Madelyn's Middle Name

I posted in the previous post meanings of Madelyn's given orphanage name. None of that really seems appropriate for this sweet little face. She probably does know that name among her nannies but is this really a good name for her the rest of her life? We don't know if her birthmother gave her a name and will never know this. Logan at one time wanted to call her Froggy. Madelyn was a name I pondered through when chosing Reagan's name. I really loved the name Madelyn but I don't remember why we chose Reagan over that. In July 2005 on one of my many trips to Wal-Mart, it did come back to me when I saw this Cabbage Patch doll at Wal-Mart.

Anne is my middle name. Ann without the E is both grandmother's middle names. Ann/Anne means Grace. I wanted my first daughter to have my middle name so we gave it to Reagan. So, back when I saw the Cabbage Patch doll, I came up with Adrianne as a middle name for Madelyn.

Now that we've seen her and know more about her culture, we want her to carry out her Chinese heritage in her name. Tony and I have been doing some research on names and what would be appropriate. Some parents keep part of their daughters given name or all. Some don't use any of it. Some give them more of an American name plus a Chinese name for middle names. Some even give them an entirely new Chinese name. Our daughter will remain Madelyn. There's no changing that. We've called her this now since before her birrthmother knew she was pregnant. What we have decided is to carry out my middle name but not as Anne but as the meaning to it....Grace. With a little help from the internet and a co-worker of Tony's who is from China, we have decided to name her....

Madelyn Youmei Hooker

Youmei means Graceful;fine;elegant.

We can change our minds before the trip. Once we get in China, that's when we need a definite decision on her name.