a name is something that is stuck with people for the rest of their lives. I think name giving systems might be very similar all over the world. Most might have first name, last name and some have surname. In my country, Myanmar, the name giving system is a little bit different from other places.

              In Myanmar, most people don’t really care about the first name or last name. Parents just name their children whatever they want. What they consider is the days of the week that their children are born. I am not sure why people name their children by looking at the days of the week, but somehow it relates to religion and fortune. For those born on a Thursday like me, their name might start with P which corresponds to similar sounds in Burmese alphabet, Pa,Pha and Pva. My name, Aung Paing Soe Hein, was given to me by my cousin’s grandfather. My name is similar with my cousin’s name, Zaw Pyae Sone Hein. My cousin and I were born on a Thursday. That is the reason why our real name started P which has similar sound with Burmese alphabet, Pa. Then, he, my cousin’s grandfather, put our father’s name in front of our name. Aung is my father’s name, and Zaw is his father’s name. The meaning of my name in Myanmar is conqueror. When I came to the United States, I found out most people struggle to pronounce my name. Therefore, I named myself Felix which means happy, fortunate, and lucky in Latin.

              In conclusion, I kind of like both of my names because both are meaningful and suit me. My name, Aung Paing Soe Hein, has a tradition of my country and reflects my personality. On the other hand, the name, Felix, makes me feel like I am starting a new chapter of my life.