Susie... Sally... Manly?

B's Chinese name is Fu Man Lu. Last names are first in Chinese, which means that technically, until we changed it in July during the readoption process, her first name was Man. I get the impression that Man is not a common name in China though it does mean "graceful" which is nice for a girl, though not necessarily fitting to B as proven in her dancing ability thus far. It can also mean "prolonged." Lu means "road" and Fu means "luck." B was actually called by a name that has nothing to do with Fu or Man or Lu and that name, translated the nice way (it has been translated for me in a not so nice way too), means "silly little girl." Now that fits!

Anyway, in English, Man isn't exactly the best choice for a girl's first name and I don't anticipate it will ever make the top 100 girl's baby names.

We have laughed about it for a year when we look at documents where we have had to use it… her social security card, our taxes, her frequent flyer miles… knowing that when we completed the readoption, we would be legally changing her first name and putting Man Lu together as Manlu for her middle name.

On Thursday we received her birth certificate (more specifically her Certificate of Foreign Birth) from Virginia. Well Man is no longer her first name but now, according to the Department of Vital Records, her official middle name is… MANLY!

Now she is a tough, rough, never-sit still girl with three brothers who are training her to be a warrior fighter but that is not exactly the name I pictured for our daughter. And though I'm sure she would just love telling her future classmates that her middle initial stands for "Manly", the certificate is back in the mail today with a request for a correction. Of course, I did keep a copy! :)

Kate