Let me introduce to you my newest Grand Nephew, Konstantine Joon Kim! He was born yesterday, July 13th, at 6:49 PM and tipped the scales at a hefty 7 pounds 8 ounces. (I borrowed the term hefty from his proud Papa, Young.) Isn't he just the cutest little baby boy! Of course I'm not the least bit biased about that!!!
This is Konstantine and his Mom, my niece Kathryn. She looks wonderful and so happy!!! Well done, Katy!!Just in case you are wondering about his robust name, Konstantine was his maternal great grandfather's middle name. Joon comes from his paternal side, but I'm not exactly sure where...perhaps his proud Grandmother Molly will fill us all in.
Congrats to one and all!
Next week, we will have the arrival of yet another Grand Nephew...I think he is arriving on the 21st, Craig's birthday!
3 comments:
The name Joon takes some explaining. The short explanation is that the father's parents were allowed to choose the middle name that will be used for all of the children. They chose Joon for a boy and Heryn for a girl. That is they chose these names for all boys and all girls that this particular couple has.
The proud dad is Young Joon Kim (or Kim Young Joon as it would be written in Korea) and his brother is Young Seok Kim. Since they didn't use thier middle names in school in the States, it caused considerable confusion. They were Young Kim and Young Kim, brothers.
Now for the hard part. The parents didn't follow the real Korean custom which is to use the same name for all Korean children born in a certain generation for one of their names. In reading about this on the internet I have learned that Korean names identify people by date of birth but they aren't how you refer to them. They call each other by "titles" like "mother's brother" or "older brother" or "younger brother". Therefore, when Katy asked Young what his aunts' and uncles' and grandparents' names were, he didn't know. Check out Korean names on the net and you'll learn enough to be really confused.
But one custom is ignored with Konstantine's name, all Korean names are one syllable. Hence Kim Young Joon, Kim Jung Il, etc. Lots of them are for either gender, too.
So, go figure...
Molly
Thanks Moll!
Now we've all had a lesson in Korean name choosing customs, and I'm glad that you explained it, rather than me!
Oh, I forgot to tell you that Katy's explanation is that the name honors immigration: They are the names of the most recent immigrant on each side of the family--her great grandfather Hansie and Young himself. What a time to decide to honor immigration!
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